Cuticles are a funny little bit of the body. Oh so tiny, but potentially so problematic. I suppose they do suffer quite a lot of abuse between hand washing, nail tending, and all the other mean things that happen to your hands, so I’m not surprised they complain from time to time. Anyhow, this lovely lemony cuticle butter (inspired by Lush’s Lemony Flutter) will help soothe and pamper your cuticles, along with any other bits of unhappy skin.
The first thing you might be thinking is “wow, Marie, that sure is a lot of ingredients”, and you would be right. That is quite a lot of ingredients. It’s actually less than the original uses, surprisingly enough. Anyhow, that’s why I’ve also provided an abbreviated list of ingredients that will do the trick without gutting your pocketbook.
This cuticle butter is thick and intensely moisturizing thanks to all the butters and heavy-duty oils it contains. Shea butter is great for healing, and rice bran oil is loaded up with Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada). Lanolin is a favourite for chapped skin, and avocado oil contains vitamins A, B1, B2, D, and E.
A bit of honey and vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada) helps prolong the moisture as both are humectants—they draw moisture from the air to your skin. Lastly, a bit of lemon juice and lemon essential oil help brighten up cuticles, while lavender and chamomile soothe. Because of the lemon content, don’t put this on and then head out into the sun.
Lemony Cuticle Butter
8g unrefined shea butter (USA / Canada)
2g mango butter (USA / Canada)
2g virgin coconut oil
2g lanolin
Or 14g unrefined shea butter (USA / Canada)4g avocado oil
2g castor oil (USA / Canada)
4g rice bran oil
Or 10g avocado oil2g raw honey
2g vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada)
2g lemon juice5 drops 5-fold lemon essential oil
3 drops lavender essential oil
2 drops chamomile essential oilCombine the beeswax, butters, and oils in a small dish and melt over simmering water. Remove from the heat once melted and let cool.
Combine the honey, vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada), and lemon juice in a small dish. Place the dish in the leftover hot water to warm through, stirring to combine.
Once the oils have cooled to room temperature, add the honey mixture and whisk to emulsify.
Whisk in the essential oils and decant into a 60mL/2oz tin. Massage into angry cuticles and dry skin.
If you don’t like the smell of lanolin, feel free to substitute more unrefined shea butter (USA / Canada).
Love, love, love!!! 🙂
Thanks, Brigitte! Let me know if you try it 🙂
Hi, where did you get the tins? Love the recipe and want to try it!
The tins are from Saffire Blue (link in the big box above the comments). Let me know how it works out for you!
Hi Marie, I just made this especially for my super dry heels/ feet that I keep picking so badly! I have high hopes this one will work due to the addition of lemon (I added a little more lemon oil so my feet are pleasantly tingly) Thanks again for another great recipe! xx Nadja
Let me know how it goes 😀 I keep this on my desk at work and massage it into my cuticles whilst pondering various creative conundrums, and it’s sure fantastic. It’s really helped me stop picking at my cuticles because they are aren’t itchy and flaky anymore. Also, have you tried any of my foot masks? They help soften up the feet so you can exfoliate more efficiently.
Fabulous, Marie! I have a sudden craving for lemon meringue 🙂
How well do the water soluble ingredients stay emulsified into the oils? I always find it rather challenging to keep honey from separating out of my balms.
Hi Rebecca! Since the glycerin is an emulsifier (though not a foolproof one), as long as you thoroughly beat this together at room temperature, it stays emulsified very well. I made this about a month ago, and it is still completely emulsified, with no signs of ever doing anything else (barring being re-melted).
Oh, that’s good to hear!
Is the texture of the finished butter more pudding-y than balm-y? (It looks pudding-y from the photos, or maybe I’m just hungry.) 😉
It’s a softer balm, but definitely a balm. The pudding-y look is ’cause I poured it while it was still somewhat warm—it firms up some more as it cools. I find I can easily run my finger across the surface of the balm and get enough on my finger to massage into a cuticle or two 🙂
Hi Marie!
Are the ingredients you’ve chosen the same as the Lush version? Do you only use a hand whisk? I’ve never had success combining honey with oils/butters. It always separates and over time I get those water like droplets.. But I LOVE honey! I’m going to try this 🙂
They’re mostly the same, Annie—I ditched a few of the cheaper ingredients; a few that I didn’t have, or figured other people weren’t likely to have (the original contains 10 different carrier oils and butters, which seemed ridiculous); and some of the less, err, ideal ones, like the parabens. I also tweaked the recipe to be more buttery and less water based since I wasn’t including complete emulsifiers like the original did.
I did hand whisk this together. I’ve had nothing but success with combining glycerin and honey into oil based recipes as long as I whisk thoroughly at room temperature. Nothing will happen until the mixture cools down to room temperature, sadly—you’ll just be pushing around droplets of water based stuff in the liquid oil. I originally made this about a month ago and it’s still nicely emulsified 🙂 If you’re worried about it, you could also add a few grams of emulsifying wax as a bit of an insurance policy 😉 Let me know how it goes!
Do you use hydrous/anhydrous lanolin?
I believe it is anhydrous, though the package doesn’t say—it just doesn’t feel like it has a significant amount of water in it.
To avoid the photosensitive effect from the lemon oil, I was planning on using lemongrass instead. Would the lemon juice in the balm also have an effect? If so, what can I use instead?
Lemon juice will have some photosentizing effects, though they will be far, far less than that of the EO. The main purpose of the lemon juice is as a bit of acidity to help soften the skin, so you could use a bit of a vinegar of your choice, or make a weak solution of water a citric acid 🙂
Hi Marie, I was given some beautiful organic Grapeseed oil infused with lemon oil, what are your thoughts on switching out the 4g of Avocado oil with this?
Thanks as always! Jan
Hmm. Well, grapeseed oil is very thin and absorbs in a flash, whereas avocado oil is exactly the opposite—thick and slow to absorb. So it wouldn’t be the best swap, but I doubt it would break the recipe. Let me know how it goes if you try it 🙂
Absolutely fantastic!! Love LOVE LOVE this!
Thanks, Marlene!
Hello! First, thanks a million for posting all of your recipes! It makes it so much easier for me to make things than having to guess and error correct constantly!
I was wondering, since this is an emulsification with lemon juice, does it have an expected shelf life? Thanks again!
Hi Emma! Thanks so much for reading and DIYing with me 🙂 I made this cuticle butter about 10 months ago and it is still going strong with no signs of spoilage at all. It really doesn’t have much water in it at all, so I expect it to last quite some time.
BEAUTIFUL, thank you!
😀
Just made this and it’s wonderful. Such a nice, creamy consistency. Perfect to rub on before bed. Thank you Marie!
Awesome! Thanks, Megan 🙂
Hi Marie! Just wondering how many tins this recipe makes, I’d like to make a couple as gifts! Thanks!
Well, that depends on the size of tin you’re using 😛 This recipe makes 36g of product, and you see it here in a 60mL tin. If you used 10mL tins you’d fill about 4.
Hi Marie,
I have enjoyed your site and have made a lot of your DIY product’s. I’m having a lot of fun. I especially love your lip balms, as do my daughter’s. My daughter actually sent me the Lush Lemony Flutter a year ago for Mother’s Day, so was excited to try this DIY version. I recently made this recipe and for some reason I only had enough for a couple of 1/2 oz. tins. Nonetheless it feels a lot more creamy than the original, so I’m pretty happy. I’m going to make it again and double the recipe. Thanks for breaking it down to a reproducible version.
Hi Marcie! Thanks so much for reading & DIYing with me 🙂 This recipe makes 36g of product (just add up the weights of all the ingrediets), and you see it here in a 60mL tin. If you used 10mL tins you’d fill about 4, so what you said makes perfect sense.
Hi..do you suggest any specific brand with regard to the vegetable glycerin??and also can I omit or substitute the honey lemon juice and glycerin..??
Hi Kezia! I get pretty much all my ingredients from NDA, glycerin included. And yes, you can omit the honey, lemon juice, and glycerin if you like.
Hi Marie 🙂 will the EO’s, in particular the lemon, cause any
reaction with the tin such as rusting ? I love anything lemon !
Thanks 🙂
They didn’t with the tin I used! Check with your supplier to see if they have any specific recommendations for the tins you have 🙂
Absolutely love this, i had no problem with separation and the final texture is creamy and smells delicious. My family and I are going hiking upstate NY this unexpected warm weekend and my little cuticle balm is coming with me. Been using it for a week now and am addicted. Thanks again for yet anothet beautiful (and effective) recipe!
Yay! I am so glad you are enjoying it 🙂 Thanks for DIYing with me!
Hi Marie – I’m super excited to try this out! I’ve been using Lemony Flutter the past year or so and am eager to make it myself. Just a couple questions –
I have a huge tub of Coconut Oil 76 Degree – would it change things that much if I swapped it for the Virgin Coco Oil?
And is there any reason you wouldn’t use a hand blender instead of a whisk?
Thanks!
Coconut oil 76° is likely to be more heavily processed and refined, so you’ll lose the coconut scent. As for the blender—this recipe really doesn’t make very much (that’s a 2oz tin in the photo and you’ll notice it isn’t even close to being full). Using a hand blender isn’t going to be terribly efficient and you’ll likely lose a noticeable portion of the recipe to the beaters. You’re welcome to if you want, but it seems to be more trouble than it’s worth.
Would you need to add a preservative because you are using fresh lemon juice?
Thanks
Oooh wow, this is an oldie! Looking at it now I do sort of wonder how this came together at all without an emulsifier, but it did—it is likely to have been more of a suspension/dispersion than a true emulsion, though. I *think* the honey and glycerin and their water activity lowering powers *may* be why this never spoiled on me, but that’s all hypothesis. If you’re making this today, definitely include a preservative, but I would be inclined to drop the glycerin/honey/lemon juice altogether 🙂 Happy making!