It’s officially that time of year again—the time of year when my skin practically screams for lotion after I climb out of a bath or shower. When I’m slathering it all over there never seems to be enough lotion in my (usually sizeable) stash, so I decided to be sort-of proactive and whip up a batch of something designed to hit cold-weather dryness right in the kisser. This cream has a larger oil part to really help lock in moisture and soften skin, featuring a lovely blend of oils and silky cetyl alcohol for a decadent, Ultra Rich Meadowfoam Body Cream that’ll leave just-shaved legs feeling all kinds of happy.
Want to watch this project instead of read it?
Now, I love a good, rich cream, but I am not a fan of greasiness. I knew that if this lotion was greasy, I wasn’t going to use it—who wants to leave an oily impression of themselves on their bedsheets? Erk! You’ll be happy to hear that even though the oils part of this cream is larger than I typically work with, it sinks into the skin in a flash, leaving it feeling soft and hydrated but not slippery or oily. After I apply it I can see my skin visibly plump up and lose that chalky look my skin often takes on in the winter.
Unrefined cupuacu butter is kind of funny lookin’!
The water part of this lotion is enhanced with some great humectants; after all, water is great for our skin, but it can use some help when it comes to sticking around. There’s inexpensive, moisture-attracting vegetable glycerin; hydrating and itch-relieving panthenol; and film-forming, moisture-retaining hydrolyzed oat protein.
Our oil part stars a blend of meadowfoam seed oil and cupuacu butter. Meadowfoam seed oil is rich in antioxidants and has a crazy-long shelf life because it’s highly resistant to oxidization. It hydrates skin without leaving it feeling greasy, and doesn’t smell like much of anything. If you don’t have meadowfoam seed oil, jojoba oil is a great alternative, but you could also use any other low-scent, medium to light weight liquid carrier oil your skin loves.
Cupuacu butter has an amazing silicone-like feel—I love how rich it feels without any stickiness or super-greasiness. It is a pure fat, so saying it has no potential to be greasy wouldn’t be quite right, but compared to something like shea butter it’s amazingly silky and lightweight. Its high stearic acid content helps bring some occlusiveness to this cream, further locking in moisture. “Cupuacu’s ability to penetrate the skin quickly (transdermal penetration), and then retain moisture, is unparalleled and far superior to shea butter or lanolin”, and it can “support 440% of its weight in water” (source), which is freaking amazing. Not only does it truly help keep skin hydrated, but it also helps stabilize emulsions. It’s wonderful, and if you suffer from dry skin, you should definitely get some!
Some cetyl alcohol adds further thickening power for an extra creamy end product, and some optional Penstia™ powder adds a beautiful “oomph” in the silkiness department. I did originally intend to scent this cream with a blend of lavender and chamomile essential oils, but I found the scent of the unrefined cupuacu butter came through quite strongly, and it’s not one that meshes well with lavender or chamomile (it’s a sort of tangy cocoa-ish scent), so I opted to leave this unscented. I’m mostly planning on putting it on my legs before I go to sleep, so I’m not particularly fussed about what it smells like. You may want to choose refined cupuacu butter, though, and then add some essential oils of your choice!
Want to watch this project instead of read it?
Ultra Rich Meadowfoam Body Cream
65g | 2.34oz distilled water
3g | 0.1oz vegetable glycerine (USA / Canada)
2g | 0.07oz powdered panthenol powder (vitamin B5) (USA / Canada)
1g | 0.04oz hydrolyzed oat protein6g | 0.21oz Polawax (USA / Canada)
14g | 0.49oz meadowfoam seed oil
7g | 0.25oz cupuacu butter
3g | 0.11oz Penstia™ powder (optional)
3g | 0.11oz cetyl alcohol (USA / Canada)0.15g | 0.0053oz Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)
0.5g | 0.017oz Liquid Germall Plus™ (USA / Canada) (or other broad spectrum preservative of choice at recommended usage rate [why?])Prepare a water bath by bringing about 3cm/1″ of water to a bare simmer over low to medium-low heat in a wide, flat-bottomed sauté pan.
Weigh the water, glycerin, panthenol, and hydrolyzed oat protein into a small heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Weigh the Polawax, meadowfoam seed oil, cupuacu butter, Penstia™ powder, and cetyl alcohol into a second heat-resistant glass measuring cup. Place both measuring cups in your prepared water bath to melt everything through.
After about 20–30 minutes the oil part should be completely melted and the water part should be thoroughly dissolved. Remove the water bath from the heat, and pour the water part into the oil part. Stir with a flexible silicone spatula to incorporate.
Grab your immersion blender and begin blending the lotion, starting with short bursts so the still-very-liquid lotion doesn’t whirl up and spray everywhere. Blend for about a minute, leave to cool for ten, blend for another minute or two, and repeat this blend-cool-blend cycle until the outside of the glass measuring cup is barely warm to the touch and the lotion is thick and creamy.
Once the lotion has cooled, stir in the vitamin E oil and liquid germall plus. If you’re adding essential oils, now is the time to stir those in as well. Transfer the cream to a wide-mouthed jar; this recipe is not at all suitable for a pump-top bottle—and enjoy!
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this cream contains water, you must include a broad-spectrum preservative to ward off microbial growth. This is non-optional. Even with a preservative this project is likely to eventually spoil as our kitchens are not sterile laboratories, so in the event you notice any change in colour, scent, or texture, chuck it out and make a fresh batch.
Substitutions
As always, be aware that making substitutions will change the final product. While these swaps won’t break the recipe, you will get a different final product than I did.
- If you don’t have panthenol you can replace it with distilled water
- If you don’t have hydrolyzed oat protein you can use hydrolyzed silk or sea kelp bioferment instead, or just replace it with more distilled water
- I used Polawax as my complete emulsifying wax, but BTMS-50 and Emulsifying Wax NF will also work
- Feel free to use a different oil your skin loves in place of the meadowfoam seed oil. I’d recommend jojoba oil (USA / Canada) as a good alternative.
- You can use shea butter or mango butter instead of cupuacu butter
- You can replace the cetyl alcohol with more cupuacu butter
- You can replace the Penstia™ powder with more water (in the water phase, not the oil phase)
Ooo I must try this 🙂 I feel like I have spent a year trying to make a nice lotion but it always feels greasy and takes a million years to rub it. My lotion is usually shea butter, almond oil and Montanov L
Enjoy! 🙂
Lovely lotion recipe! Oh, I want to make this today!! Instead, I will be packing for a trip. Not as much fun as lotion making!
I love meadowfoam seed oil! It definitely falls into my “do not ever run out of this” column. I need to buy more cupuacu butter, because I agree with you, it is awesome for the skin. Another amazing oil I’m loving in lotions lately is moringa. Thanks to Penny, I am hooked on this wonderful oil! Paired with hydrolyzed rice protein, which also has an impressive resume, it is skin loving goodness! I also like to add a bit of dimethicone in my winter lotions. It stops the “winter skin itchies” I always seem to get once the air gets dry. Nothing else I’ve tried seems to work better. You ought to try it in a lotion some time. Your skin will love it!
Thanks for another great recipe, Marie!
Thanks, Belinda! I really must make more things with moringa, I feel like I have far more ingredients than time these days I’m tempted to take Lottie to the dog-sitters for a week to get a ton done haha.
Hello…The Penstia powder is an ingredient I haven’t heard of before. Could it be replaced with silk or perhaps I am misunderstanding the purpose of this powder.
See the substitutions list for how to swap it out 🙂 Hydrolyzed silk is not an alternative at all; it’s a protein that helps with film-forming while Penstia is all about slip and glide.
Hi Marie. I notice in your substitutes list, you mention that if you don’t have both vegetable glycerin and sodium lactate, just use 2 grams of the one you have. I don’t see sodium lactate anywhere in either the blog or the written recipe under the YouTube video, but I do see 3gms vegetable glycerin. Is this a late formulation change? What would the sodium lactate do in this and if you have some, how much should be added? (I assume to the water phase.)
Whoops, just a copy and paste error! Fixed. It is also a humectant, but at 3% it can make one sun sensitive, so I would recommend replacing it 1:1 for the glycerin here.
Hello Marie, can Penstia™ powder be added to an oil based body butters? If I can’t find this in the UK what other ingredient can substitute this besides water that would give the same feel?
Thank very much
I don’t think so; I haven’t tried it, but the Lotion Crafter page on it does not mention oil based body butters as a suggested application.
Hey Marie! Not sure if anyone has brought this to your attention but I’ve noticed in the last few emails your “watch it instead” link in the email takes you to your YouTube page but not to the specific video. However if you click “read more” and click “watch instead on your blog post” it takes you directly to the video. Just thought you might like to know!
The header and the subscribe button take you to the channel, but if you click the image of the video, the title of the video, or the “Watch Now” button, those all go directly to the video 🙂
Hey! I’m talking about the watch it instead link in the email. If you click that it takes you to your channel not the video. In the past it took you directly to the video!
I know—that headline has never gone anywhere other than the channel main page. It’s a separate block in my email builder that I never open or edit. The thumbnail of the video, its title (“How to Make Ultra Rich Meadowfoam Body Cream”, etc.), and the button all go directly to the video, though.
Duh, I see it now that I opened it on my desktop! Never noticed that “watch now” button! Only saw the “watch it instead” so was confused why it wasn’t taking me to the video! Mystery solved! Just lookin out for ya! 🙂
Ah! Ha, dang responsive stuff 🙂 Thanks!
This looks luscious. You are showing it a jar, but I am wondering if it could be put it in a pump bottle or is it too thick? Maybe not use any cetyl alcohol?
LOL I explicitly state in both the written and filmed versions that you 1000% cannot put this in a pump top bottle (“this recipe is not at all suitable for a pump-top bottle”) 😉 So… no 😛
Hi, Marie! I was wondering about using liquid panthenol (I don’t have the powdered stuff). Would it be an equal amount, or would I need a bit more or less? Thank you!
The amount you’ll need will depend on the concentration, which you should get from the supplier. For instance, this one from The Herbarie is 50%, so you’d need to use twice as much, and remove some water to compensate. I’d also recommend adding the liquid stuff to the cool down phase as it’s not recommended to heat it for extended periods of time 🙂
Thank you!
Ooh, can’t wait to make this! The source on Amazon for this harder to find butter seemed a little sketchier than I am comfortable with but I did just order some from: https://rainforestchica.com/products/cupuacu-butter. I don’t have any connection to the company but just wanted to put it out there in case anyone else felt like the source on Amazon might not be the best. The version via this link seems to be a better quality (at least the reviews seem to indicate that) but we’ll see. I’m really excited to try this recipe with the cooler weather on its way!
Thanks! Mine is from NDA but I know people typically balk at the $100 minimum order and shipping costs that are usually at least $25.
Hi Marie – This looks wonderful! In substituting the BTMS-50 for the Polawax as you recommend, would the amount be the same? (6g)
Thank you!
Yup! Happy making 🙂
Thank you, Marie 🙂
Hi Marie, is meadowfoam seed oil the same as meadowfoam oil?
I have the second one but not quite sure if its the same effect.
=)
Yup!
Loving this one! I didn’t have penstia, so for the missing grams I added orange wax at 2% and upped the water by 1%. I used Olivem1000 again just to see what happened as I heard it didn’t like citrus. I of course was doing this 30 minutes before I needed to leave for work 😛 so it was warm when I started to add the water to the oil. It blended beautifully with a spatula at first, then I dumped the mix in a taller container so I could blitz it with my emulsion blender. I dropped in a blob of benzoin and the preservative and left it overnight to finish thickening. It’s beautiful and smells like orange creamsicles. No separation, and glidy smooth, soaking in quickly with a light warm vanilla citrus scent. Exactly what I wanted 🙂 So much fun taking what you created and twisting it a bit to see what happens and practicing my own scent blends. I’m loving olivem1000 btw.
OOooh, you are getting me all excited to play with Olivem1000 now! I have a bag in the basement that’s been taunting me for ages LOL. Stay tuned and a huge thank you for sharing!
I know, right? I had heard so much bad about it, but bought it a while ago and thought I should at least try it myself. I’m loving the last few lotions I made using it 😀 Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
I’ve got an Olivem1000 lotion on my to-do list for today!
Hi Marie. I loved your “Summer time faves of 2017” video. After seeing it, I ordered some Silica Micro-spheres because I figured that if you loved them that much, they’d be showing up in recipes to come. But I haven’t seen them in your recipes, and now I have them. Would the S.M. be a decent alternative to the penstia in this recipe? Even just for the idea of smooth silkiness? I’d like to find a place to use them.
You need to look in the archives 😉 Not that those recipes are particularly old, but they are already published. My book also uses them.
I’m afraid I’ve never attempted to use them in a lotion—it will likely make for more dry-feeling product.
Just saw on my Facebook feed that Windy Point has Penstia powder. So Super excited about this. I’ve been having ingredient envy for a while now. Now we can experience first hand what all your hype is about. Woo Hoo.
I know! I saw, too! I’m beyond stoked 😀 Woooo!!!
Just made this today and it is amazing! Not greasy at all but definitely richer/thicker than the summer lotions. This is the first time I have used Penstia powder and cupuacu butter. This is one to have on hand all winter. Absolutely love this stuff!
Yay, I’m so glad! Thank you so much for reading and DIYing with me 🙂
Going to make this in a few because I’m already harving the cold weather skin change and I’m itching skin off my limbs. I’m not saying that for embellishment, I have raw spots all over.
It’s the worst it’s ever been and I’m hopeful this helps. I am thinking I should add a little greasy Shea to it, though. When I take your Shea rich Rocky Mountain Foot Butter up my calves, I don’t itch there that night.
I hate messing with your well thought out recipes but I’m desperate here.
Update…. I’ve been using this for nine nights and as long as I use it in the morning also, my leg itching has stopped. My scars may never fade but I’m not losing my mind to itching anymore.
It’s going to be my new basic lotion now, to scent however I want and everyone on my gift list this year is getting some.
Best lotion yet, Marie. You saved me. You saved my skin and my sanity.
YAY!!! I’m so glad 😀
Go ahead! Shea would be a good swap for the cupuacu if you don’t have it, or even just for half of it 🙂 This lotion is already crazy thick, so you could also swap it for the meadowfoam seed oil—you can’t pump it anyways so might as well go all out lol.
Hi Marie – I made this and absolutely love the texture and creaminess. However, I’m not wild about the scent of the cupuacu butter (unrefined). I don’t have refined and want to stay with the unrefined. You mentioned that it smells tangy cocoa-ish scent. Are there any essential oils that you recommend that can pare nicely with the recipe as is using the unrefined cupuacu butter? Thanks.
I’m afraid I haven’t found anything that goes terribly well with it at this time, sorry!
Hi Marie, luv your site! I have a silly question about hydrolyzed oat protein (an ingredient in this body butter)…would I be able to add it to an existing natural body butter formula? Basically, I like this body butter made by a friend, but I’m intrigued by the oat protein and would like to add it to her completed formula if possible (it is quite rich). I don’t have the exact ingredients, but I do know that it contains aloe juice, shea butter, cocoa butter, glycerin, and other oils. Any info would be appreciated, thanks!
Hey! It’s typically not recommended to add ingredients to complete products as it can compromise the preservative system, so I wouldn’t recommend it. You can’t add water soluble products (like hydrolyzed proteins) to entirely oil soluble products (body butters). This is a lotion/cream, not a body butter, as it has a water phase and an oil phase emulsified together, so we can use both oil soluble and water soluble ingredients. It sounds like the product you have is also not a body butter if it contains aloe juice and glycerin. Does it contain a preservative? If it doesn’t, please throw it away—there’s no way it is still safe to use. Otherwise, don’t add anything as it may compromise the preservative system.
sounds great! going to try it although I don’t have cupuacu butter. Have you used kokum butter. I have that, don’t remember why I bought it. otherwise, I’ll use mango butter. Thank you much for the recipes. I’m trying to make a lot of the thicker lotions and see what I like best. I made the rose cardamom, it has worked fine in the airless pump I was testing out.
I believe I’ve worked with kokum at some point, though I know I don’t have any right now as mine went allllll kinds of rancid and had to be binned. Anywho, I would recommend mango butter as a better alternative to cupuacu as they are both soft whilst kokum is brittle 🙂 Happy making and thanks for reading!
Hi Marie,
I discovered your site just two days back and I am totally glued to it. Hats off to the patience and passion you carry.
I don’t know most of the ingredients mentioned here. I have just started making soaps after attending one workshop. But now I want to try creams, butters and much more. I live in India and need to figure out from where to source these ingredients. Will share with you once I try any of it mentioned here. Wish me luck.
And yes, thanks a ton.
Best,
Anu
Best of luck, and happy making! You can check out this page for shopping help, but I don’t think there’s anything India specific—if you find anything for me to add please do share 🙂
Hi! Am I able to substitute hydrolyzed silk for silk peptide powder?
I think you’ll find your answer in the encyclopedia entry on silk 🙂
Hey Marie, can I add some Urea to this recipe? and if so, would I just at it at 5% in the cool down phase or would I swap out one of the other ingredients for it?
Yup! Make sure you remove that 5% from the water, and keep an eye on the pH for drift 🙂
I just made this yesterday … it is wonderful! I used BTMS-50 instead of Polawax, and I love the dry feel. I may use the entire batch before the end of winter.
One question/comment. When I went to blend this, it thickened up *very* quickly. In less than a minute it was too firm for more blending! It also cooled down fast. My kitchen is quite cool, about 62°F … can the room temperature affect things that much?
Hello Marie,
Could you give any tips on making this thicker? My batch came out a bit thinner than I’d hope.
Check out this FAQ 🙂 I’d also recommend giving the cream a day or two; depending on how you blended it, it might thicken up more.
Hi Marie,
I love this recipe, I’m just wondering why it adds up to more than 100?
It’s not in percentages, so there’s no requirement to total 100 🙂
I made this today and I LOVE IT!! It’s so simple yet luxurious! I sub’d the cupuacu bitter for mango ( I have cupuacu but am not a fan of the smell..) and used jojoba for the liquid oil. Also didn’t have the Penstia. But this is definitely one I’ll be making again!! Thanks Marie!!
Hooray! I’m so thrilled you’re enjoying it 🙂 Thanks for DIYing with me, and happy making!
Hello, I’d love to make this I did read about the substitutes but I do have a question about the pola wax, I have NF Wax and silky wax I tend to is the silky wax more often would it change the consistency much if I used the silky wax in this recipe?
Where do you find the powdered vitamin b5? The link to Amazon is a liquid.
Have you checked through the shops listed here? Without knowing which country you live in my recommendations may not be of much use, and if you don’t live in Canada I would have to do the same thing (check with individual suppliers in your country). It’s a pretty common ingredient, though—I find powdered panethnol is much more common than liquid. Happy making!
Hi Marie! I made this yesterday and the Penstia powder did not melt. I went ahead and finished the batch anyway and it turned out great! I made a second batch without the powder and it also turned out great, However, I definitely love the poofy texture added by the Penstia!! A great formulation! Thank you!
Hi Marie
But I have a question, if I want to increase the oil phase, say to 35-40%, of course the water will have to be reduced as well, do I use more emulsifier to stabilise the lotion or cream, I’m in my 50’s & I need more oils
Thanks for your time answering, a quick answer will suffice
Fan from Down Under
Hi Monica! Please refer to this post to learn more 🙂 I’d also encourage you to watch this video (keeping in mind that the INCI for Polawax is Emulsifying Wax NF) to learn why I do not recommend making large oil phase formulations with this emulsifier + what I recommend instead. Happy making!