This marvelous body butter is many things I thought it couldn’t be. It is rich in skin-loving shea butter, but not at all greasy. It smells deliciously of citrus, but isn’t photosensitizing. It is lightweight and whippy (and stays that way!), but you don’t have to do the freeze-whip-freeze-whip thing. You don’t even need any heat. Seriously.
Updated March 2023
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Post Overview
No freeze-whip-freeze?
This body butter is cold processed—a thing I learned as part of my Formula Botanica coursework. They taught cold mashing, but I got frustrated with bending my forks on my surprisingly hard February shea butter, so I gave whipping a try. Obviously the end consistency is very different than it would be if I’d stuck to mashing, but I was thrilled with the end results of some of my smashed-then-whipped experiments. When you’re choosing your shea butter for this recipe, make sure it’s smooth when you start as we aren’t incorporating any heat that could smooth things out. Take a bit and rub it between your fingers and onto your skin; if it’s grainy or feels crystallized it’ll feel like that in the end product, which would be a bummer. Be sure to choose your smoothest shea for this project!
The carrier oil
I’ve used both safflower oil and sunflower oil in this formulation as they’re inexpensive, lightweight, and I had them on hand. Feel free to use a different lightweight oil, like sweet almond, apricot kernel, or grapeseed. Don’t over-think this part too much 😄
Want to add some colour?
To naturally add an orange colour to this body butter, you could swap 1–2% of the liquid oil for an orange one, like sea buckthorn or buriti, for an even stronger citrus visual (the essential oils do contribute some colour)! Just be sure to keep in mind the strength of the colour of the oil; sea buckthorn seed oil is not as orange as the fruit oil, and there’s sometimes quite a lot of variation between batches. I have two bottles of sea buckthorn oil from New Directions; one can be used at 20% without issues, the other can only be used at 1% or less unless you’re aiming for that Oompa Loompa look! When it doubt, start with less.
Another fun way to add a bit of colour is to sprinkle to surface of the finished, packaged body butter with a wee bit of a theme-suited mica. This is totally optional, but it’s pretty and shimmery!
Make it not-greasy!
Our last base ingredient is isopropyl myristate; an incredibly lightweight ester that, almost like magic, makes this shea-heavy body butter absurdly light and fast absorbing. If you don’t have it you can replace it with more of the liquid oil, but if you are no lover of greasy skin feel you should grab yourself a bottle of isopropyl myristate. It’s inexpensive, versatile, and has a wonderfully long shelf life.
The essential oil blend
We are using real citrus essential oils in this body butter, keeping the usage amounts well below the photosensitizing threshold. Sweet orange essential oil is not photosensitizing, while lemon is above 2%, and grapefruit is above 4%. “Skin should not be exposed to sunlight or UV lamp irradiation for 12–18 hours, if any of the following are used at levels higher than those indicated. However, there is no risk of phototoxicity if the maximum levels are observed: angelica root (0.8%), bergamot (0.4%), cumin (0.4%), grapefruit (expressed) (4.0%), laurel leaf absolute 2.0%, lemon (expressed) (2.0%), lime (expressed) (0.7%), mandarin leaf (0.17%), orange (bitter, expressed) (1.25%), rue (0.15%), taget oil or absolute (0.01%).” – Essential Oil Safety: A Guide for Health Care Professionals (2nd Edition) by Robert Tisserand & Rodney Young. At 0.4% for lemon and 0.5% for grapefruit we are well below the photosensitizing limit.
A fragrance oil alternative
In the time since I shared this formulation back in 2018 I’ve become sensitized to citrus essential oils, and now they all make me really itchy 😭 I suspect this is from using old citrus essential oils, so learn from my mistake and keep your inventory fresh!
Thankfully I can still use citrus-scented fragrance oils, so I’ve created a variation on the 2018 formulation that uses a fragrance oil instead of an essential oil blend. I choose Bergamot & Clary Sage fragrance oil from Mourouge; it’s a complex, expensive, high-end-perfume-y scent. If you’re looking for something a bit more fruity/juicy, check out Lemon Slices from Rustic Escentuals and Citrus Mist from New Directions. You can also abandon the citrus theme all together and use a different fragrance oil you love; just be sure it’s approved for use at 0.25% in leave-on products (most should be; that’s a pretty low usage rate).
Why it can’t go grainy
Because this whipped body butter is entirely cold processed it comes together very quickly, and the shea can’t go grainy on us. Brilliant! You will need electric beaters for this project; I find the shea is far too stiff to thoroughly bust up without some electrical help (ask my poor forks). Once you’re done whipping you’ll be rewarded with a lightweight, marshmallowy butter than keeps its lightweight consistency like a dream. Ooo-er.
That said… if you let body butter melt (by leaving it in a hot car, for example), it can absolutely go grainy as it re-solidifies. Take care to keep it protected from temperature fluctuations so it stays smooth.
Whipped Citrus Shea vs. Perfectly Pillowy Whipped Shea
In the years since I originally published this formulation I’ve also shared a gorgeous Perfectly Pillowy Whipped Shea Butter. These two formulations have many similarities, and a few key differences.
The largest difference is the liquid-to-solid balance. This formulation features more solids (shea butter) and less liquids (liquid oils). This makes it a bit more thermally stable (aka less likely to melt) than its Perfectly Pillowy cousin. This also makes it a bit firmer. It’s still soft, but not quite that soft. I highly recommend trying both to see!
The second biggest difference is cold processing (this formulation) vs. hot processing (Perfectly Pillowy). If your shea butter is a bit grainy out of the bag/tub, try using it in my Perfectly Pillowy Whipped Shea Butter formulation instead of this formulation; the hot processing smooths out all the grains 🙂
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Relevant links & further reading
- Shea Butter in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
- Isopropyl Myristate in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
- Safflower Oil in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
- Tocopherol (Vitamin E) in the Humblebee & Me Encyclopedia
- How to naturally scent lotions (and other formulations) with essential oils and natural fragrance oils
- How long will ______ last? What is its shelf life? in the Humblebee & Me FAQ
- Similar formulations:
- More information on shea butter + body butter:
Whipped Shea Citrus Body Butter
The essential oil version
32.25g | 64.5% refined shea butter (USA / Canada)
5g | 10% isopropyl myristate (IPM) (USA / Canada / UK / Aus / NZ)
11.8g | 23.6% safflower oil
0.25g | 0.5% Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)
0.2g | 0.4% lemon essential oil
0.25g | 0.5% orange essential oil
0.25g | 0.5% grapefruit essential oilThe fragrance oil version
32.25g | 64.5% refined shea butter (USA / Canada)
5g | 10% isopropyl myristate (IPM) (USA / Canada / UK / Aus / NZ)
12.375g | 24.75g sunflower seed oil (USA / Canada / UK / NZ)
0.125g | 0.25% Bergamot & Clary Sage fragrance oil
0.25g | 0.5% Vitamin E MT-50 (USA / Canada)Mica for sprinkling (optional, but lovely)
The instructions are identical regardless of which version you’re making.
Weigh the shea butter into a deep bowl and whip it with a set of electric beaters until it is uniform, light, and fluffy. Add the isopropyl myristate, and beat again until the mixture is light and thoroughly combined. Add the safflower oil, and whip again until the mixture is uniform, light, and fluffy.
Weigh the vitamin E and essential oils out into a small dish. Add a scoop of the whipped body butter and stir to combine before transferring that mixture back into the master bowl and whipping to combine.
That’s it! Transfer to a container; I used a 4oz paperboard jar from YellowBee. Thanks to all the air we’ve whipped in, a 50g (1.76oz) batch will mostly fill a 4oz jar.
Shelf Life & Storage
Because this body butter is 100% oil based, it does not require a broad-spectrum preservative (broad spectrum preservatives ward off microbial growth, and microbes require water to live—no water, no microbes!). Kept reasonably cool and dry, it should last at least a year before any of the oils go rancid. If you notice it starts to smell like old nuts or crayons, that’s a sign that the oils have begun to oxidize; chuck it out and make a fresh batch if that happens.
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.
- As I’ve provided this recipe in percentages as well as grams you can easily calculate it to any size using a simple spreadsheet as I’ve explained in this post. As written in grams this formulation will make 50g.
- I don’t recommend using a different butter, or using unrefined shea butter in place of the refined shea butter. If you do you will likely have to do some re-development work.
- You could use a super lightweight, fast-absorbing oil or ester in place of the isopropyl myristate (IPM) (USA / Canada / UK / Aus / NZ), but this will make for a greasier/oilier end product.
- You can another lightweight oil like sweet almond, grapeseed, or sunflower seed in place of the safflower oil.
- You could use a different essential oil blend if you want, just be sure it is skin safe. I’ve shared more details on how to work that out in this post.
- You could use a different citrussy fragrance oil if you want, just be sure it is skin safe for leave-on products at 0.25%. I’ve shared more details on how to work that out in this post.
Hi there! I love everytime you do a whipped butter recipe!
Just a question though, if I decide to add preservatives, can I use BHT + Sodium Citrate to prolong the shelf life? (I was thinking of using Grapeseed oil) If so, how much each chemical I need to add safely and to be effective? (BHT and separately Sodium Citrate)
Thanks in advance!
There is no reason to add any preservatives to this recipe—they will do nothing to extend the shelf life. Please give the note (and the link) at the end of the recipe a read 🙂 The vitamin E will help delay the onset of rancidity.
Thanks! I am new soap maker and reading all the stuff online can be really confusing!
As a follow-up question, if found something from Nature Gate’s brand and it says on the label, Skin Oil 32,000 IU Vitamin E Acetate. And at the back it only list Tocopheryl Acetate as the only ingredient.
Can I use this like the Vitamin E that you said in your post?
Hope to hear from you soon!
Kind regards
You can purchase tocopherol acetate for much cheaper through a supplier like LotionCrafter.
I don’t work with tocopherol acetate, though—it’s a different format of vitamin E. This is the stuff I use.
Hi Marie, i’m a bit confused. Jane from ‘Making Skin care’ suggests “more than 0.1% vitamin E is included in the formula, the formula may undergo a pro-rancidity reaction”. You’ve used 0.5%? Is this due to home settings?
This article might help. https://realizebeauty.wordpress.com/2015/02/13/is-vitamin-e-a-preservative-and-can-too-much-cause-pro-oxidation/
Thank you so much Sarah, this is great!
The article Sarah linked to is great, and explains why perfectly 🙂
Can we use other butters to do cold whipping or is it only shea that will work? I have other butter similar that i would love to experiment this method with. Like mango for example.
You can use other butters, but you’d need to follow the same guidelines outlined in the post for choosing a shea butter 🙂 “When you’re choosing your shea butter for this recipe, make sure it’s smooth when you start as we aren’t incorporating any heat that could smooth things out. Take a bit and rub it between your fingers and onto your skin; if it’s grainy or feels crystallized it’ll feel like that in the end product, which would be a bummer. Be sure to choose your smoothest shea for this project!”
Hi Marie,
I am a nutty lady who just doesn’t want to use additives such as isopropyl myr…whatever. lol. Will your recipe still whip up nicely without it?
Many of your newer recipes in the last year or so have changed in this way. One reason I like to DIY is so that I can leave chemicals out. Will you do a book with natural ingredients? Or maybe I nutty enough to be the only one who is bothered by unpronounceable adds.
Thank you!
Not sure if I overwhelmed? Mine came out like a buttery lotion! I did substitute the sunflower oil for a lighter polyunsaturated oil, Cold pressed Strawberry Seed! The citrus with the Strawberry smells very yummy though!
Lovely recipe Marie. I just made a small batch and it feels so light and moisturizing. My daughters say it smells like juice lol. Thank you again.
Oh my goodness, that might be a publish-to-making record! Thanks so much for DIYing with me 😀
I love the cold whipping and had just bought a bottle of isopropyl myristate! How exciting to combine these things!
Just wondering – why do you recommend refined over unrefined (I only have unrefined). Thanks!
Happy making! I wanted refined because it doesn’t smell like anything—unrefined will overwhelm the EOs.
Love this recipe. How are those paper containers holding up?
Thanks.
Shockingly well! I have one that has held a 100% oil based salve for about 18 months now and it has not soaked through. They are, of course, significantly more susceptible to moisture damage than plastic, glass, or metal, so they are unlikely to look really nice for months on end, but they have not failed structurally.
HI Marie,
Thanks for sharing I love getting your newsletters with new recipes!
I was going to ask about the paper containers and read through the comments and saw this.Could you please tell me where you get your kraft paper containers from and also from your experience is there any dryness to the whipped butter inside? I was told that they are not as good for natural balms and butters as they cannot be sealed securely like plastic however,I want to move away from plastic to more sustainable containers.
Thank you
The ones I have are from YellowBee, and they are the best ones I’ve tried. That said, I have my doubts about them being more sustainable than plastic or glass. They cannot be composted because they contain non compostable glues (all the good ones that don’t soak through do), and they can’t be recycled because they do inevitably soak up some oil… so they become garbage, while glass or plastic could be recycled. They are also far more expensive and less durable.
Could I use Jojoba sters instead of Isopropil Myristate??
I haven’t used jojoba esters, but from my research jojoba esters 70 looks to be a fine powder used for thickening, in which case no.
I can’t find isopropyl myristate that isn’t palm-derived, therefore have no interest in using it. What percentage of arrowroot powder would you add to the end product total weight? Thank you.
Maybe you can replace it with coco caprylate, decyl oleate or some other absorption enhancer?
Perhaps 10?
I love the feel of IPM. I use it in a body oil spray along with isododecane since silicones are no longer popular and it works well.
I can imagine! I’ll have to give that a go in the future 🙂
Ooh will have to try to source some isopropyl myristate. Thank you for another great sounding recipe Marie. I loooove citrus 🙂
Thanks, Pauline! Enjoy 🙂
Could I use some mango butter in the recipe?
I don’t recommend it; mango butter has a mealy texture that means it doesn’t do well in cold processed recipes.
Hi Marie!
I wanted to use mango butter too, but would it work about the same if I used unscented cocoa butter instead? Thank you so much!
No—you would be introducing something MUCH harder to the mix. The reason I chose shea/mango is because they can be whipped easily at room temperature. You can’t do that with cocoa butter as it is brittle.
Could you explain the reason you don’t recommend using unrefined shea butter? Will it be grainy? Thanks in advance.
My guess is because unrefined has kind of a natural smokey scent to it. Some brands can be pretty strong and this will effect the smell of the final product or even ruin the fresh citrus scent she is going for.
Bang on!
It will be stinky 😛
This was lovely, Marie! And so easy to put together. And not greasy at all. 🙂
Woohoo! I’m so happy to hear it 😀
Hi Marie,
I absolutely LOVE your sight. You’re so inspirational in my journey of diy-ing. I was wondering if I could incorporate colloidal oatmeal in this recipe and leave out the eo’s. My baby granddaughter has such horrid excema and I’m desperately trying to find a recipe that will offer her some relief. Keep doing what you do and bless you!!!!
Thanks, Diane! For eczema, especially for babies, I’d recommend this recipe 🙂 You could add some colloidal oatmeal if you wanted, but if you read through the comments you’ll see many people have had great success with it as-is. Do be careful with essential oils on babies; I would err on the side of caution and leave them out, especially since you are wanting to apply the product to irritated, compromised skin. Happy making!
Hi
Marie,
Thank you so much!!! I have tried something very similar but Mommy found that it was too greasy and littl miss didn’t like it , so I was wondering if I could add the ingredient in the above recipe that makes it more ‘lotion’ like and less greasy. I definitely would not use any eo’s because of her very sensitive skin. Thank you again
P.s. little Miss is 27 months old :)))
You certainly can—IPM is amazing for reducing greasiness in anything! You can also try cornstarch or arrowroot starch as I did here 🙂
I subbed Litsea Cubeba for the EOs because that’s what I had (and enjoy). WOW!!! I have wanted to like shea butter for so very long, but couldn’t get past the greasy feeling and odd scent. Not any more! It’s high summer in Winnipeg and this doesn’t feel gross on my skin even in the humidity! This one is a winner of a recipe.
FYI: I sourced Isopropyl Myristate locally at Artists Emporium. Apparently in other industries it is used to remove theatrical prosthetics and as a sculpting aid for Monster Clay (whatever that is). As far as i’m concerned, a product which one industry uses on faces is just fine for my legs.
Yay! I’m so glad 😀 I’ve definitely had someone else cite the “removing prosthetics” angle as if it is proof IPM will melt your face off haha… not exactly 😛
Hi Marie, boy have I been commenting a lot lol, but is this percentage of isopropyl myristate good for any whipped body butter recipe? Like if I wanted to use another one of your whipped butter recipes but make it lighter? Thanks so much and this I should really helpful as myself and my family are fans of moisturising products minus the grease.
The recommended usage rate is up to 10% 🙂 At 10% it can make shea feel non-greasy (magic!), so you might not always need 10% if you’re using lighter butters. Happy making!
Hi! Sounds lovely, just one question- my shea butter (the brand is Nature’s oils, I order it from Bulk Apothecary) is not hard at all- quite the opposite, in fact. It’s very soft, and fairly oily, although this could just be a result of Southern Californian weather. Will it still be the same? As in, will it be more oily? (As a California-born Californian, I’m used to hot weather, and oily skin during hot weather is just awful) Thx in advance!
The IPM should counter any oiliness, though you may find you want to tweak the recipe to feature more solid butters that liquids—perhaps another 10% shea butter and 10% less safflower oil?
HI MARIE
LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS…COULDN’T BE EASIER
MADE IT AS WRITTEN, AND THEN WITH CAMELIA OIL AND MANGO BUTTER
I FIND MYSELF “BUTTERING UP” OFTEN THROUGH THE DAY
THANKS FOR ANOTHER LOVELY RECIPE
DEBBIE
Ooooh, how decadent indeed! Thanks so much for DIYing with me 😀
Hi Marie,
I did few extra version of this recipe as I got way too much Isopropyl myristate from my supplier.
I tested with unrefined shea butter, cupuacu butter and mango butter, which are all similar to shea butter in texture.
I add the same essential oil mix as you give in the recipe for the unrefined shea butter, the result was great.
For the cupuacu I added peru balsam essential oil that mixes perfectly with the nutty smell of cupuacu.
And for the mango butter tester I used a woody essential oil mix…
All the testers are delicious and great!!! Give a try if you can =)
Oooh, how stunning! I love peru balsam and cupuacu, too. SWOON! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Hey Marie 🙂
Absolutely hooked on all your gorgeous recipes.
I’m looking to make a triple butter (shea, cocoa and mango) – do you think this trio would work in this recipe?
I’m also trying to make an oil to use on hair, face and body – do you think IPM would be a good addition in this formulation too?
Thank you so much xxxx
Given the hardness of cocoa butter you’ll have to develop your own blend featuring those oils—you won’t be able to use these ratios. That said, 10% IPM in a blend of those oils will definitely make it less greasy—it’ll make anything less greasy 🙂
I’m on my 4th version of this recipe with the latest substituting Mango butter for the shea and using grapeseed oil rather than safflower.
I can confirm that the Mango whips up as smooth as the shea. This recipe is so fast and just perfect for “I had a long day at work and want to make myself something nice before bed.”
I used lemongrass EO and some Juniper Berry FO that I need to use up and I’m currently sitting in my office smelling my hands like a weirdo. 😀
Stunning! My mango butter is distinctly grainy out of the tub from a mid-summer delivery that saw it sitting on my porch and melting before making it indoors 🙁 I’ll have to source some in the winter and try cold processing it!
Hi Marie, I am very thankfull for all the knowledge you’re sharing with us. I love your recipes and I’ve learned so much from you. I just ordered isopropyl myristate (it was pretty difficult to find it here in Slovakia – Central Europe), since I am one of those people who are not big fans of sticky and greasy skin care products. And since this has been such a big issue for me, I was wondering, if I can use it in lotions, if so, what percentage do you recommend? Would it go into an oil phase? Thank you so much!
Thanks so much for reading and DIYing with me, Vierka! You definitely can include isopropyl myristate in lotions—it would go in your oil phase, and I’d probably use 2–4% as a starting point 🙂 Given the oil phase in a lotion will be much smaller than a body butter you shouldn’t need nearly as much. Happy making!
This is the easiest body butter I’ve ever made! Great recipe. I did substitute mango butter for Shea butter and my results were still fantastic. Thanks yet again, Marie!
Woohoo! I’m so glad you love it 😀 Thanks for DIYing with me!
This was a real crowd pleaser! Everyone loved the citrus fragrance and the creamy texture. But it was so soft that I kept it in the fridge because I was afraid it would melt in a puddle. I will try a new, firmer Shea butter next time as mentioned by another Southern Californian who also used Nature’s Oil. Now to my question: what would cause it to turn yellow In a few weeks? I haven’t gotten feedback from 3 of the 4 people I gave some to. If it only happened with one, I’m going with contamination by the user. Has anyone else experienced this? I didn’t keep any for myself.
I’m so glad everyone in enjoying it! Regarding the colour change—is it only where the butter contacts the air? If that’s the case I would suspect something is oxidizing.
Hi,
This looks fab, could this recipe also be used on the face?
If your face likes it, sure 🙂 I wouldn’t as I don’t like things that thick on my face.
Hi Marie, would this melt in warm weather or does the isopropyl myristate stop that from happening?
Thanks as always!
I just wrote a whole FAQ on this that should answer your question 🙂
isopropyl myristate Does this have an odor? A review on Amazon complained about it. I like to make fragrance free products as much as possible so it matters to me. TIA
Good morning!
In my personal experience with buying Isopropyl Myristate from three different countries, it has a very mild scent. I find castor oil to have a stronger scent than IPM! And I used it in making perfumes any additional scent could cause a total failure. My suggestion would be to contact the supplier and ask if you are worried about their stock.
Thank you for answering my question.
Tried putting this recipe into a spreadsheet but the %’s add up to 100.5%. Can I just reduce the safflower oil by a smidge?
Hello Arthur!
Yup! That’s exactly what I did too!
Wow. This is amazing. I was very skeptical about being able to whip the shea butter in North Idaho in April, but it whipped right up! This was my first time trying IPM and it is kind of magical. I made 6x so that I could have a double batch for myself and 2 double batches to give away. Even with my skepticism on the shea butter, I just knew it would all work and it did! It’s lovely! Thank you.
Good afternoon Tamalita!
Isn’t IPM great? Thrilled you are enjoying it!
This is a question regarding formulation. I have a shea butter recipe that includes other oils and butters. It yields more than 50 g of product. I’m excited to try the isopropyl myristate liquid in my recipe. Is 10% the standard for any shea butter recipe? Or is there a ratio? For the sake of clarity, when I am making a recipe using beeswax, I use the ratio100ml oil : 17 grams wax to determine how much I’ll need for the recipe. Is there a similar process for determining the amount of isopropyl myristate liquid? Thanks in advance
Hey! You can learn more about isopropyl myristate (IPM) in the Humblebee & Me DIY Encyclopedia (https://www.humblebeeandme.com/diy-encyclopedia/)—including usage rates. Beyond what the recommended/safe usage rates are it is up to you to experiment to see what you like 🙂 Since it makes things feel less greasy, I usually find the greasier the other ingredients, the more isopropyl myristate (IPM) you may want in a formula.
I read all the comments and didn’t see anyone pose this question: I checked my shea butter before whipping and it felt smooth and non-grainy. Alas, after it whipped with the oil and IPM, i felt grit in the foam. I’m going to try the technique I use whenever shea goes grainy–re-melt. But I’m wondering if it will whip up again after freezing with the IPM in there?
Ok, I have the answer—if your shea wasn’t grainy but then you discovered it truly was AFTER adding IPM and oil, you can melt the whole shebang down, freeze it, then whip it and the texture is perfect. Yay!
Perfect! That’s pretty much what I was going to say 🙂 You definitely want to be gentle with the melting temperatures since the essential oils are already in there, but the melting point of this is pretty close to body temperature so there’s no need to get anything too warm to get it to a re-meltable texture. Thank you so much for sharing and DIYing with me!
Thanks! I hadn’t added EO, fortunately.
Parfait! 😀
Hi Marie,
If I want to add broad spectrum preservative to this butter.
Which preservative and can be used in what quantity and at which stage.
I don’t recommend adding one, but if you did it would need to be oil-soluble—phenonip is the first thing that comes to mind 🙂
Hi Marie. The link to isopropyl myristate is broken, but LotionCrafter.
Thanks for letting me know; I’ve fixed it!
HI! love your youtubes! Im a massage therapist and I make my own massage butter, I’d like to make this but I want to add in some other skin loving ingredients with it, like rose hips and/or pomegranate oil. How would that effect the overall fluffiness of end product? I’m also substituting with Camellia Seed oil instead of isopropyl myristate….I looked through all the comments and didn’t see anything pertaining to this.
thanks so much!!
Hey Katie! Have you read this post yet? I think it’ll answer most of your questions 🙂 Happy making!
Thanks for the recipe. I made it but it appears like I got too much oil into it. Any suggestions on how to “fix” that?
Is the oil seeping out? You could try whipping in more butter or perhaps try whipping in some starch 🙂
Hi, Marie- I made this recipe today, but it still feels a bit greasy for my liking. Could I just add a little more isopropyl myristate or what would you suggest! Thanks!!! Shelley
Hi Marie!
If I add extracts to the final phase, do I need to add a preservative and emulsifier? I would like to add two plant extracts, not essential oils. If I need an emulsifier, would sunflower lecithin be a good choice? I want to stay as natural as possible.
Thank you for the wealth of information! 🙂
It depends on the solubility of your extracts. I have a couple FAQs on related topics—please head over to the FAQ and do some reading 🙂 There’s tons of great stuff in there!
No question here. I just wanted to tell you that I found you through your Youtube channel and I just love your content and your personality. I am learning alot from you. This week I watched your video about perservatives and really, really enjoyed it. Wishing you continued success!!!
Thank you so much, Dena! ❤️
Hey Marie! I made this and was a bit disappointed because it turned out really heavy and greasy. What did I do wrong? The first go at whipping it was super grainy, so I melted it and froze it, then brought it back to room temperature and whipped it. That fixed the graininess, but boy was it heavy and cloggy. Plus really left an oily residue on the skin. Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated! I used refined shea butter, safflower oil, isopropyl myristate, and just sweet orange essential oil for the fragrance.
Hi Anne! I highly recommend you read this post and watch the partner video; I suspect the issue here may be expectations 🙂 Happy making!
Hi Marie, I love that this is an all natural formulation! Could the isopropyl myristate be substituted with Neossance Hemisqualene?
Yup!
Hi Marie,
I love watching you and making my own self care products. I am new to this. So, in this recipe you didn’t heat any of the butters or anything. My question is at what phase do I add IPM if I am heating my butters and oils? Also, can I use IPM along with kaolin clay and tapioca starch? Is that too much?
can i add almond oil instead of safflower oil???