Recently, I started making my own lotion.

The reason for this is twofold. First, I thought I could save some money since I like to slather on ridiculous amounts. And second, I’ve read a lot about all the junk that is in lotion, and it makes me nervous.

So, I did what any serious researcher does. I searched Pinterest. Obviously.

Now, I found a TON of recipes. I sifted through all of those recipes, nixed those that seemed too intensive and expensive, and combined the best recipes to come up with my own whipped body butter lotion.

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 Cup of Raw, Unrefined Shea Butter (I bought mine at Wegman’s) (you could use Cocoa Butter, but the husband was at Wegman’s and I knew they had Shea Butter, so I went with Shea)

1/2 Cup of Unrefined Coconut Oil (I always have a LARGE tub of this— Costco usually has it)

1/2 Cup of a mild Olive Oil (a lot of recipes suggested Jojoba Oil, but again, I went with what I had)

OPTIONAL: An essential oil to make the body butter smell lovely. I did not use any essential oils, but if you do make sure you choose one that is suitable for skin contact…

UPDATE: I just recently purchased some awesome essential oils from Young Living Oils from an sweet friend. If you are interested in learning about essential oils she is super sweet, super knowledgeable, and super patient (if you know me, you know I’m indecisive, which can be a little tiring…), contact Kate. I am going to put a drop or two in my cream. I’ll update about my thoughts about essential oils, but I have heard great things so far.

Here’s What You’ll Do:

1. Put all the Shea Butter and Coconut Oil in a Double Boiler until it melts and is in liquid form (that was redundant wasn’t it?).

Here are the ingredients in the double boiler

Double Boiler: Pot with water in it with a glass bowl on top… make sure the water does not touch the glass bowl

2. Stir in the Olive Oil

3. Place the mixture in the refrigerator or outside if it’s cold.

Solidified.

4. Once the mixture has solidified, place in stand mixer, and WHIP IT. It will look delicious like icing, but it won’t taste like buttercream.

Totally looks like buttercream icing, right?

5. Place it in a jar and slather it on!

Tips and Notes:

The body butter is great. My husband uses it, my kids use it, and I use it. We usually use it at night because it is a little greasy and I don’t want to run the risk of it putting an oil mark on our clothes—PJs? who cares! I’ve haven’t noticed any stains, but our skin is quite soft!

The body butter is stable at room temperature. I keep it sitting on my dresser, and it has kept it’s whipped form. I would assume there is a shelf date on the body butter just like there are shelf dates on oil, but I’ve never had Olive Oil or Coconut Oil sitting around long enough to discover it has gone rancid…