Back in 2019 when, you know, we could never have dreamed a pandemic and recession were knocking at the door, essential oils had begun to spur my interest. I purchased Julia Lawless’ The Encyclopedia of Essential Oils, and begun to do some research; this book is insane - it outlines hundreds of essential oils and explainS their origin, distillation process and uses. You can even search by ailment to find the oils you need!

Needless to say, I was hooked pretty quickly, and I started falling in love with oils using just a beginner selection; lavender (which I promptly began to just pour all over my life), frankincense (out of biblical curiosity) and cedar wood (the smell of my childhood in Kenya). To start with I would drop a few of these yummy scents into my bath tub with a handful of Epsom salts or diffuse them to make my bedroom smell exotic and delicious. Then I wanted more. I did more reading; scrolling through the various blogs and diving deeper into my essential oils bible and I purchased a few more delights for my collection; rosehip, super moisturising jojoba oil and shea butter from which I planned to make my own body butter.

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Full disclosure; my first attempt at this body butter was actually a disaster! I ended up with some kind rock solid, brown stuff that I had to scrape out with my nails to get at. I know, yuck! But then I refined it and created (honestly I’m pretty proud of this so I’m to go ahead and capitalise it) MY OWN DIY BODY BUTTER that was soft, fluffy, super moisturising and smells amazing!

And so, without further ado here’s how I went about it…

DIY BODY BUTTER RECIPE

INGREDIANTS

Half cup Shea Butter

Quarter cup Jojoba oil (you can use coconut oil if you’d like)

4 teaspoons Arrowroot Powder

15 drops Rosehip

15 drops Lavender 

5 drops Frankincense

5 drops Cedarwood

Some notes on these oils

The shea butter forms the base of this body butter recipe. You can also use coco butter but I found the scent a bit too rich for my liking. 

Jojoba oil is extremely nourishing for the skin, so aside from this recipe go ahead and pour it freely into your bath tub with some Epsom salts and rub all over your life at every opportunity.

Rosehip: don’t be deceived, Rosehip doesn’t smell like a rose - for that you want Damask Rose, which is a different oil with an intense floral aroma. Rosehip is extremely hydrating; great for dry skin so don’t skip it.

Lavender is a very versatile oil which not only smells incredible, but offers an immediate and noticeable effect on the Parasympathetic nervous system (your rest and digest response). If you’re new to lavender oil then prepare to have your mind blown. I diffuse it, I rub on my temples and wrists to ward off headaches and drop it onto my pillow at night to help me sleep. Big fan!

Frankincense: this lesser-known oil is distilled from the gum of the tree and has excellent skin healing properties. Great for blemishes, scars and wrinkles. 

Cedar wood: there are a few different kinds of cedar tree from which this oil is extracted and it’s worth buying from a local tree source. Cedar wood has antiseptic properties and is excellent for acne and greasy skin.

METHOD

1. Combine the Shea Butter and Jojoba oil in a bowl using an electric whisk. The electric whisk is very important here because the longer you whip it the fluffier and brighter it is. Whisking by hand is where I went wrong on my first attempt!

2. Whip until fluffy and light and add arrowroot powder a little at a time, whisking as you go. The arrowroot powder takes away some of the oiliness. 

3. Add the remaining oils and whisk whisk whisk until you are happy with the consistency. It should be light, bright and fluffy by now. 

4. Decant into a clean glass jar and keep away from the sunlight. Use all over your body, all the time!

A NOTE ON OILINESS 

Don’t be put off by the oiliness of this body butter. A butter by nature is oily and it’s the oil that makes it so nutritious for your skin! The use of arrowroot powder does help to tone down the grease a little, but accept that you are whipping up a bunch of oils, so you’re going to make an oily butter. It’s just science. 

If you love high quality aromatic oils and natural skincare as much as I do then you are also going to fall in love with Green People, who are a UK-based company using naturally and ethically sourced ingredients to make high quality skin care products. I just love them!

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