I have really dry skin, guys. Like, some days I have an internal struggle about whether I should bathe because it will dry out my skin (gross). Body butters have been essential to combat this issue for a long time, but I always got them at the store. When I started making bath bombs, I didn't really intend to start making other things too, but every source I found to help fine-tune my bath bomb recipe also featured myriad other products.
And the body butters? Oh my, they all look SO dreamy. They look deceptively edible, though I would recommend controlling the impulse to eat them. I decided to try making my own.
I admit that I have a tendency to "go off script" when it comes to making things; my body butter recipe is no different. Instead of reading a recipe and following it, I try to first have an understanding of the components. What is the purpose of each ingredient? If I substitute something else, how will it affect the end result? How can I simplify this? And, if I am going to make something myself, how can I make it better for me than what I can get at the store?
So I tried a bunch of stuff. Like my initial batches of bath bombs, there were some fairly embarrassing failures. But, I think I have found a recipe that I LOVE, works really well, has few ingredients, and is exactly what I need.
Almost Edible Body Butter
Ingredients
Mango Butter (I used 16 oz. unrefined, get it here)
Coconut Oil (solid at room temp) (4 oz)
Almond Oil (1 oz)
Beeswax (2 Tbs)
Corn starch (2 Tbs)
Fragrance, if desired (to scent)
Mica, if desired
Ice
Equipment
Double Boiler (or saucepan and glass bowl)
Whisk
Stand Mixer (with a whisk attachment)
Large bowl (big enough so that the glass bowl fits inside with enough room to surround it with ice)
silicone spatula (I don't like waste)
Pastry bags and piping tips (if you really want people to think it's frosting)
Jars with wide necks and tight lids (so you can get all the way to the bottom)
Process
Fill your sauce pan or double boiler halfway with water, and add the mango butter to the bowl. Set your heat on high, and melt the mango butter.
Add the coconut oil and almond oil. Allow to melt.
Add the beeswax. Allow to melt
Remove from heat. Add ice to the large bowl, and put the bowl with the melted oils on/in the ice. This technique is common in making butter cream frosting; I appropriated it to use in making body butter. Whisk the oils as they cool.
Once the mixture starts looking golden yellow, you can add the corn starch. The corn starch isn't necessary, but I find it can help thicken and retain the structural integrity of the butter once complete. I find it also helps mitigate the greasiness.
To add the corn starch, remove a bit of the oil mixture and add it to the corn starch in a separate, small bowl, to create a "slurry". Once they are well combined, you can add the slurry to the bowl with the oils.
As your mixture cools, you can also add fragrance. Mango butter either has a mild fragrance or none at all, so masking odors isn't really an issue like it can be for cocoa or shea butter. I like smelling like a cupcake, though, so I added lemon and rum cake fragrance oils.
Once your butter mix starts looking lighter and more opaque, transfer it to the freezer. Check on it every two minutes and stir until the mixture is the consistency of cold canned soup and the color of whipped cream. Scoop it into the bowl for your stand mixer and whip on high. Your mixture should double to triple in volume and you should get soft peaks like you would if you were beating egg whites. The volumes above yielded me more than 36 oz of body butter.
Scoop into jars. If you want, and for the record, I always do, you can pipe some of the body butter on the top after you've filled the jar. It's a nice touch and it makes the butter feel fancy. Put the lids on the jars and store in a cool place. Your body butter will harden a bit overnight; so if it feels a little soft at this time, don't worry.
Not too complicated right? If you have questions, please feel free to leave a comment! Troubleshooting is one of my favorite things to do. Also, if you just want to get your hands on some scrumptious body butter without the work, you can buy it from my Etsy.