Dry skin is something that drives me crazy but putting chemicals on my skin is something I’m not willing to do to moisturize it. I’ve been on the hunt for a homemade moisturizer for quite a while. I’ve tried several recipes and techniques; some have been super oily and didn’t absorb well, others had water so were lighter but went rancid quickly. I’m so happy to have found a body butter that isn’t oily and doesn’t have water in it.
I found the recipe in Chris Dalziel’s new book The Beeswax Workshop. I tweaked the recipe just a bit and asked Chris if I could share it with you. She’s super sweet and, of course, said yes. This book is pretty amazing and I’ll share a bit more about it after the recipe.
Ingredients in Homemade Body Butter
Sweet Almond or Olive Oil, either of these oils is good for any skin type. Sweet almond oil is a drier oil, so I prefer to use sweet almond oil.
Shea Butter is super emollient and used to treat damaged and dry skin. It is naturally rich in Vitamin A and E, has some essential fatty acids and offers low level sun protection.
Beeswax has anti microbial properties and helps seal in the moisture on your skin. It will also help firm up the body butter so you don’t have an oily mess.
Vitamin E acts as an oil preserver and helps the body butter from going rancid.
Calendula is a herb (flower) that is widely used in skin care. It’s soothing and healing. You’re going to infuse the almond oil with the calendula. Here’s how to infuse oil, if you’ve never done that before.
Lavender essential oil is skin healing oil that is also an extremely safe oil. Lavender oil is often used to treat blemishes and to counter sun damage.
Myrrh essential oil is a great addition to a body butter for those of us who are a little more “mature”. It helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and helps heal sun damaged skin. Chris’ recipe used marjoram oil but I chose to use myrrh oil instead, mainly because I didn’t have marjoram oil but had myrrh oil.
Over the years I’ve used a lot of different brands of essential oils. I’m now in the process of just using Rocky Mountain Oils. They have quality oils and make each batches GC/MS test results available, they also practice environmental sustainability in harvesting, packaging, and recycling. These are things that are important to me.
DIY Body Butter
Materials
- 4 tbsp calendula infused sweet almond oil
- 4 tbsp shea butter
- 4 tbsp beeswax
- 1/2 tsp Vitamin E
- 50 drops myrrh essential oil
- 30 drops lavender essential oil
Instructions
- Make a double boiler by putting a couple of inches of water in a pan and then putting the mason jar in the pan.
- Put 4 tbsp of the calendula infused almond oil in a half pint size mason jar.
- Add the shea butter and the beeswax. Gently heat the water and stir the oils until the beeswax and shea butter are melted.
- Once they’re melted, turn off the heat and let it cool.
- After it cooled and is lukewarm, stir in the Vitamin E and the essential oils.
- Stir well. You can whip the body butter with an immersion blender.
The Beeswax Workshop
When I found out that Chris of Joybilee Farm was writing a beeswax recipe book I was really excited. However, I had no clue it would have as many recipes in it a it does. I started stalking her on Instagram when I saw that she was sharing photos of the products and I was amazed at the simplicity and the creativity that she shares.
In The Beeswax Workshop you’ll find recipes for body care products, home and garden products, and craft products. With over 80 recipes there really is something for everyone. All the recipes use beeswax either as the primary ingredient or a supporting ingredient and all the other ingredients are natural, non-toxic ingredients that you can probably find in your local grocery or health food store.
If you’ve ever visited Joybilee Farm you know that Chris is a very thorough researcher and communicator. So her beeswax recipe book is not just a book of recipes, it’s full of information about bees, beeswax and each of the ingredients. Chris is a teacher at heart and it shoes in her writing.
I do wish the book had color photos but that would certainly make it out of my price range as I’m sure it would price others out too.
I was particularly impressed with the grafting balm for grafting trees and the bee swarm lure. I’ve been dabbling in dyeing fabric with natural dyes and can’t wait to try making batiks. As I perused the book I made a list of gifts I could make for others, items I could use in my home and garden, and projects I can do with my girls. Now for the hard part, deciding which one to do next.
Do you make your own body butters? If so, feel free to leave any tips in the comments.
Sheila Johnson
Monday 15th of July 2019
Thank you for your great advice, It has helped me so much. I am trying your body butter next. May God bless you.
Sheila Johnson
Sunday 14th of July 2019
Hi! I really need your advice. I keep hearing about preservatives. Do I need one in my face cream? I need to know how long your beeswax lotion will last. I have such terrible rosacea, dry, sensitive skin. I have a beeswax cream similar to yours and I use Aloe Vera gel in it. Does that need a Preservative? I really want the calendula and beeswax, aloe Vera gel would be nice, but I would leave it out if I could go preservative free. I really am kinda uncertain what to do . Please help. Would leaving my cream in the fridge be necessary to protect it without Preservative? The cream texture changes some what in fridge.I don't use water in my cream. The ingredients are calendula infused in olive oil with vit e added, beeswax, aloe Vera gel, and almond oil. Please email me
Angi Schneider
Monday 15th of July 2019
Hi Sheila,
Aloe vera gel has water in it so if you don't put it in the refrigerator you need some kind of preservative OR just make it in small batches. I don't use aloe vera in mine but my daughter makes a sunburn lotion that has aloe vera in it and we keep that in the refrigerator. And it does change the texture about. I'm glad you've found something that works for you and I think that if you are diligent about throwing away the lotion when the smell starts to change - rancid oil has a very distinct scent - you'll be fine. Try making it in smaller batches each week and see if that works. Hope this helps.