First body butter! *Now with tutorial*

[Samsara]

I made my first body butter today!!

It was so easy! I combined 3 parts cocoa butter to 4 parts coconut oil, melted them together and added some vanilla oil for fragrance. It's just set and smells gorgeous! It makes my skin feel lovely and soft too! 

[bethntim]

That looks good enough to eat, I bet the smell is heavenly!  What kind of conatiner is it in and does it have to be airtight?  I'm still a newbie to the whole melt and pour thing and I'm always afraid of melting the containers!  Also, being a newb, where did you get your supplies?
Fantastic job by the way!
~Beth

[Samsara]

Thanks! I made this from some cocoa butter I got from eBay, and the coconut oil was from an Indian greengrocer type shop. The kind that sells all sorts of ethnic foodstuffs and is piled from floor to ceiling. I didn't spot it at first, but the shopkeeper asked what I was looking for and pointed me to it! The tub is a body shop body butter tub. I save them when I get them and reuse them for various things. I melted it all on a low setting in my microwave in a Pyrex bowl. I added the essential oils after I melted everything else, so that the fragrance wouldn't dissapate.  I don't think the plastic pot would survive being 'nuked' in the microwave. The pot has a screw on lid with it.

[soleilandjune]

You make it sound so easy 

Do you think perfume oil or fragrance oil would work as well as essential oil? If I bought some oils from the Body shop and put it in the body butter, would it be gross?

[Samsara]

You make it sound so easy 

It was easy! Just don't boil the oil and butter. I don't see why perfume oil wouldn't work. Make sure that it's the stuff that can go on your skin though. I don't think the room fragrance stuff would be too good for you.   
Have a go! I melted mine in a pyrex dish and transfered it to a plastic tub - I was going to let it cool/solidify naturally, but I got too impatient and popped it in the fridge *lol*

[soleilandjune]

Would it be too much to ask for a semi-tutorial? (e.g. how much is 3 parts cocoa butter)

[Samsara]

No, that's fine. I made it easy for myself and decided that 3 parts = 3 oz and 4 parts = 4 oz. If that's wrong, somebody let me know coz maths isn't my strongest point 

You will need: 3 oz cocoa butter, 4 oz coconut oil, vanilla essential oil, heatproof bowl, lidded jar, microwave (or cooker), scales.

1. Find a heatproof container. I used a pyrex bowl so it could go in the microwave, I suppose you could also use a saucepan and do it on the cooker.

2. Measure the oils into the bowl. Cocoa butter is normally solid whilst coconut oil is sort of semi solid.

3. Melt them on a very low heat so that they melt but don't boil.

4. When both oils are liquid, add the scent you want to use (I I used vanilla essential oil) and give it a stir to disperse the oil.

5. Pour the melted oil into a lidded container. I used an old Body Shop body butter container as it has a screw on lid.

6. Allow to cool and solidify. I speeded this process up by popping it in the fridge.


That's it! 

[goldencrafter]

An added note for first timers. Make sure that the fragrance oil does not contain alcohol or it wont mix in, it will just sit in the surface no matter how much you stir. 

[supergingergenius]

ooooo!!! that looks so yummy -- your tutorial makes it all so simple, i may have to have a go at it 

[Samsara]

It's probably one of the easiest things you'll ever do! I can't believe it took me so long to get around to doing it! When you consider a Body Shop tub of body butter costs around £4-5 for the same size....