Photo courtesy of sunshinecity

Body Butter Recipes

Make your own aromatherapy body butter with these yummy shea body butter recipes

Why? They're deeply moisturizing and healing, rich in vitamins, minerals and emollients (skin softeners.)

Natural body butters lock in moisture by forming a protective barrier on your skin, so it stays hydrated much longer than with an average lotion. Great for people with dry, cracked skin, eczema, psoriasis and chapped, windburned skin.

Also, super-fun to play with in couples massage - check out the Vanilla Cream Lotion Bar or the Massage Oil Candles.

To learn how to make body butter, just click on the links to head straight into the recipes... Or scroll down to learn more about the different types of body butter and their healing powers. (The recipes will also be available at the end of the page.)

Sparkling Citrus Body Butter

Vanilla Cream Massage Oil Lotion Bar

Eat Your Vitamins (Or Wear Them!)

Body butters are rich in essential Omega 3 fats, which moisturize the skin and help calm inflammation. Body butters also have high levels of antioxidants such as Vitamin C, E and A, which help reduce age-related skin damage.

Choosing the Best Body Butter

Shea Butter (a.k.a. Karite Butter)

• Shea butter is rich in essential fatty acids and atioxidant vitamins A and E - important for improving elasticity and fighting free radical damage.
• Rich in cinnamic acid, which helps protect the skin from UV rays.
• Helps heal burns, sores, scars, eczema, psoriasis, dandruff and stretch marks.
• Helps reduce wrinkles by moisturizing the skin and boosting cell regeneration and circulation.
• Unrefined shea butter keeps all its natural vitamins, but the smell can be a bit strong (it disappears within minutes of being applied to your skin.) You can also buy refined shea butter (which doesn't smell,) although the refining process reduces the vitamins.
• Not recommended for people with nut or latex allergies.
• Learn more or buy shea butter at Mountain Rose Herbs

• Reduces symptoms of dermatitis and asthma by slowing production of immuno globulin IgE (which aggravates skin problems and asthma.)
• Creates a protective barrier between skin and the environment, and also helps retain moisture. Especially good for sun and wind damage.
• Research shows that massage preparations using cocoa butter help relieve stress, boost the immune system, and even prevent cancer.
• Helps reduce wrinkles and stretch marks by moisturizing the skin and boosting cell regeneration and circulation.
• Learn more or buy cocoa butter at Mountain Rose Herbs

• A relatively hard butter that doesn't work well on its own, although it does disperse evenly onto the skin once it's warmed up.
• Recommended by Dermatologists for redcuing wrinkles; most people notice the disappearance of lines after 4 to 6 weeks of daily use.
• Protects against UV radiation.
• Soothing and moisturizing. Good for healing eczema, rashes, bug bites, sunburn, frostbite, cracked skin, stretch marks... the list goes on!
• Learn more or buy mango butter at Mountain Rose Herbs

A Super Source for Organic Body Butter

Shea Body Butter with shea and mango butter, kukui nut oil and a sweet, natural tropical scent. Amazing!	Organic Facial Butterwith almond, shea and mowrah butters, plus carrot seed essential oil to fix rough skin patches and blotches. Great for winter!
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African American Body Butter with shea, mowrah, kokum and illipe butters (super-hydrating!) plus essential oils to erase wrinkles.	Shea Butter Lip Balm with hydrating butters and oils to heal and nourish the delicate skin of your lips. SPF 15.

If you're looking for skin care help for eczema and psoriasis, they also have some excellent information and products to take care of it.

What Next?

How to Find More Aromatherapy Recipes

For example, to find shea butter recipes, type in "shea butter" (without the quotes) and hit Search. Every page on this website that includes the words Shea Butter will pop up. Poke through them and decide what recipe to try next.