Easy Luxurious Homemade Shea Butter Lotion Recipe--Non Greasy (2024)

This simple homemade shea butter lotion recipe needs only 3 ingredients and is the perfect creamy moisturizing solution for your whole body (and your face too). It’s non-greasy, frugal, super nourishing, and can be even used for acne-prone skin.

You’re going to love how easy it is to whip up this creamy body butter in no time and you’ll also love how great your skin feels and looks!

Why Make Your Own Homemade BodyLotion?

Store-boughtlotionsoften have lots ofingredientsthat aren’t so lovely, if you know what I mean. When you make your ownlotion, you control theingredientsand can make astellar lotionwithout added synthetics that simply aren’t the best for your health.

Part of the problem is that most store-boughtlotioncontains water, which necessitates adding in preservatives, something I prefer to avoid if at all possible.

Sample Label for a Standard Store-bought Lotion

Here’s a label of a popular moisturizer that, though priced attractively, has some not so pretty ingredients.

Basically, this moisturizer consists of a small amount of natural ingredients with large amounts of water, emulsifiers, penetration enhancers, and preservatives. No bueno.

Also, add to that mix quite a bit of pesticides that are almost for sure included as well because the ingredients aren’t organic.

I mean really–what are the natural ingredients on the above label?

Basically water and oat flour, plus glycerin is considered to be natural by most people.

Now, glycerin is a wonderfully emollient by-product of soap making. However, many companies use diethylene glycol, a petroleum based chemical, to derive glycerin. There’s no way to know how the glycerin for this product was produced, however, since companies are not required by law to share this information.

So basically you might be putting petroleum linked glycerin on your skin. No thanks.

You can check out the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database.to see more The EWG even offers an excellent wallet size Shopper’s Guide to Safe Cosmetics.

To get away from all of this, you can buy better quality, truly clean products, or you can make your own.

And that’s where this homemade whipped body butter comes in.

What isShea Butter?

Shea butterisfat that comes from the nuts of the shea (otherwise known as karite, nku, and bambuk) tree. Shea trees are found in the equatorial belt of central Africa in the area between Sudan and Gambia.

This rich nut fat is solid at warm temperatures but melts on contact with your skin. Unrefinedshea butteris off white naturally, but it sometimes colored with a light yellow tint for marketing purposes.

Benefits ofShea Butter

Shea butterhad many benefits for skin, making it a great main component of homemadelotionand body butter. It contains anti-inflammatories and antioxidants, and has quite a bit of bothvitaminA andvitaminE, making it a skincare powerhouse.

ThevitaminE inshea butteris alpha tocopherol, which has the highest antioxidant activity of all eight forms ofvitaminE.VitaminE is found in your skin’s sebum, but as you age, your skin produces less of it, so using alotionrecipewithshea buttercan be especially beneficial for aging skin.

Shea butteris also rich in omega 3fatty acids, with the main constituents beingpalmitic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic acid.

Ingredientsand Tools You’ll Need

Here’s a short list of what you’ll need to make thisDIYshea butterlotionrecipe. For the amounts and fullinstructions, head to therecipecard at the end of this post.

hand mixerorstand mixer
mixingbowl
mason jarsor other containers (glass preferred)
shea butter(I recommend raw organic shea)
anothercarrier oil
arrowroot powder(optional, but recommended)
essential oils(optional, but recommended)
vitamin E oil(optional, but recommended for more benefits and preservative action)

Essential Oil Options for ThisHomemade Body Butter

As with other homemade skincare products, you can addessential oilsto make this homemadelotionwith varyingscentsand add additional benefits to your finished product.

Here are some optional oils to consider adding.

• Frankincense
• Carrot Seed
• Rose
• Clary Sage
• Lavender
• Neroli
• Sandalwood
• Tea Tree
• Roman Chamomile
• Yarrow
• Geranium
• Jasmine
• Rosemary

Note that whilecitrus oilsdo have benefits for skin, you’ll want to avoid exposure todirect sunlightat least for several hours if you use alotionorcreamthat has them in it since citrus oilsmake the skin photosensitive.

Also, if making thisfor children, you’ll want to use lessessential oil.

Important Tip to Make ThisWhipped Body Butter Recipe Non Greasy

If you’re not a fan of greasy bodylotions(and ummm…who is?), you’re going to love this part.

The simple step of adding humblearrowroot powdercreates a non-greasylotionfor both your body and face. Yes, it’s that simple.

The reason?

Arrowroot is a great oil absorber. It’s often used for removing oil stains from clothing and it’s also a greatingredientinDIYdry shampoo. In fact, in our house we often use arrowroot on its own as a super quick, “I didn’t have time to wash my hair” fix. It works.

Arrowroot absorbs some of the oil in thisrecipefor aDIYlotionthat is the perfect consistency and the perfect non-greasytreatfor your skin.

While arrowroot is the starch I like to use for this purpose, you can also usecornstarchortapioca starchand get just basically the same result.

What Shea Butter Is Best for This Body Butter?

There are a lot of shea butter options on the market, but this one is a great value while still being very good quality.

FAQs

Can you substitute other butters for some of theshea butter?

Yes, you can make body butter with a combination of various plant butters like mango butter and cocoa butter.

Combiningshea buttertogether with other butters will produce alotionwith additional benefits for your skin. Just make sure to reduce the amount ofshea butterby the amount of the other butter you add to keep the ratios correct.

For example, if you choose to add a 1/4 cupcocoa butterto therecipe, reduce theshea butterby 1/4 cup.

Can you add beeswax to this homemadelotionrecipe?

Yes, you can and here’s why it’s a great idea to do just that.

Beeswax helps seal everything in. Just like it’s a great coating for makingDIYcling wrap, it’s great for sealing in your skin to prevent evaporation ofmoisture. By doing so, the deeper layers of your skin can replenish theirmoisturemore easily.

You can add about 25 grams of beeswax per cup of butter and other oils in yourhomemade body butterrecipe.

What’s theshelf lifeofDIYshea butter lotion?

This lotion should last at least 6 months, however with the added optional essential oils and vitamin E, you might find yours lasting longer than that.

What’s the difference between unrefined and refinedshea butter?

Refinedshea butteris heated at a high temperature and sometimes even treated with chemical like hexane. It’s white due to the refining process.

Do note that unrefinedshea butteris a bit grainy, but it becomes smooth soon as it’s applied to the skin.

Refining also removes theshea buttersmell that some love, while others do not.

I prefer to use unrefinedshea butterdue to the added benefits. I’d like to get all of those benefits on my skin, thank you!

Doesshea butterclogpores/ causeacne?

There are mixed opinions on this with some saying thatshea butteris comedogenic and others saying that it is not. I personally, after reading the opinions on this, I think that it’s likely that you can useshea butterand alotionorcreammade fromshea butteron your face without concern, but of course you will have to try it for yourself.

Whatcarrier oilis best for thisDIYlotion?

There are lots of options that make greatcarrier oilsfor thisrecipeincluding palm oil orcoconut oilorliquid oilslikeolive oil,fractionatedcoconut oil, and almond oil.Here are some of the best options to include in this recipe.

Jojoba Oil:Jojoba is said to be the closest carrier oil to our skin’s oil, making it an ideal carrier oil. It is anti-inflammatory with Vitamin E and B-complex vitamins that help with skin repair.

Grapeseed Oil:This oil has high amounts offatty acids,vitaminE, and also has antibacterial properties. The combination of Vitamin E and proanthocyanidins in grapeseed oil help skin produce collagen and improve skin tone.

Sweet Almond Oil:Sweet almond oil is rich in vitamins (including A, and E), minerals, fatty acids, and antioxidants. It’s known for helping to address scars and wrinkles.

Apricot Kernel Oil: This oil is known to nourish the skin and decrease the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It boosts radiance and helps with skin tone. It also has antiseptic, antibacterial, and antioxidant effects, all of which can help to heal blemishes which will help your skin barrier do its job to protect against environmental stressors like weather and pollution.

Coconut oil:This is a great option, but it’s important to note that coconut oilis known to be comedogenic so while coconut oilin a body butter is a fantastic idea, but it’s best for you not to use it on your face.

More Non Toxic Personal CareRecipes

Here are some other great homemade personal care product recipes to help you clean up your beauty routine.

Homemade Hairspray – works great for a natural hold with no toxins
Homemade Sugar Scrub – get spa treatment on the cheap with this lovely scrub
Homemade Tooth Powder – a nice flouride-free option for clean teeth
Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse – truly a great alternative for conditioner!
DIYHair Masks – lots of great options to nourish your hair with things you have in your pantry!

Moving away from synthetic moisturizing products is not an easy process. Finding the best combination of ingredients may involve some trial and error.

But the effort is well worth it.

Have you ever made your own homemade lotion?
I’d love to hear how it went!

Note – This post was originally published in Sept 2013 and was completely rewritten with new images added. The original recipe was from Andrea Fabry, and the image of the mixer is hers.