Mar 21, 2012 >> Petunia Essentials Body Butter Recipe

This week, Mylynda Moore of Petunia Essentials welcomed G&F into her home to try our hand at making some of her sinfully sweet body butter. She’s sharing a simple recipe with us plus her need-to-know tips for making a perfect batch.

SIMPLE BODY BUTTER RECIPE
65 grams of water // 25 grams of butter/oil // 7 grams of emulsifier // 2 grams of fragrance // 1 gram of preservative

Combine the butter, oil and emulsifier in one bowl.  Heat the water and oil separately until both reach approximately 160⁰ F.  Keep both at 160⁰F for 15 to 20 minutes.  Replace any evaporated water.  Combine the heated water and heated oil in one bowl and mix vigorously (with an electronic mixer) for at least 15 minutes.  Mix as often as you like as the mixture cools.  Once cooled, add fragrance and preservative.  Mix well.  Let the mixture cool to room temperature and spoon into jars.

Some tips from Mylynda: 

This recipe is super simple for a reason. It gives you the chance to be creative!  Experiment with the butters and oils to make it special. Try using Mango Butter which has Vitamins A, B and C or Coconut oil which contains ferulic acid, an even greater anti-oxidant than Vitamin E!  Don’t like a greasy feeling oil? try Hazelnut Oil. Need a humectant? Use Olive Oil. There’s no bad choice and experimenting is half the fun!

What’s an emulsifier, you ask?  Good question. An emulsifier is a chemical additive that keeps the water and oil from separating. Don’t skip this step! Without it, your body butter will separate leaving an unusable mess. You can find several different options at your local health food store and online.

The fragrance is where you can really shine.  The butter and oils do all the work, but the fragrance can steal the show!  Create your own scent blends using fragrance oils and essentials oils.  Citrus scents are invigorating, lavender is a calming favorite and floral blends can be sweet and flirty.

Lastly, but most importantly, is the preservative.  Preservatives are absolutely necessary to keep bacteria, fungus and mold from growing in your butter!  Trust me, I’ve seen it happen!  No one wants things growing in their body butter, so do the right thing and add the preservative.

Creating your own body butter is exciting!  Remember to be patient and have fun.  Once you’ve gotten this simple butter down, jazz up that recipe a little.  Trade out some of the water for a hydrosol, humectant or even a silk protein!  Or swap out a little of the oil for a nice thickener.  With some time and effort, you can make a great butter that will amaze your friends and family.  Happy mixing!

Find out more on PetuniaEssentials.com.