How To Make Whipped Body Butter

Playing with cocoa butter and different oils to find the lightest, airiest whipped body butter has been great fun, and all of you wonderful ladies who tested and provided feedback during this 'butter' series can take a bow. Thank you! You all deserve applause! But, on this – my one year blog-a-versary day – I have some news.

I recently had a shocking realization....

The Shocking Realization

Going over my production notes, I added up the time it takes to make this product – then I gasped (and nearly fell off my chair).

If I were to price it so my time was covered, this simple, 3-ingredient body butter would be so gosh darn expensive that anyone seeing the price would probably become woozy and need smelling salts followed by cool liquids to calm their nerves. Compared to the modest price of the ingredients, it just didn't make sense. So I made a firm decision...

The Firm Decision

At the risk of causing health issues, fainting and other uncomfortable reactions, I decided to never sell the Whipped Bare Basic Body Butter with Cocoa Butter – to anyone – EVER!

But Lise, we want body butter! We demand body butter!
(I hear you saying loudly and stamping your feet)

Oh all right then, stop stamping your feet. You helped develop this product, and today is my blog-a-versary, so here it is...

Just For You

I'm going to show you exactly how to make the Whipped Bare Basic Body Butter With Cocoa Butter yourself. Then you can use the oils you prefer and add the scent you prefer (or have no added scent) and make this body butter 100% your own, melt-in, skin-loving body-buttery creation.

Roll up Your Sleeves! 

Prepare to dazzle yourself, your friends and your family with your amazing whipped body-butter making abilities!

This is a portion of 150 ml (approx 5 oz) and should last you an entire season (maybe even half a year, depending on how much you normally use).

You will need the following ingredients:

60 gr (2,11 oz) cocoa butter
85 gr (3,04 oz) oil (thistle, hazelnut, almond, apricot or a mix of these)
12 drops e-vitamin
5-6 drops essential oil of your choice (optional)

And the following equipment:

Latex gloves (recommended)
Thermometer (necessary)
Measuring equipment (for oil)
Scale (for weighing out the cocoa butter)
Large-mouthed beaker or other heat-proof glass container (for melting and mixing)
A sturdy, stable mixer (for.. well, heck, you know that one)
Spatula (for transferring the mixture to the plastic bag)
Plastic bag (for piping the mixture)
Containers (for your body butter)

Preparing Everything

Be sure your work area, measuring equipment, whipping blades for the mixer, and containers are all clean. Equipment that cannot be sterilized by boiling should be sterilized with alcohol.

1. Measure 

Measure out the cocoa butter as precisely as possible. (I have a scale that measures in increments of a tenth of a gram, so the pictured portion is a tenth of a gram short of 60gr).

2. Melt

Transfer the cocoa butter to your heat-proof glass container and melt ever so slowly over VERY LOW heat.

3. Monitor 

Keep the temperature under 35° C (95° F). The butter here is almost melted and the temp measures 32° C. Remove it from the heat at this point and stir gently until it has melted completely.

(If you prefer to melt over a bain marie/double boiler, be careful to keep the melting butter completely out of contact with any water or steam droplets. It is the complete ABSENCE of water in this product that makes it unnecessary to add preservatives).

4. Weigh the oil 

To weigh an oil, place a container on a scale and set to 0, add oil until your desired weight is reached.

5. Add Oil and E-Vitamin

Add the oil and e-vitamin to the cocoa butter. At this point everything looks like it's all the same ingredient, but the magic will start soon.

6. Chill and Whip Phase

This phase requires a bit of attention and monitoring. If you want a super-light, delicate, melt-in quality, you will need to babysit the mixture.
Chill the mixture to 19° C (66°F) and whip for 2 minutes.

7. Chill the mixture a bit more – to 17° C (62°F)

Whip again for 2 minutes. The color of the mixture will become lighter as you progress through the whip-and-chill phase.

8. Chill - Whip - Add Scent

Chill the mixture to 15° C (59° F). If you want to add scent, now is the time to add 4-5 drops essential oil. Whip continuously until the mixture has a light and fluffy whipped-cream-like texture (this can take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes depending on the temperature and humidity of the room you are working in). Check the temperature of the product periodically. If the mixture gets too warm, chill it again and continue whipping until your desired texture is achieved.

9. Prepare To Transfer

Note: Speed is of the essence for the next 2 steps. Transfer the mixture to a plastic bag and quickly work the mixture down so you can pipe the whipped butter out of one corner.

10. Transfer

Have your final container(s) ready. Snip the corner off of the bag and quickly pipe the butter into the container(s). Try not to handle the bag longer than necessary as the heat of your hands will start to melt the mixture (remember this body butter literally melts upon skin contact).

11. Let set at room temperature

Depending on the climate you are in, this process can take up to 24 hours. (I made this during a relatively warm summer day and it took the full 24 hours to set). Do not be tempted to let the mixture set in the refrigerator – unless you want a stiffer butter (which would pretty much ruin all the work and babysitting you put into the chill-and-whip phase).

12. Enjoy Your Melt-in, Deliciously Fabulous Whipped Body Butter

After all that hard work, you totally deserve it!
And now that you've made it, find 10 different uses for your body butter right here.