It may be spring, but my skin is staying horribly dry. I love products with cocoa butter, and since Illipe Nut Butter has a similar brittle texture, I decided to use it in a thick body butter.
My goal is a very moisturizing cream, something to chase away winter dry skin. In a milder climate, this cream would be the perfect product for feet, knees, and elbows. In my drier climate, it will be ideal to be applied all over my dry skin.
Turning to our technical support team members is always an ideal place to begin. Their years of experience helped me ensure the recipe would work. They recommended that I limited my oils to 20% and also add an extract to give the skin extra love. Calendula to the rescue! Tina also cautioned that the finished product would probably be oily but told me to go ahead and try it.
I looked for ingredients to complement Illipe Nut Butter’s emollient properties. Shea Butter is always a great choice to combat dry skin, and I could not resist using our newest variety, Handcrafted Shea Butter. Avocado Oil is a marvel of fatty acids, vitamins, and nutrients that are perfect for skin. Since Avocado Oil penetrates quickly, it does not feel greasy.
Join me in gathering up some supplies and making this body butter.
SUPPLIES: Distilled Water Illipe Nut Butter Handcrafted Shea Butter Avocado Oil Hydrovance Conditioning Emulsifier Stearic Acid Calendula Extract Liquid Germall Plus Fragrance, if desired Color, if desired |
EQUIPMENT: Scale Microwave-safe container Transfer Pipettes Plastic bag Small stick blender |
ILLIPE NUT BODY BUTTER RECIPE
100-gram Test Batch 66 gr Distilled Water 7 gr Illipe Nut Butter 7 gr Handcrafted Shea Butter 6 gr Avocado Oil 4 gr Hydrovance 5 gr Conditioning Emulsifier 1.5 gr Stearic Acid 3 gr Calendula Extract 0.5 gr Liquid Germall Plus |
12 Ounces 7.92 oz Distilled Water 0.84 oz Illipe Nut Butter 0.84 oz Handcrafted Shea Butter 0.72 oz Avocado Oil 0.48 oz Hydrovance 0.6 oz Conditioning Emulsifier 0.18 oz Stearic Acid 0.36 oz Calendula Extract 0.01 oz Liquid Germall Plus |
Percentages 66% Distilled Water 7% Illipe Nut Butter 7% Handcrafted Shea Butter 6% Avocado Oil 4% Hydrovance 5% Conditioning Emulsifier 1.5% Stearic Acid 3% Calendula Extract 0.5% Liquid Germall Plus |
Weigh all but the Calendula Extract and preservative into a microwave-safe container. Heat in short bursts until the ingredients are fully melted. Illipe Nut Butter melts between 100 and 104 degrees. Conditioning Emulsifier melts around 140 degrees. It will be the last of the ingredients to melt. I like to check the temperature of the ingredients and be sure not to go any higher than required to melt everything. Stirring helps. I use a stick blender to make sure the ingredients are well combined.
After the ingredients have been thoroughly combined, the mixture needs to cool to at least 120 degrees before adding the extract and preservative. A great way to speed this process is to put the lotion into a bag and lay it flat. Once it’s cooled below 120 degrees, add the extract and preservative, seal the bag again and thoroughly knead the ingredients to combine.
At this point, you may add a fragrance if desired. Try our Fragrance Calculator to help you get the scent just right. Green Tea and Cucumber Fragrance Oil makes me think of a spa experience, so I decided to use it in this body butter. The calculator tells me to use 0.07 oz of Green Tea and Cucumber for a moderate scent.
Notes after testing:
It’s a heavy formula. Tina said it would be too oily, and she was right. It is a nice body butter to put on dry patches like feet and hands and elbows for overnight, but it is not what I was aiming for. I’d like something that would be great for use all day, especially on my hands. So join me for a remake.
I decided to add Dry Flo TS, drop the percentage of the oils, and increase the water. Here is my revised formula:
100-gram Test Batch 71 gr Distilled Water 5 gr Illipe Nut Butter 4 gr Handcrafted Shea Butter 3 gr Avocado Oil 4 gr Hydrovance 5 gr Conditioning Emulsifier 2.5 gr Stearic Acid 2 gr Dry Flo TS 3 gr Calendula Extract 0.5 gr Liquid Germall Plus |
12 oz 8.52 oz Distilled Water 0.6 oz Illipe Nut Butter 0.48 oz Handcrafted Shea Butter 0.36 oz Avocado Oil 0.48 oz Hydrovance 0.6 oz Conditioning Emulsifier 0.3 oz Stearic Acid 0.24 oz Dry Flo TS 0.36 oz Calendula Extract 0.01 oz Liquid Germall Plus |
Percentages 71% Distilled Water 5% Illipe Nut Butter 4% Handcrafted Shea Butter 3% Avocado Oil 4% Hydrovance 5% Conditioning Emulsifier 2.5% Stearic Acid 2% Dry Flo TS 3% Calendula Extract 0.5% Liquid Germall Plus |
More notes:
The second batch was definitely better. The feeling is much less greasy, and the lotion absorbs quickly. I tinted it pink using our Purple Raspberry color (2 drops) so I could tell at a glance which sample I was testing. The pink color turned out darker than I’d intended, but it didn’t turn me pink, thank goodness! This body butter leaves a creamy, dewy feeling on my skin. It may be my favorite of all the different body butters that I’ve made so far.
Illipe Nut Butter makes a marvelous addition to leave-on body care products. Have you tried it yet?