My wife absolutely loves products made with shea butter, so.... I decided to make some home-made shea cream/butter for her birthday and let her pick the scent. First, I picked up a pound of organic raw shea butter, plus several other recommended oils (jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, apricot kernal oil). I took her to the local health food store where they have a pretty broad selection of aromatic essential oils, and let here choose a number of her favorites. We wound up with tea tree, vanilla, lemon grass and bergamot. I used an online recipe for the butter that had received overwhelmingly positive reviews. Being an absolute novice at this, I figured to play it safe. After softening the shea (to liquid state), I mixed in 5oz of the other oils & whipped it vigorously until the mixture began to thicken. Prior to this, however, I created 6 different scent combinations using the essential oils ( 4 vanilla /2 lemon; 4 vanilla/2 begamot, 2 tea-tree/2 vanilla, etc...) & had a blind-test scent test. In the end, my wife preferred the vanilla/bergamot & vanilla/lemongrass combos— which were the favorites of the other 3 'testers' as well. A clean, fresh scent that wasn't over-powering. I divided the mix into two equal portions, and added the chosen combination of oils to the two mixes. These were then poured into 2.5 pint lidded containers & let rest overnight. This morning, I presented the butter to my wife to try. She was very pleasantly surprised at how nice it turned out (she of little faith!), and enjoyed the subtlety of the scent. You can still smell the earthy shea aroma, but she doesnt mind it. Me personally, I'd probably want MORE scent to mask the shea. The cream feels dense and very slick to the touch, but goes on quite smoothly and is absorbed rapidly. Once on, the subtle scent/aroma dissipates rather quickly. I applied a generous blob post-shave and my skin feels great...even hours later. Next batch, a more manly-scent may be in order... RECIPE To Make Shea Butter Cream: 1) Very slowly melt your shea in a double boiler OR by floating a bowl containing the shea in a large pot. Use very low heat since it melts at body temperature. The more heat, the more vitamins you take out of it so less is better. 2) Once mostly melted (you can leave some chunks), you can let it settle some to be sure there are no sediments (also normal for unrefined though mine had none) and then pour the liquid carefully into another bowl for mixing, leaving the sediments behind. 3) Add about 5 ounces of various oils to one pound of Shea. I added 2 ounces of Sweet Almond Oil, 2 ounces of jojoba Oil and 1 ounce of Apricot Kernal Oil each. 4) Mix using a hand mixer (not your kitchen aid) on whip for a long time. To shorten the time, just mix it enough to fully incorporate the oils (maybe 2 minutes) and then put the bowl into the fridge for 10 minutes. It will form a white layer on top of cooled shea. Then you take it out and keep mixing. It will take so long that you'll think you're doing it wrong, but you're not. Just keep going. Eventually, you'll start forming something that looks like frosting that smells a lot better than plain Shea. 5) Add your scent oils.Use pure essential oils. You'll need to decide your own amounts on this but you don't need a whole lot of it. Then mix it in and voila, you're done. Spoon into whatever containers you'd like to use. 6) Makes about 5 pints. It will re-stiffen, but not as much as before, and will spread and melt more easily. Also soaks in a tad faster.
Hi HolyRollah, Nice Job on the mixture. I make creams also and I have produced a similar mixture with Shea butter and Argan oil for a customer. I am not particulary a big fan of a straight oil mixture as a "Cream" but there are people that like it. When applying oils to the skin one has to take into account the ability of the oil to clog the pores. There is a System called the "Comedogenic Rating" of the oil that rates the oils relativ propensity to clog pores. Here is a link to some of the values: http://www.beneficialbotanicals.com/facts-figures/comedogenic-rating.html As you continue to develope different mixtures this will give you an idea of the oils characteristics in this area. If you found your project enjoyable, you may want to consider making creams with emulsifiers, water, moisturizers and vitamins. I started making creams because I did not like what I read on the ingredients label when my wife bought some cream for our baby daughter. To make such a cream you would use the same equipment and techniques as you have already utilized for the oil mixture. Once again…great job.
Great idea! I have a question you might be able to answer - is it necessary with the oils? Firstly they're very cumbersome to get here, and second I like unscented stuff. But I wonder if the butter itself has an off-putting smell?
The shea butter has an earthy, nutty scent. I don't find it off-putting and I suppose one could easily get by without adding any EOs to the cream. Others may disagree. Your nose is the best judge.
The Essential Oils are simply for scent. All the other oils (almond, jojoba, apricot kernel) have beneficial properties for the skin, but are not critical. One can simply use 100% pure Shea butter with no other ingredients. The other oils do change slightly the consistency of the mix. Pure Shea is thicker, more dense. The other oils seem make the overall composition more easily 'spreadable.'
I can always start with the raw product and work my way forward using your recipe. I wonder if the TSA will categorise it as a liquid.
I haven't tried it but thought you might be interested, there are various recipes for lotion bars, a solid version. http://wellnessmama.com/4770/how-to-make-lotion-bars/
HR, I just made a small batch with shea butter & sweet almond oil. I'll let you know how I like it. Thanks for posting the recipe.
I just bought 4oz's of yellow pure organic unrefined raw Shea butter. (Say that 4 times) I'll try your recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Would the same rules apply if using shea butter and sweet almond oil? How much sweet almond oil would I use with 4 oz of shea butter? Thanks
I used 1 ounce of sweet almond oil to 4 ounces of Shea butter. BTW, if you do not add any scent, this mixture is also lip-safe.
Well, I used it on my face this morning, after my shower. It has a different feel than most skin creams, as it has no water. But it absorbs well & my skin feels velvety smooth.
The wife and I made Shea and sweet almond oil butter. Wow! Excellent! Thank you Bob and Sara! I didn't add an EO. Great stuff!
