Firstly, I want to thank my good friends who are my volunteer testers for their valuable patience, willingness to help and their honesty in the development of my new Body Butters. Without them, this product would not be anywhere near as good as it is.
Body butters come in all types of textures and aromas and should make us feel good about ourselves when buying them, and especially when using them.
My idea of a body butter is a thick creamy soft and silky texture with relaxing and energising aroma that doesn’t overwhelm my senses. With this in mind, I set about learning about the benefits of different oils when they are applied directly to the body.
This has been a real voyage of discovery. I already knew the benefits of Organic Hemp Oil and its ability to help smooth fine hair in shampoos but my goodness, but did you know, it’s also good for the skin.
I started with a basic Body Butter idea including Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Cocoa Butter and Starch.
I wanted to bring in an element of luxury, richness and creaminess to this work and what better than Organic Unrefined Shea Butter, WHOA! what an absolute bundle of lovely rich skin conditioning stuff this is. This is a real powerhouse of vitamins and antioxidants which absorbs deeply into the skin giving luxury nourishment.
To balance the thickness in the body butter and the ability to quickly absorb into the skin, I needed to have hardness alongside some melting ability. I started by blending both Organic Cocoa Butter with its brittleness and Organic Coconut Oil with its body temperature melting point. Balancing these two gave the ability to build the thicker structure in the body butter.
With all these oils, I needed to make sure there wasn’t an oil overload, so I wanted a moisture absorbing something to get some kind of balance with the skin. I wanted something that was natural, organic if possible, but most of all, that it would give some extra softness to the feel of the product. Many evenings were spent comparing ingredients as there are so many starch products available and used in creams, lotions and potions. I found that Organic Tapioca Starch gives a more silky smooth, leaving skin feeling more conditioned and soft. After trying others, this one really did hit the spot, well it did for me anyway.
To make the Body Butter even better, I wanted to look at oils that would complement a rich, thick and creamy base.
Organic Hemp oil is known for helping to manage itchy skin conditions. It is also known to be quick when absorbing into the skin and doesn’t clog pores easily. A big thumbs up from me to start looking at this as a major feature of a product.
Organic Jojoba oil was chosen as it is known for tackling dry flaky skin and helping to maintain the skins natural moisture. Organic Sweet Almond Oil was chosen as it is a light to medium weight oil that is often used in massage and is also known to relieve itchy dry skin.
The final oil for consideration is Vitamin E. There is so much information out there about Vitamin E, and it is added to so many creams, lotions and potions, I had to take a look more closely. Everything I researched gave a claim for this and that, but no real research to back up the claims. So, for me, the jury is still out on this item for any skin health benefits. However it was included because it is widely used to help retain the longevity of oils and given that there are no preservatives in the Body Butters, longevity of oils is necessary.
Now, when we talk aromas, I wanted to have something that was warming and calming, one which made me feel good about myself, then on other days I wanted the opposite, something refreshing, making me feel more alert. After much soul searching, blending, creating, failing, picking myself back up again-ing! I found two perfect blends that hit the spot(s). Firstly Cedarwood, Myrrh, Patchouli and Ylang Ylang (relaxing, calming) then the second blend of Clary Sage, Marjoram and Rosemary (refreshing).
I am starting to sell these Body Butters alongside my soaps and 2in1 shampoo bars at local makers market events. I’ll add them to the website soon. If you would like to try either of the Body Butters for yourself, have a look on the front section of the website to see where I will be pitching up next, come along and have a go with a tester. See which one you prefer.