When body butters first appeared on the market, I thought it was just another marketing strategy adopted by major beauty companies, and genuinely did not see the point of using something so sticky and heavy when you could simply apply normal moisturizers to your skin. However, the body butter test in Gok Wan’s show ‘How to look good naked’ showed me how this gorgeous product is different to the rest. Body butters are not just a marketing tool!
Indeed, they have more to offer than a body lotion. Body lotion’s are a combination of oil and water, and gives a light and non-greasy texture. Yet body butter is a heavy duty moisturizer suitable for very dry skin or simply used to restore hydration to normal skin during harsh winter conditions. It contains less water and oils extracted from natural ingredients. The two major ingredients found in body butters are shea and cocoa butter.
Taken from the fruit of the shea tree in Africa, shea butter has been used for centuries as a skin treatment. It is used to help clear medical skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. It is easily melted once used but does not leave a greasy feeling on the skin. Cocoa butter is a fat extracted from the cocoa bean. Just like the shea butter, cocoa butter also provides a velvety texture and is easily absorbed into the skin.
There are affordable body butters on the market and the majority of them do not cost more than $15. A little bit goes a long way as they say, but with its gorgeous smell and divine texture, who wants to use just a little bit? Here are some tips below on how to make the most of body butters and how to get them cheaply.
Body butters can be homemade
Believe it or not, the Internet is inundated with body butter recipes and YouTube offers tutorials on how to make body butters from scratch. Whether you want to make mango, olive oil or avocado body butter, you should always have shea and cocoa butters as basic ingredients though some people prefer beeswax which can be harder to find. You will need lots of jars, containers, spoon measures, a kitchen scale and a blender or an electric whisk. The butter ingredients do need to be heated up, so if you do not have a saucepan and a cooker, you will need a microwave. My favorite recipe is the one that requires less work and mess: turning body lotion into body butter by simply adding shea and coconut butters! This link from eHow shows you the instructions with just 3 steps.
Body butters can be used on face
The beauty market has a wide range of facial oils and serums to boost hydration to your skin when used under moisturizers. If your moisturizer is not doing the job it should, what is the point of having bottles of skincare when you can have a jar of body butter to do all the job? A good body butter not only works well on your body and hands, it can also be used as a moisturizer under make-up for your face and neck, although people with oily skin should avoid body butter as facial cream. If you do want it for your face, only apply a very thin layer and avoid areas such as blackheads so that it won’t clog your pores.
Body butters can be used on hair
Hair masks, hot oils and conditioners have a new competitor! Body butter can be used as a conditioner and offers protection from daily damage to your hair such as central heating. Again, only use it moderately. Rub a small amount in your hands and run your fingers through your hair to the ends, avoiding your scalp. Personally, to avoid greasing my hair, I would only use body butter for my split ends.
Body butter; nature’s miracle moisturizer!
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