I’ve used coconut oil for years: as a moisturizer, a makeup remover, in hair, as a lip balm, in cooking. It’s wonderful, and it’s even more wonderful when it’s easy to spread as a body butter.

Pretty simple to make really — the key is that you need a “butter” that is softer at room temperature to mix in. If you use just an unsaturated oil like olive oil that’s liquid at room temperature and melt them together, they’ll just re-separate in an odd way. So you need a softer butter to hold it all together. Mix them all up, whip them all up, and voila — a lovely body butter.

What you’ll need:

1. Coconut oil
2. Liquid oil like olive oil, you can even use canola or something fancier like jojoba or mango oil
3. Shea Butter (purchased mine from Amazon)
4. Optional: Cocoa Butter, essential oil
5. A hand mixer or stand mixer

How:

1. Pull together equal part coconut oil and olive oil, and double the amount of shea butter (or half shea and half cocoa butter)
2. I used 0.25 cup coconut oil, 0.25 olive oil, 0.5 cup shea butter. I like the smell of shea butter, so I didn’t add essential oils. Cocoa butter would make smell a bit like chocolate.
3. Melt the coconut oil, olive oil, and shea butter (and cocoa butter if you’re using it) together. I put it all in a jar and melted it in the microwave. Add in the essential oil if you’re using it (10-20 drops)
4. Pop the oil mixture in the fridge for about 30-45 minutes until it’s just set, so that if you push it with your finger it still gives.
5. Scoop the mixture out into the stand mixture / large bowl for a hand mixer and start whipping it up. The mixture will turn a lovely shiny white color after about 5-10 minutes, depending on how fast your mixer goes. Then it’s done.
6. Store in a jar for up to 6-8 months if it’s kept in a cool/dark place. If it’s warm where you are, it may melt together.

Make a great gift, or just use it for yourself.Enjoy!