Recently, I ran out of my stash of homemade body butter and made do for a few weeks with store-bought lotion--what a waste!  My skin was dryer than dry and lost that luscious softness that can only be achieved with my own body butters.  Even when I switched to plain old coconut oil in favor of the lotion, my skin felt greasy more than hydrated.  So it was with great relief when I finished school that I could set aside an afternoon for making this moisturizer.  Then, feeling the summer spirit, I decided to whip up a stash of mojito body butter, which would pair well with my mojito body scrub.  I adapted my recipe from the book Organic Body Care Recipes--an amazing trove of great DIY self-care treats.  After a week back using my butter, my skin feels minty fresh and supple!

While making your own body butter might seem complicated or like it takes a lot of steps, it's really pretty easy.  The trick is to go slow; the hardest part (really not that hard), is waiting for the beeswax to melt.  I like to melt it separately from my other ingredients because it takes the longest to melt.  Once melted, you can slowly add other ingredients.  Don't be alarmed if the beeswax seems to harden with the introduction of oils--just add the oils a little at a time, and it will slowly melt down again.

Special Tools:

Clean tin can

Old saucepan

Blender

Spatula

Ingredients:

3/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup coconut oil

4 tablespoons beeswax, roughly chopped into small pieces

1 cup distilled water

30 drops peppermint oil

30 drops lemon oil

1. Place the saucepan on low heat and fill halfway with water.  Then place the clean tin can in the center of the saucepan.  Put the beeswax in the tin can and let melt slowly. When beeswax is melted, remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature (but not to solidify) about 5-10 minutes.

2.  While beeswax is cooling, mix together olive oil and coconut oil in a small bowl.  Heat for two minutes in microwave and let cool about 5 minutes. 

3.  Heat the distilled water (still in a microwave safe measuring cup) for two minutes in the microwave and let cool about five minutes.

4.  Blend your ingredients in a blender.  First add half of the oil mixture and begin to mix it on medium.  Once the oils begin to thicken, add half the water, then half the beeswax.  Blend for another 10-15 seconds or until first half of your ingredient are blended and being to thicken.  Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the blender and then begin blending on medium again.  Add remaining ingredients (oils, water, beeswax) one at a time until fully incorporated together.  Scrape down the sides one last time and blend for another 10-15 seconds.  The mixture should be thick.

5.  Turn off blender and add essential oils, stirring them in manually with your spatula, then blend completely on medium for another 10 seconds.

6.  Pour body butter into containers (I use mason jars) and let cool for at least half an hour before capping.  If you find your water separating from your oils, don't worry, that's normal.  It just means that the water temp and the oil temp weren't the same when you blended them.  I've noticed the more I make this recipe (or variations of it!), the less that happens, so just keep practicing.  Store in a cool, dry place for up to one month or in the fridge for six months--that is the advice the book I adapted the recipe from gave.  Personally, I have stored this body butter in my bathroom sink for a couple months and it has been fine sans fridge.

7.  To use, apply after bathing or showering.  Use only a little at a time--a little goes a long way!