Creating Homemade Moisturizers with Shea Butter

Typically I don’t make many homemade products – because my attempts are pitiful, and they always take so much time.

I’ve wanted to try to make homemade moisturizers and scrubs, though, especially after reading books like Stacy Karen’s Simple Scrubs to Make and Give.

Over the past year, I’ve slowly gathered necessary ingredients – a canister of cocoa butter here, a jar of coconut oil there. In the past month, I was so excited to finally get my first container of shea butter – Key West’s Organic Unrefined African Shea Butter.

I first wrote about shea butter a few years ago and have used quite a few safe products made with shea butter – but I’ve never had my own supply of shea butter to experiment with. I was excited to open the 14 ounce container and smell the pleasant aroma of shea butter.

While I could use the shea butter on its own to moisturize my skin, I decided to attempt some recipes for potential Christmas gifts. Who wouldn’t enjoy some homemade body butter?

Whipped Peppermint

My first recipe was an easy one. I scooped 2 tablespoons of shea butter, plopped it into my blender, and added about 10 drops of peppermint essential oil. I blended it all together, and voila! Whipped Peppermint. It’s a fantastic moisturizer for dry skin.

Chocolate Mousse

My next recipe was modified from a MadeOn Skin Care Products recipe.

I scooped 2 parts shea butter, 1 part cocoa butter and 1 part coconut oil into a pot.

I melted the butters and oil over low heat, then let cool.

Once the mixture started solidifying, I tried to blend it in my blender. I didn’t have enough to blend, though (my blender blades weren’t low enough!) so I ended up transferring the mixture to a little bowl and whipping it with a fork. While it wasn’t very high-tech, the process definitely worked – and my kitchen ended up smelling like a chocolate factory.

The benefits of Key West African Shea Butter

Shea butter has natural healing properties – plus, it makes a fantastic moisturizer. It’s extracted from the nuts of African shea trees.

The Key West Organic, Unrefined African Shea Butter is certified organic – plus, it’s sourced from a women’s co-op in Ghana, so the employees receive ethical treatment and fair wages.

Where to Buy

You can purchase 14 ounces of Key West Organic Unrefined African Shea Butter in time for your own Christmas crafting (or simply for your own enjoyment) for $14.95 through Amazon.

How do you like to use shea butter?

Disclosure: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. Making purchases through links in this post will result in a commission for Accidentally Green. Thank you for your support!

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Hilary Kimes Bernstein

Hilary Kimes Bernstein is a Christ follower, wife, mama, and journalist. She writes about making healthy decisions that honor God and happen to help the environment at Accidentally Green. Short and sweet - like her writing - Hilary is the author of several healthy living eBooks.

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