Bought body butters - now what :

[ToyoXrsPl]

I was trying to get new body moisturizer and read a few quick topics where people bought Raw Shae Butter, so I thought I would give it a try.
I also bought mango butter and coconut butter since there was an option to buy a sampler pack.
Tried a quick swipe along forearm, but maybe I applied too much, my arm still didn't absorb this stuff 30min later.

Quick questions, do I use this butters as full body moisturizers along with face ?
Do they have different usage ?
Do you do something specific with them ?

 

[Puerco]

I can only speak for the sheabutter since that's all I use. You have to put some on your palm and rub your hands together so the warmth of your skin and the friction make it melt. It's not like commercial moisturizers that contain a lot of water, this is the pure stuff so a little bit will go a long way!
I use it after shaving as a moisturizer, on my hands and elbows etc. My wife (dark skin) uses it a lot on her legs and feet.
You can use it on the whole body where the skin could use a little boost.

 

[ToyoXrsPl]

I'm a roofer, so my skin gets a beating in the sun all day.
I'd rather be safe than sorry and take care of my body in the best way I can.

 

[ToyoXrsPl]

But to get back to my question, do you guys use raw shea butter, or do you whip it to a cream like consistency ?
I find the raw shea to be a bit hard to spread on skin, it's sort of thick.

 

[mattdenicola]

I use whipped shea occasionally as an aftershave. Still need to work it in your hands a bit to get it "melting" ... and it still takes a good 10-15 minutes to fully absorb.

 

[Moondoggie]

I haven't used Shea straight up. I blend grapeseed oil with sweet almond and jojoba for my own usage. Works well on my skin. Everybody absorbs different oils better than others so try small samples of each till you find what your own skin likes.

 

[cumble]

Some facts:

Shea butter is NOT a moisturizer. This goes for all the other butters and oils as well. They are all emollients with different benefits for the skin.

In order to be a moisturizer, the product has to contain moisture. Usually this means water, floral waters, aloe and/or humectants like glycerin and others.

The shea butter will have emollient effects on dry and damaged skin, and will form a layer that helps trap the moisture. To be an effective moisturizer, the shea have to be applied om damp skin right after showering or shaving. This way it will trap the moisture, and the greasiness disappears in minutes.

I have three kids with skin issues during the long norwegian winters. Shea butter is one of the few thing that really remedies this. Given that it is used the right way.

 

[cumble]

Do you guys use raw shea butter, or do you whip it to a cream like consistency?

Melting it, and whipping it while it sets, will result in a cream like consistence.

Mix it with rosewater, avocado oil and lavender oil.

The laws of nature won't let you mix oil and water. You will have to add an emulsifier at approx. 25 percent of the oil content. Emulsifying wax NF is a common emulsifier for this purpose.

As soon as you add water to a butter or oil, you will also create a great place for bacterias and mold to grow. Therefore you will also need a preservative if you are going to shelf the final product for more than a couple of days. Optiphen is a common paraben free preservative used at approx. 1 percent of the total amount of moisturizer.

Again; I've done quite a bit of reading up on this subject to deal with my kids dry skin.

 

[ToyoXrsPl]

Thanks all, gonna experiment a bit, trying whippeng Shae and Coconut Oil today.
For other ingridients I have to figure out where to buy them, being in Canada I already had a toughr time with Shea and had to hop border for it.
Trying to find a place for essential oils and vitamin e.

 

[cumble]

http://www.newdirectionsaromatics.ca/

 

[ToyoXrsPl]

Thank you very much, just in time, have my morning coffee so I can browse the website.

 

[deoxy4]

You can do a youtube search for shea butter recipes, shea butter whip, etc. I melt a 50:50 shea butter:coconut oil mixture and dilute with a little avocado oil to get the right consistency. After mixing put it in the refrigerator to harden. A 50:50 mixture will have the consistency of a thick but somewhat gritty paste; somewhat like spackle. Adding a little avocado oil (apricot kernel oil, grapeseed oil, olive oil should work) will make it smoother and has a better feel but still denser than a whip. It melts almost immediately on skin contact. I think the last time I made it I used 75 gm of coconut oil and 75 gm of shea butter and around 10-15 ml of avocado oil. You can also add 10-15 drops of essential oil to give it a nice scent. I used lemon oil. Good luck in finding what works for you.