Weather can be brutal on skin. Elbows and knees and everywhere in between can get dry and painfully chapped in the winter and worn out during the hot summer months. The weather here in the south isn’t even as extreme as some climates and we still have skin issues. When my 2-year-old makes fun of my crusty, weird elbows I know it’s time to throw together a batch of this Frankincense Body Butter recipe.
Lotion is nice, but when you need extra TLC whip up this luxurious, creamy body butter with Frankincense essential oil.
No crazy ingredients needed. Most of the all-natural ingredients are easy to find at your local health food store or online. And, of course, the essential oils should only come from a trusted source.
Simple Ingredients
- Shea butter is a fantastic emollient which means it holds in moisture and keeps it in place to keep your skin from drying out when the temperature drops and the wind blows in. Shea butter is the fat extracted from the nut of an African tree. It’s been used in beauty remedies and skin protection recipes for centuries.
- Coconut oil comes from the meat of the coconut palm. We enjoy using cold-pressed coconut oil in the kitchen, and it’s also perfect for many beauty recipes for skin and hair. It’s a natural moisturizer that leaves a noticeable difference on your skin.
- Vitamin E is a naturally occurring antioxidant which can help reduce the signs of aging. It is wonderful for boosting the skin-smoothing properties in your beauty recipes. Just a little bit can make a huge difference.
- Frankincense essential oil is known for giving a smooth appearance to healthy skin. It promotes healthy cell regeneration. Frankincense can also provide a sense of grounding and help relieve occasional sadness or winter blues that everyone experiences every now and then. I love that Young Living includes this oil in the starter kit. It’s a must-have in our house!
The directions are just as simple. You only need a hand mixer or stand mixer to blend your own homemade body butter in one easy step.
Preparation Tips
- It is important that the shea butter and coconut oil are solid when you blend them. You might need to refrigerate them for about 30 minutes if they’ve been stored in a warm climate.
- I’ve seen other recipes that call for the ingredients to be heated to blend them. I’ve never had an issue with blending the ingredients well enough in their solid form. The stand mixer or hand mixer will give smooth, creamy results.
New to essential oils? Learn more about how we use them and why you should use them as well.
Frankincense Body Butter
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup shea butter
- 1/4 cup coconut oil (solid)
- 1 teaspoon vitamin E oil
- 10 drops Frankincense Essential Oil
- 2 tablespoons of melted beeswax, optional (see hot weather directions below)
- 8 oz. amber glass jar
Directions
- Combine the shea butter, coconut oil, and vitamin E in your mixing bowl.
- Use a stand mixer or hand mixer to blend the mixture.
- Scrape the sides and then whip the ingredients until they double in volume.
- Add in the essential oil and whip another 10 seconds.
- Pour or spoon into the jar.
- Apply a little to your skin to keep it luxuriously smooth.
*Remember that a little bit goes a long way!
Body Butter Tips
- Store in a dark, container (or dark environment) away from direct sunlight to help protect the essential oil from degrading. This body butter can be stored for 12 – 24 months.
Hot Weather Body Butter Tips:
- Make sure to store this body butter below 76 degrees. That’s the temperature when coconut oil starts melting. If you find that your home is too warm the body butter will melt and the air that you whipped in will leave turning the mixture into more of a cream.
- If this happens you can refrigerate the mixture and re-whip it or you could melt the mixture and stir in 2 tablespoons of melted beeswax. When this cools it will stay in a more solid state even when it gets warmer.
Frankincense body butter is a great gift idea. Make some for yourself and an extra batch to gift for teachers, friends, and pretty much anyone with skin. 🙂
Natural Beauty Mega Pack
The Natural Beauty Mega Pack is perfect for deeply nourishing your skin, hair, and more! Everyone will enjoy these cute little gifts. Each guest can take home and enjoy their own DIY beauty treatment samples.
- Clarifying Hair Rinse
- Cleansing Face Wash
- Facial Moisturizer
- Facial Toner
- Invigorating Body Wash
- Leave-In Spray Conditioner
- Nourishing Cuticle Oil
- Sugar Scrub
See all the details to host a fun and successful party for friends and family in our Natural Beauty Make & Take Party pack here!
This recipe is included in our eBook, Essential Oil Recipes for Healthy Hair & Skin, along with more than 60 other tried & true recipes that we’ve created, tested, and personally use. Click HERE to see more information and purchase your digital copy today!
Laura says
Can I replace the Shea butter with cocoa butter?
Beth K says
That should work beautifully!
Dawn Milford says
Another situation where more info should have been posted where it would be in the printable form “(see hot weather directions below)” is not on printed form of recipe. I print and share with a friend and this info would have been nice to include for her (my hand writing is awful so had writing it is not a good option, lol)
Beth K says
From what we’ve found, most people want to be able to save on ink and paper, so they just want the recipe without all the extras. So if printing the recipe off doesn’t work for you – then an alternative suggestion would be to print the entire screen or copy all of our text into an email and print it off that way for you. Hope that helps! ?
Esther Bolinger says
I don’t like the fragrance of my Shea Butter does it all have a smell or is mine bad?
Beth K says
You might also try cocoa butter in place of shea, but they both have a smell. If you live in a cooler climate you could substitute coconut oil since it stays solid below 76 degrees F.
Melissa says
Do you use refined or unrefined shea butter?
Beth K says
This is the refined (naturally processed with no added chemicals) shea butter that we’ve used with GREAT success. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F4J8VI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000F4J8VI&linkCode=as2&tag=recwitessoil-20&linkId=FWL54OKCD2N257YW
Keala says
I should have read the comments. I tripled the amount of YL E oils and still could barely smell anything over the shea butter. I think the texture of shea is nice, but I’m going to keep using cocoa butter from now on because of the strong smell.
Cheryl says
Hi, i love all your recipes! however i live in tropical Singapore and all oils natural melts in our weather, even with 2 spoon of beeswax added, do you have any tips for keeping the cream buttery? thanks!
Beth K says
Thanks for the feedback, Cheryl. I would simply increase the beeswax in the recipe until you reach a consistency that works for your climate.
michele bombich says
I’m looking for a moisture shampoo and conditioner
Jenn says
Try our homemade shampoo here: http://www.recipeswithessentialoils.com/diy-moisturizing-shampoo/
Christa says
I always use unrefined shea butter. That’s what I keep stocked in my house. Will it work with this recipe?
Beth K says
That sounds dreamy! Perfect for this recipe.
Sara says
Mine came out greasy. Can I change the recipe so it is not so greasy?
Diana M says
Hi Sara! You could definitely cut down the amount of shea butter or coconut oil in this recipe.
Lauri says
How to use… once a day? Twice?
Diana M says
Hi Lauri! I use it at night on my hands and elbows. It can be used as often as needed for dry skin 🙂
Judy Sams says
Is it supposed to be greasy? Mine turned out really oily.
Diana M says
Hi Judy! It will be slightly greasy at first but it is easily absorbed into the skin. I like using it on my hands and massaging it in until it’s no longer oily. If you are finding it to be too greasy I would leave out or cut back on the Vitamin E oil.
Bridget Tallman says
I don’t have frankincense oil. What other single or combination oils might work well with this recipe?
Diana M says
Hi Bridget! You can try elemi or lavender in this recipe.
Stephanie villasenor says
Can I use Elemi instead of Frankincense? I have a whole bottle I haven’t used yet!
Diana M says
Yesss! Elemi is a great substitute for Frankincense.
Jenna says
I was just thinking this would be a perfect homemade gift idea, but then I read a little further and saw you already thought of that! Thanks for the great post!
Thiffany says
Can I replace coconut oil solid with coconut oil liquid?
Diana M says
Not in this recipe. You need solid coconut oil to make it the consistency of a body butter/lotion. Once it is melted and whipped, it will return to a solid-state once it’s cooled to room temperature. That will not happen with fractionated coconut oil and you will be left with a liquid.
b.b. harris says
What can I use in place of Vitamin E? I’m sensitive to it
Diana M says
Try it with Jojoba or Sweet Almond Oil.