# Less oily body butter please!



## Laurabolyard (Jan 15, 2018)

I stopped using ALL commercial products over a year ago when diagnosed with breast cancer. I had replaced everything, except a skin care, I was in desperate need!  I recently made a whipped butter with shea and apricot kernel oil. I used arrowroot powder. I chose these because I had them on hand.  Can anyone recommend something that might feel less greasy?  I am happy to have something other than coconut oil to slather on, but this is something I can't put
On too close to bedtime!


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## earlene (Jan 15, 2018)

I don't use body butters, but totally get the 'too greasy' feeling you are talking about.  

I do use babassu oil in my deodorant and it absorbs pretty quickly into the skin.  And on the plus side, it does not stain my fabrics.  I don't know how well it would work in a body butter, but it melts pretty much at skin temps, so I think it would be quite nice in BB.


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## toxikon (Jan 15, 2018)

As far as I know, all body butters are generally pretty greasy. They _are_ pretty much just butters and oils.

If you want something lighter, you could try applying a light oil (I really like meadowfoam) or squalane to damp skin after a shower, it should absorb nicely if you use a light hand.


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## Kittish (Jan 15, 2018)

I use rice bran oil as the soft oil in my body butters, and yes, they're a little greasy feeling when first applied, but the greasiness goes away in two or three minutes, so long as you don't slather it on thick. You're not going to be able to get rid of it entirely using actual oils and butters to make body butter, alas, the best you can do is reduce it by using light oils that absorb quickly into the skin.

I'm also using kokum butter as the bulk of my hard oils for body butter, it's kind of tetchy to work with (needs tempering at a higher temperature), but works quite well with the rice bran for a light butter that doesn't stay greasy long on the skin.


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## Laurabolyard (Jan 15, 2018)

earlene said:


> I don't use body butters, but totally get the 'too greasy' feeling you are talking about.
> 
> I do use babassu oil in my deodorant and it absorbs pretty quickly into the skin.  And on the plus side, it does not stain my fabrics.  I don't know how well it would work in a body butter, but it melts pretty much at skin temps, so I think it would be quite nice in BB.



I have not heard of that oil, but I will definitely be looking for some, thanx!!  Nice if it goes on well after shower!



toxikon said:


> As far as I know, all body butters are generally pretty greasy. They _are_ pretty much just butters and oils.
> 
> If you want something lighter, you could try applying a light oil (I really like meadowfoam) or squalane to damp skin after a shower, it should absorb nicely if you use a light hand.



I've not heard of that one either!!  I see some experimenting on the horizon!  Thanx!



Kittish said:


> I use rice bran oil as the soft oil in my body butters, and yes, they're a little greasy feeling when first applied, but the greasiness goes away in two or three minutes, so long as you don't slather it on thick. You're not going to be able to get rid of it entirely using actual oils and butters to make body butter, alas, the best you can do is reduce it by using light oils that absorb quickly into the skin.
> 
> I'm also using kokum butter as the bulk of my hard oils for body butter, it's kind of tetchy to work with (needs tempering at a higher temperature), but works quite well with the rice bran for a light butter that doesn't stay greasy long on the skin.



I will give that a try, what hard oil would you recommend for a newb?  I wondered about cocoa butter.


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## shunt2011 (Jan 15, 2018)

I would recommend Mango and Shea butter. Mango is less greasy to me.  I too use Meadowfoam and Fractionated Coconut oil. To help make it more silky, less greasy feeling I add isopropyl myristate as I found adding starches could sometimes make it scratchy.  Regardless, it’s going to be greasier than a lotion.


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## Laurabolyard (Jan 15, 2018)

shunt2011 said:


> I would recommend Mango and Shea butter. Mango is less greasy to me.  I too use Meadowfoam and Fractionated Coconut oil. To help make it more silky, less greasy feeling I add isopropyl myristate as I found adding starches could sometimes make it scratchy.  Regardless, it’s going to be greasier than a lotion.



Thank you. Yes, I'm trying to avoid a lotion because, as I understand it, I would need a preservative of some kind, so I will stay with butters and oils. So, maybe I should try the mango, since I've tried the shea, maybe with the meadowfoam?  I will research the isopropyl myristate. 
How is the apricot oil that I used, on The continuum of greasy?


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## Cellador (Jan 15, 2018)

Hi! I can totally understand about the oily feeling of body butters- it is the reason I rarely use them. 
I'll tell you what I do like, though. A nice body oil mix with fast-absorbing oils (there are about a million charts online that tell you absorbency properties of different oils). Yes, it's oil, so it will be oily at first...but I find the lack of butter helps everything sink in really quickly. I love a mix of mostly grapeseed oil, jojoba, argan, and avocado.  Some other nice luxury oils you could look at would be meadowfoam, evening primrose, rosehip- there are really so many! 
I think the key to body oil is using it straight-out of the shower, before you dry off. This way, you're using the water to help moisturize and you don't have to use as much oil.


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## Kittish (Jan 15, 2018)

Everyone is going to have their own preferences for oils and butters. What I've done is rub just a little of JUST a single oil or butter into my skin, usually on an arm. Then see how it feels, how long it takes to absorb, how it smells. That might be a good plan for you to figure out just what combination of oils and butters you prefer.


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## Laurabolyard (Jan 15, 2018)

Kittish said:


> Everyone is going to have their own preferences for oils and butters. What I've done is rub just a little of JUST a single oil or butter into my skin, usually on an arm. Then see how it feels, how long it takes to absorb, how it smells. That might be a good plan for you to figure out just what combination of oils and butters you prefer.



Yes!!  I definitely need to be led though, or I will end up with a cabinet full of greasy things!!  Well, I could either soap them, or make gift butters!

I have a lot of oil learning to do!!


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## Kittish (Jan 15, 2018)

Laurabolyard said:


> Yes!!  I definitely need to be led though, or I will end up with a cabinet full of greasy things!!  Well, I could either soap them, or make gift butters!
> 
> I have a lot of oil learning to do!!



I've got a rather wide selection of oils and butters, the only reason I don't have MORE is that I've run out of space to store any more. (I'm kind of leaning toward declaring the orange peel wax a bust for soap making, it seized both times I used it in soap. But it should make for decent furniture polish.)

Here's my take on those I've tried: So far, I haven't liked olive oil for leave on products, it's heavy and takes forever to absorb. Sunflower absorbs quick, but has a distinct nutty scent (that vanilla covers quite well, actually). Meadowfoam is light, and absorbs well. Rice bran is very light, and absorbs in less than 3 minutes. Avocado is kind of meh, sort of in the middle on feel and absorption. To me, coconut oil is also kind of meh, though it absorbs quicker than avocado. Cocoa butter is slow to absorb, and often has a distinct scent (which I like, actually). It needs to be tempered if you melt it for making body butter or it tends to be grainy when it cools back down. Kokum is harder than cocoa, but absorbs more quickly. It also needs to be tempered, at a higher temp than cocoa butter. Shea is wonderful (I use it in almost every soap and butter I make), though kind of on the soft side. Again, needs to be tempered if you melt it, at about the same temp as cocoa butter. Lanolin is really sticky at first and feels weird for a while, but eventually leaves your skin nice and soft.


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## dibbles (Jan 15, 2018)

The thing about body butters is - they are going to feel greasy for a bit of time until they absorb. That said, I also think mango butter has a little drier feel. Shea butter is so nice, but if you don't like greasy use a light hand. Meadowfoam, fractionated coconut oil and jojoba are probably my current favorites. IPM is a good addition.


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## Laurabolyard (Jan 15, 2018)

None of you mentioned the apricot oil, maybe too greasy?  Maybe THATS the greasier of what I feel. I don't yet know what tempering is, although I used shea with the apricot. I need to do a little research!


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## dibbles (Jan 15, 2018)

Laurabolyard said:


> None of you mentioned the apricot oil, maybe too greasy?  Maybe THATS the greasier of what I feel. I don't yet know what tempering is, although I used shea with the apricot. I need to do a little research!



I don't have it and have never used it, but I am pretty sure it is considered a light oil that absorbs quickly. You didn't say how much shea butter you used, but butters are going to leave a greasy feel. Just the nature of the beast. They do absorb, and are wonderful once they do.


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## Laurabolyard (Jan 15, 2018)

dibbles said:


> I don't have it and have never used it, but I am pretty sure it is considered a light oil that absorbs quickly. You didn't say how much shea butter you used, but butters are going to leave a greasy feel. Just the nature of the beast. They do absorb, and are wonderful once they do.



I used 50/50, maybe less shea?


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## dibbles (Jan 16, 2018)

The last whipped butter I made was for my feet, and it was probably 70% butters (mango and shea). The oils were meadowfoam and fractionated coconut oil. I used 2% IPM, and I really think that helps with the greasy feeling. I put some on my arm about 10 minutes ago, and while I can still feel it is there, it isn't very sticky or greasy feeling. 

I think you maybe either need to be prepared to wait for awhile for the butter to absorb, or maybe what you really want is a rich cream/thick lotion.

Check out http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/  There is a lot of information to wade through, but you might be able to find something to help you figure out how to get what you want. Just start with a search for body butter.


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## shunt2011 (Jan 18, 2018)

I too use about 70% butter and the remainder oils.  50/50 would be too greasy I think.  For me anyway.


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## Paintguru (Jan 18, 2018)

I know someone said starches can make the butter grainy, but I did find tapioca starch helped my whipped butter.  As others have said, with no water and all fats, it will be somewhat greasy regardless.  However, I feel like the tapioca helps limit that greasiness.


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## saratk (Jan 18, 2018)

Apricot kernel oil and grapeseed oil are two of the lightest oils available. I'm a licensed massage therapist and they're the two oils I recommend to new parents when teaching an infant massage class. That said, they both also have quite a short life span before going rancid. 
In my body butter, I use refined shea butter, unrefined coconut oil, jojoba oil, argan oil, cocoa butter, mango butter, vitamin e and a stitch of arrowroot powder. It melts on the skin and dries completely after a few minutes due to the arrowroot. You just need to find the percentages that work for you.
I _have_ found that it definitely makes a difference if you apply it to damp skin or completely dry skin. It seems to absorb better when applied to damp skin. I don't know the chemistry of that. The thing to be careful of there, however, is that you're not dipping a damp hand into your container of body butter because then you're introducing water (however residual) which equals the introduction of bacteria growth in an anhydrous (without water) product. And I see you'd like to avoid using a preservative.
I used to use IPM in my recipe instead of arrowroot but was going for as natural a product as possible. I have found no discernible difference between my recipe with IPM and my recipe with arrowroot powder.


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## Laurabolyard (Jan 18, 2018)

OH!!  MORE shea!!  I thought that was the greasier of the 2!  Hmmm...  if I did one cup of each, I suppose I can add 3/4 cup more shea and see what happens...


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## Jeanea (Jan 30, 2018)

Not really. I think it's the Shea that is causing the greasiness. At the end of the day, from what I'm reading, you either have to adjust to the butters or make a lotion. You will never get just butters and oil to feel like lotion. It may absorb faster, but it will never go on like lotion. 



Laurabolyard said:


> None of you mentioned the apricot oil, maybe too greasy?  Maybe THATS the greasier of what I feel. I don't yet know what tempering is, although I used shea with the apricot. I need to do a little research!


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## BrewerGeorge (Jan 30, 2018)

Mango is definitely less greasy than Shea.

A little beeswax might help you, too


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## shunt2011 (Jan 31, 2018)

I would sub some of the Shea with Mango, Apricot oil is very nice as well.  Sorry, missed that.   I'm currently working on switching up my recipe adding Mango hoping too it will up the melt point a bit.  I don't produce a lot of it during the hot summer months but keep some available.  At shows, I keep it in a cooler with some cold packs covered with a towel.


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## Laurabolyard (Feb 1, 2018)

Great!  I'm almost out and ready to try again!  What about 25% shea, 25% mango and 50% apricot?  How might the beeswax help?


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## [email protected] (Apr 21, 2018)

I made a Cocoa /coconut / shea / Rice bran oil/ Jojoba whipped butter with tapioca, 
it is very quick to absorb, smooth on the skin, and non-greasy. 
I think the whip helps deliver a finer film of butter/oil to your skin, the tapioca def helps with a more 'powder' feel


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## cmzaha (Apr 21, 2018)

I normally dislike anhydrous body butters with a passion, but I have a vendor friend that makes a whipped raw shea butter with castor oil and almond oil. He actually makes it for his Black African clientele for their hair but it is a wonderful body butter. I have never tried to duplicate it, out of courtesy and get it from him when I need another jar. I think it has a fairly high percent of black castor oil, which is listed before the SAO he fragrances it with spearmint eo and it is delicious. Shea is first on the list of course


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## Marebear (Apr 21, 2018)

I find that just oil right after my shower works wonderful on my skin.  I use either meadowfoam, grapeseed or sweet almond oil.  Apply right after your shower and it soaks in pretty quickly.  My grandson has eczema and the dermatologist has said that you have 3 minutes after your shower or bath before your pores close.  I too have had breast cancer.


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## Dreamer (Apr 22, 2018)

Marebear said:


> I find that just oil right after my shower works wonderful on my skin.  I use either meadowfoam, grapeseed or sweet almond oil.  Apply right after your shower and it soaks in pretty quickly.  *My grandson has eczema *and the dermatologist has said that you have 3 minutes after your shower or bath before your pores close.  I too have had breast cancer.



Regarding eczema,  studies are being  done in the use of the right bacteria to help patients heal: 
https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2017/03/07/eczema-relief-probiotic-lotion-shows-early-promise/

Also:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28228596

We would literally be dead without our bacterial friends. The trick is to have the type we want and provide the right environment for the friendly type to flourish so that it will disallow the unfriendly type. This is true of our skin, guts (people spend millions of dollars every year buying or making probiotics, which, of course, are bacteria), and of our soils. Food grown in soil rich in positive microbial life (good bacteria and fungi) are vastly more nutrient-dense than food grown in sterile soil that gets synthetic fertilizer added. Plants need their bacterial and fungal friends to help them absorb the nutrients available in the soil, and the plants, in turn, give the bacteria and fungi  food from root excretions.  Like all the other mediums, it is all about keeping the best environment for the friendly bacteria to thrive so they crowd out or totally disallow the ones we don't want. Plants are also able to withstand diseases and pests much more effectively when they are living in a microbial-rich soil.
It is exciting to see tests and trials being done utilizing the friendly bacteria to get rid of the ones we don't want, such as in the experiment linked to above.


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## allimac (Apr 23, 2018)

Hemp oil is a good "dry" oil to use in recipes in place of a greasier soft oil. I use it in almost everything.


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## dixiedragon (Apr 23, 2018)

I really love coconut oil - either solid or liquid - in leave-on products. it is greasy at first but absorbs very quickly.


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## Cuardach (Apr 23, 2018)

I have a go to body butter recipe of 2 parts shea, 1 part coconut oil, .5 apricot kernel oil. Example recipe 1/2 c shea, 1/4 cup coconut, 1/8 c  apricot kernel oil. melt oils together, let cool and whip. Or let it set and  use as a balm. I like it whipped. But in temperatures of over 75 degrees F it will melt to an oil due to the coconut oil
It can get greasy,use sparingly. I just towel off any residual oil 
You can also add a tablespoon of arrow root and that helps the greasy bit a great deal. I stopped adding arrow root powder though as I was making it for an elderly customer who found she reacted to the arrow root when she put it on her face. I  tried it on my face as well and the arrow root irritated my eyes. So removed the arrow root. 
I now use this recipe on my face and towel off the excess if i get too generous. I do want to develop another butter using mango butter as the shea is notorious for being too greasy


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## Eepa (Apr 26, 2018)

I made new attempt on body butter and this has pretty good skin feel and absorbs very quickly. It's also very very soft so it might liquefy in higher temps. =D

44% Babassu oil
22% Cocoa butter
22% Evening primrose oil
11% Sweet almond oil

I melted everything and then cooled it down in freezer. It did whip but not very well and some parts liquefied during bottling. So this may end up being more body oil than butter. But skin feel is some of the best I've come up since I started doing creams and lotions some years ago.


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## Saponificarian (Apr 26, 2018)

It’s perpetually hot here so for a non oily butter for my baby I use

20% Illipe Butter
20% Kokum Butter
10% Shea Butter
10% Mango Butter
10% Bacuri Butter
10% Evening Primrose
10% Borage
10% Hempseed oil.

I use it for our crunchy hair too. 

ETA: 100g of this before whipping usually lasts her like 2 months if we use some for our hair. If used exclusively as body butter this should last 3 month at least (For a baby though. For an adult YMMV)


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## madison (Apr 27, 2018)

I use 30% Beeswax, 45 % mixed of sweet almond oil, apricot kernel oil, flax seed oil, 21% Shea butter, 4% vit E and IPM. I stopped using starch as it scratchy for me. I made this originally for my feet, then I found that it works really well after using my body oils right after the shower specially when the weather gets very dry here.


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## Sharon Khouri (Apr 28, 2018)

shunt2011 said:


> I would recommend Mango and Shea butter. Mango is less greasy to me.  I too use Meadowfoam and Fractionated Coconut oil. To help make it more silky, less greasy feeling I add isopropyl myristate as I found adding starches could sometimes make it scratchy.  Regardless, it’s going to be greasier than a lotion.



I love mango butter. It is my go to in body products.


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## Zany_in_CO (Apr 30, 2018)

I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier, but DIY Egyptian Magic Cream is on my Round Tuit list. It might be just the thing you're looking for. Google "Egyptian Magic Cream" to see what people are saying about this cream.


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## chigirl (Dec 18, 2021)

Laurabolyard said:


> None of you mentioned the apricot oil, maybe too greasy?  Maybe THATS the greasier of what I feel. I don't yet know what tempering is, although I used shea with the apricot. I need to do a little research!


To my understanding the apricot oil trends mid-range for oil absorption.


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## Lin19687 (Dec 19, 2021)

chigirl said:


> To my understanding the apricot oil trends mid-range for oil absorption.


This thread is 3 years old..............


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## Zany_in_CO (Dec 19, 2021)

@chigirl DON'T be embarrassed! We've all done that. Well, at least I have. Just know, I love it when a Newbie brings up an old thread... it's truly fun for me to have another look at something we've discussed in the past! So, thanks!


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## chigirl (Dec 19, 2021)

Zany_in_CO said:


> @chigirl DON'T be embarrassed! We've all done that. Well, at least I have. Just know, I love it when a Newbie brings up an old thread... it's truly fun for me to have another look at something we've discussed in the past! So, thanks!


I’m glad!  I search for wisdom from these threads!  Plus, today I made the most perfect body butter and it’s because I read the thread


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## Relle (Dec 20, 2021)

Lin19687 said:


> This thread is 3 years old..............


That doesn't matter that it is 3 yrs old, the person quoted is still posting, so will see it.


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## jcandleattic (Dec 20, 2021)

Relle said:


> That doesn't matter that it is 3 yrs old, the person quoted is still posting, so will see it.


I thought necroposting was frowned upon regardless? Is this no longer the case? If not maybe we should update the rules of posting to say "necroposting is frowned upon unless the OP's are still active" 

It's disheartening when the admins get to pick and choose what is good or bad etiquette depending on whims and not what is in the forum rules.


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## Arimara (Dec 20, 2021)

jcandleattic said:


> I thought necroposting was frowned upon regardless? Is this no longer the case? If not maybe we should update the rules of posting to say "necroposting is frowned upon unless the OP's are still active"
> 
> It's disheartening when the admins get to pick and choose what is good or bad etiquette depending on whims and not what is in the forum rules.


I agree with this point. I absolutely hate necroposts from years back on threads where the OP is no longer active or when the thread's question was answered and the poster posts another question within that thread.


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## Relle (Dec 20, 2021)

jcandleattic said:


> I thought necroposting was frowned upon regardless? Is this no longer the case? If not maybe we should update the rules of posting to say "necroposting is frowned upon unless the OP's are still active"
> 
> It's disheartening when the admins get to pick and choose what is good or bad etiquette depending on whims and not what is in the forum rules.


You are correct about necroposting, it is no longer the case, it changed some time ago. Not all members or newbies know what necroposting is and it's not frowned upon anymore. I let members know that if they have posted on an old thread and the member is no longer active that they most probably won't get a response ( this is a courtesy on my part and I have been doing this for years, necroposting or not ). If the member is still active then they probably will reply. 
eg. I've noticed members quote Irishlass on old posts, I don't let them know because she is still here and I know she will reply.
Admins don't pick and choose what is bad etiquette on whims. Forum rules change and it's up to members to keep up to date.



Arimara said:


> I agree with this point. I absolutely hate necroposts from years back on threads where the OP is no longer active or when the thread's question was answered and the poster posts another question within that thread.


All you need to do is scroll on.


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