Body butter trauma

[Guest]

OK...i've been trying to make a whipped shea butter body butter and it's driving me crazy.
I use shea butter, cornstarch, BTMS, and essential oil.

I melt the shea butter and BTMS, then blend with my stick blender, then put it in the freezer to firm up and whip it again...and just keep going until it's the consistency I want.

My problem is this. I pot it into jars, and a few hours later, it's hard again. rather than creamy.

What am I doing wrong?

 

[LJA]

Too much BTMS? ::guessing:::

 

[artisan soaps]

..

 

[SimplyE]

Ditto. BTMS is an emulsifier, which means it enables oil and water to combine. Since you don't have any water, you don't need BTMS. I would drop the BTMS and add a soft oil to the shea to soften it up a little. Try avocado, RB, OO, almond, etc. It is turning hard on you because you have nothing in your recipe to thin it or soften it.

FYI: If you add water, then you will need a preservative.

HTH :wink:

 

[Guest]

OHHHHHHHHH!
OK...I'm feleling like an idiot,
Will jojoba oil work? I have plenty..

Thanks so much!!

 

[LJA]

Yeah, jojoba's nice. Can we see pix when you remake it?

 

[Guest]

Yeah, jojoba's nice. Can we see pix when you remake it?

Yep!

 

[SimplyE]

OHHHHHHHHH!
OK...I'm feleling like an idiot,
Will jojoba oil work? I have plenty..

Thanks so much!!

Jeez, how can we all know everything immediately with all the info that is out there??? Don't feel like an idiot. There are so many ingredients and so many variables. No worries

 

[Tabitha]

I would add oil to lighten it up. 50-75% shea butter should be plenty.

 

[SoapMedic]

agreed with everything said already. You know, I don't even bother to do the melting/whip/chill routine anymore. I just soften the shea to room temp-ish, add either jojoba or avocado oil (I do 85% shea) and let the kitchenaid do its thing. I add the essential oils to the last few minutes of mixing and put it into jars. Okay, it doesn't stay all puffy and whippy, but it's got a lovely texture, is easy to get out of the jar, glides on and feels great. And, I haven't wasted a lot of time tapping my foot and anguishing over how long I need to leave it in the freezer, etc. I just decided, life is too short for all that!!

 

[Guest]

I would add oil to lighten it up. 50-75% shea butter should be plenty.

Fabulous!

Well thanks everyone. I tried it last night with jojoba oil and it turned out absolutely great. I did put it in my Kitchen Aid and beat the nuts out of it, so it wound up very fluffy and smooth. My only variable now is how much cornstarch to add to remove the greasy feeling...but I think that will be trial and error.

Now i have something to work with and that's half the battle. Thanks for the help!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mj11051]

Kathy at coastal scents has a wonderful whipped shea butter recipe. Here's the link.

http://www.coastalscents.com/cfwebstore ... butter.cfm

I didn't use all of the powders she did but I did use the cornstarch and I tried it with the rice powder. It was wonderful and not greasy at all. Hope this Helps

 

[Lindy]

I never heat my Shea Butter because it can become grainy, plus I find it is soft enough to whip without that. I start out whipping just my Shea and once it starts to get fluffy add my soft oils and then powders. I absolutely love it!

 

[artisan soaps]

..