Can you use a stick blender for butters?

[kniquy]

I have been making soap for a little over 6 months. I am interested to make coordinating scented body butters. I am just in the initial phase of finding a recipe i want to try but was wondering if I need an actual mixer or could i use my stick blender to whip up the butter?

Any thoughts?

 

[KristaY]

You probably could use a stick blender but it might be more vigorous than you want. When I make whipped body butter I just use my kitchen hand mixer, gradually going up in speed, exactly like making whipped cream. The only other thing I do is stick the mixture into the fridge for about 20 min so the melted butters can cool down before using the hand mixer. Works well for me!

 

[kniquy]

I just use my kitchen hand mixer

I have a great stand mixer but i wouldn't want to add any FO in the mixer bowl. So if I did use the mixer to whip the oils & butter, after that point could i transfer to another container to then add the FO and whip by hand just to incorporate the fragrance? or would this be too thick to do?

I'm guessing to make things easier and safe i would need a separate mixer and bowl for use only with making the butters with FO.

I'm guessing the FO shouldn't be used in equipment which i would use to make food.

I would love a dedicated space and all the equipment for making body products -- guess I gotta get on organizing the basement

 

[KristaY]

I know a lot of people use equipment in their kitchen and also in body care. I usually don't but my hand mixer beaters are stainless steel (as opposed to more porous plastic) so I'm ok using it. Once the butters whip up, it becomes a pretty thick consistency so I'm not sure how effective hand stirring in the FO will be. When I made body butter last week I used my kitchen hand mixer and peach FO. When I was done I just soaked everything in hot soapy water for about 15 minutes and no scent remained in my stainless steel bowl or on my beaters.

If you're uncomfortable using your stand mixer, maybe invest in an inexpensive hand mixer (maybe $15-20 new?) or look for one at a Goodwill or similar 2nd hand store.

 

[cerelife]

I have a great stand mixer but i wouldn't want to add any FO in the mixer bowl. So if I did use the mixer to whip the oils & butter, after that point could i transfer to another container to then add the FO and whip by hand just to incorporate the fragrance? or would this be too thick to do?

I'm guessing to make things easier and safe i would need a separate mixer and bowl for use only with making the butters with FO.

I'm guessing the FO shouldn't be used in equipment which i would use to make food.

I would love a dedicated space and all the equipment for making body products -- guess I gotta get on organizing the basement

I use my KitchenAid stand mixer for whipped body butter/other products as well as for food use, and have done so for several years without issue. I use the bowl, flat blade mixer and wire whisk attachments for B&B products. None of these items are porous and they don't retain any lingering scent of the FOs that I use in my products. For clean-up after using my mixer for BB products, I rinse everything under hot running water until the oil is mostly gone and then I liberally squirt Dawn over it all and wash by hand. I'm totally comfortable using it for food after this! Before I use the equipment for BB, I sanitize it in a mild bleach solution and let it air dry. But if you're uncomfortable with using your stand mixer for both, you could always just buy a separate bowl and attachments for BB use only - you wouldn't have to buy a separate stand mixer.
I personally have found that a hand mixer just isn't powerful enough to get the airy, whipped consistency that I prefer in body butter, but that could just be my recipe. I DO use mostly hard butters and my technique may be different, so a good hand mixer may work for you as another poster mentioned.

 

[newlee]

I made a whipped body butter for the first time yesterday. It wasn't hard at all. I used Sal butter instead of Shea or Coco butter. It wasn't greasy either but I need some moisture so I'm going to make a cream instead. And I decided to add grapeseed oil next time.

 

[newlee]

I have been making soap for a little over 6 months. I am interested to make coordinating scented body butters. I am just in the initial phase of finding a recipe i want to try but was wondering if I need an actual mixer or could i use my stick blender to whip up the butter?

Any thoughts?

Instead of a whipped body butter, you can make a lotion or a heavy cream with a stick blender if you don't want to invest in another piece of equipment.

 

[Deeda]

I haven't made lotions lately but used to make good sized batches whipped with my SB. Keep the blade under the lotion, move it around with short bursts until you figure out how not to flip the oils all over while completely mixing. Doesn't take long at all to set up as long as your oils aren't too warm. Usually I would have orders for various fragrances, so would do each scent separately in gallon zip bags. Weigh out enough lotion to fill say 3 jars or bottles (plus) into the zip bag and I had already figured how much fragrance would sufficiently scent that much. Used pipettes to dispense FOs into the bag, fold the extra part of the bag over to not have air in the bag before zipping it shut. Then squish or knead the lotion to mix the FO until you feel it is mixed well. Can actually see the FO that hasn't mixed in, so keep squishing. Then snip a corner of the bag to easily dispense lotion into bottle or jars. You can use a ruler or tongue depressor on the outside of the bag to slide/push every last drop to the corner. Also note that a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol is handy to have. A spritz of alcohol will dissolve FO's and EO's off your equipment. That's what I use to clean out my amber bottles for reuse.

 

[Cellador]

Like cerelife mentioned, I bought an extra mixing bowl and whisk to use on my stand mixer for my B&B products. I'm actually more worried about getting food in my products than vice versa. Priorities, ya know...

 

[msunnerstood]

I bought a stick blender with a whisk attachment. Thats what I use for my butters and it works wonderfully