Less oily body butter please!

[Laurabolyard]

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!

 

[earlene]

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.

 

[toxikon]

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.

 

[Kittish]

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.

 

[Laurabolyard]

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!

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!

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.

 

[shunt2011]

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.

 

[Laurabolyard]

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?

 

[Cellador]

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.

 

[Kittish]

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.

 

[Laurabolyard]

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!!

 

[Kittish]

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.

 

[dibbles]

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.

 

[Laurabolyard]

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!

 

[dibbles]

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.

 

[Laurabolyard]

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?

 

[dibbles]

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.

 

[shunt2011]

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

 

[Paintguru]

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.

 

[saratk]

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.

 

[Laurabolyard]

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...