Natural Monday - Whipped Butters

whooaahh!! Where did January go? I know it's been a couple of weeks since I last blogged, it has been a hectic, busy and lurgie filled couple of weeks I can tell you.

I am trying to find the elusive spare moment to fit in a blog post along with other stuff but it's not happened yet.

Well anyway, Onto today's Natural Monday post and one of my fave items to make, Whipped Butters. The very popular all rounder.

I can't make enough of the stuff here as the family use it all the time and Hubby and eldest request another batch as soon as they see the bottom of the jar coming into sight.
Hubs in particular loves the way the butters sink into his skin and having quite dry skin, he is happy to have found a moisturiser that lasts.

I whipped up a jar on Saturday and that nudged my memory of a couple of requests during blogmas so thought it would be a great item for today's NM

I love the versatility of the butters, they can be used all over the body including the face and also in the hair.

There are thousands of recipes out there and different ways to make them so I will list some tips that I find make the process and the results go smoothly (no pun intended :p )


*Get your jars/ containers ready before you start.
*Have a spray bottle of alcohol handy.
*Sterilise all containers, utensils and surfaces.
*Use a bigger bowl than you think necessary - its aamazing how the ingredients fly lol
*Use organic ingredients where possible.
*Try to use cold pressed, raw and virgin oils.
*Go for ingredients that work for your(or recipient) skin/hair type.
*Cut down on the oil content if you want a firmer butter.
*If using wax, melt first (sounds obvious but hey ho)
*Melt the harder ingredients before adding the softer ones, the heat from them will melt the others   without needing to heat them also, more heat means more chance of loosing benefits.
*Place Butter in the freezer to cook in between whipping.
*You don't have to whip if you don't wish to, just let the ingredients harden in the fridge.
*Add a few drops of Vitamin E oil to help preserve and utilise it's many benefits.
*Add your fave essential oil(s) to boost the butter but be safe and consult doctor if pregnant or have    any medical conditions. Put them into the butter during you last whip.

*If you live in a particularly hot environment, you may want to keep your butter in a fridge. Even if you live in a cooler climate and the butter melts just pop in the fridge to solidify, you can whip again if you like but the solidified butter is still very nice.
*Keep the jar/container away from sunlight.
*It may sound odd but wash up mixing bowls and utensils straight away - hardened butter ingrdients   is a nightmare.


I use many different ingredients in my butters and tend to adjust them for the recipient, time of year and just because lol. Here are some of my fave ingredients to use and why I love them:
* Butters ;
   Shea (Karite) - moisturising, soothing, excellent for number of skin conditions, protects, vitamin A
       source, healing,
                   
   Cocoa - rich, smoothing, scar reducing, moisturising, penetrating, great for many skin conditions,
         softening.
   Mango - healing, soothing, moisturising, softening, vitamin A,C and E source.

* Oils;
   Raw/Virgin Coconut - my all time fave oil. Moisturising, nourishing, brightening, softening, 
        protecting, penetrating, repairing, brightens.
   Avocado - hydrating, nourishing, absorbent, stimulates hair growth, source of vitamin E and B
        healing, soothing, light in smell.
  Grapeseed - light in texture and smell, source of ceramides, absorbent, cleansng, gentle, source of
        beta carotine, vitamin D, C and E, scar reducing, nourishing, stimulates hair growth.
   Jamaican or Haitian Black Castor Oil - love this oil! moisturisng, nourishing, mega hair growth
         stimulant, circulation stimulant, softening, smoothing, soothing, healing,
* Essential Oils - I use soooo many different ones and for different reasons but my top 3 are;
    Lavender - soothing, gentle, bacteria inhibiting, increases hair growth, improves blood circulation,
          healing, 
    Rose - lovely smell, uplifting, bacteria inhibiting, healing,
    rosemary - cleansing, stimulates hair growth(see a pattern here? lol) antiviral, toning, 
           strengthening,

*Misc Ingredients - I love adding different "bitses and pieces" to my butters, you can add your fave stuff but I highly recommend  a little beeswax, honey or glycerine.

I hope this post was helpful and you got some tips and are rearing to make a moisturising Hair and Body Butter, I didn;t want to bore you by "reinventing the wheel" as it were but thought this way, I could share what works for me. Please do let me know if you need any more info and if you make some.


nb, I'll add photos of my jar from Saturday in tomorrow when it's light.