Whipped Shea Body Butter

Shea butter, in all varieties, is a wonderfully healing and moisturising, naturally occurring butter. The following recipe is very simple and makes the most lovely, light and fluffy body butter - perfect for special gifts or just to give parched skin a luxurious treat. You could play around with the recipe, such as change the ratios to produce different textures or using different combinations of fixed oils chosen for their specific properties (there are lots of oil profiles in the resource bank at Fresholi that may help offer a guide).

Anyway, enjoy and I would love to hear your comments if you have tried this or anything similar!!

Ingredients:

80g Shea Butter
18g Fixed oil of choice (almond oil is a wonderful emollient or you may wish to use a drier oil such as sunflower)
1g Vitamin E
1g Fragrance/essential oils of choice

Directions:

1. Melt the shea butter (if it is refined) in a non-aluminium bowl over a pan of boiling water
2. Add the fixed oil and stir well.
3. Remove from heat, add fixed oil and stir well.
4. Allow to cool then cover and put in the freezer for 5 minutes.
5. Remove from the freezer, add essential oils (or fragrance), vitamin E and using a hand whisk or stick blender, begin whipping the mixture for a good 5 minutes.
6. Return to the freezer for 5 then whip for 5 & repeat until mixture becomes light in colour and fluffy.
7. Spoon into a jar and label.

Notes: The shea butter would only really need melting if it is the harder, refined variety however, if using unrefined shea or especially the even softer nilotica shea, you probably wouldn't need to melt it at all. Simply add your fixed oil a little at a time as you are whipping. No need to keep freezing either. Add in your vitamin E and essential/fragrance oils when the mixture has softened enough to ensure even distribution.

More recipes can be found at http://www.fresholi.com/