How to make a luscious, creamy Shea Butter Body Balm to moisturize dry winter skin, tame locks, soothe cracked lips, and condition dry hands and feet. Made with simple all-natural ingredients, scented with your choice of essential oils. A fun kitchen DIY project, perfect for gifts or self-care.
Here’s a fun DIY kitchen project to make while we’re all holed up at home this holiday season. I’ve been enjoying playing around with different scents, and I’m finding that being creative in the kitchen really does help with cabin fever.
The Shea Butter Body Balm is creamy and luscious and can be scented with your choice of essential oils. I’ve been using it on my dry skin, lips and even on my hair – a wild hair tamer for sure!
This time of year citrus scents are so uplifting, so most of my batches contain some sort of citrus blend. Depending on what you are after, you can create the scent that suits your needs best.
The best part is, this takes just 15 minutes of hands-on time- very simple and easy! This would be fun to make with kids, letting them pick their own personal scents and create their own labels.
Balm Ingredients
- Shea Butter – anti-inflammatory, hypo-allergenic, anti-oxidant, moisturizing, skin-plumping, heals scars.
- Beeswax– gives structure to the balm (thickens it) reduces Psoriasis and Eczema, soothes and calms the skin, hydrating, softening, protective, smoothing, collagen-enhancing, conditions brittle hair.
- Coconut Oil– reduces inflammation, moisturizes, wound healing, antimicrobial
- Jojoba Oil – a versatile, nourishing oil for skin and hair.
- Optimal vitamin E oil- a powerful antioxidant, reduces psoriasis, soothes eczema, and is anti-aging.
- Essential oils for scent – see notes below!
- Equipment: small pourable milk pot, two x 2-ounce jars or one 4-ounce jar, and optional labels.
How to make a Balm
Step 1. Melt the shea butter, beeswax and coconut oil over a very low flame. Remove from heat. You can also use a double boiler.
Step two. Stir in the jojoba oil and the optional vitamin E oil.
Step Three. Add Scents. Add 10-20 drops of essential oils to the individual jar, creating your blend. I usually pick 2-3 oils but you can also keep it simple and stick with one.
Essential Oil Ideas
- Citrus– lemon, tangerine, bergamot, grapefruit
- Floral– geranium, jasmine, rose, lavender
- Herbal– lemongrass, rosemary, sage,
- Forest– eucalyptus, fir, cedar, spruce
- Earthy– sandalwood, vetiver, black pepper, frankincense
For example, you could pick out a couple of individual oils and blend them yourself, or there are also handy sets of organic essential oils on Amazon. (Affiliate link). Or go with ultra-pure Doterra. Here is another one: Organic Essential Oil Set that has some nice options. While you are at it, you can also use the oils in a diffuser- here is my favorite one: Diffuser with Oils.
Step four. Pour the melted balm into the jar with the essential oil.
This recipe will perfectly fill two, 2-ounce jars. These are the jars I used. (Affiliate link)
Step 5. Let it cool until opaque.
Step 6. Label the jars giving them your own personal spin or name. I used these labels.
Seal up the Shea Butter Body Balms and give them away as gifts, or keep them for yourself- a little self-love. 😉
I have one by my bedside table, one in the bathroom for wild flyaway hair, and one in the car for lips.
A fun little kitchen project to help fend off any winter blues. I personally find adding citrus essential oils to the balms, really uplifts the spirit.
Have fun with this, and enjoy!
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Happy holidays friends -wishing you beautiful moments of joy, speckled with laughter, sparkling with love and packaged up in warm, cozy hugs (virtual, of course).
Cheers,
Sylvia
Wonder Balm (Shea Butter Body Balm)
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 ounce jar
- Category: DIY, holiday, gifts,
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
How to make a luscious, creamy Shea Butter Body Balm to soothe dry winter skin, tame locks, heal cracked lips, and moisturize dry hands and feet. Made with simple all-natural ingredients, scented with your choice of essential oils.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons organic Shea Butter
- 1 tablespoon Beeswax
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons Jojoba Oil
- optional: 1 teaspoon Vitamin E Oil
- 10-20 drops of Essential Oils or Doterra
Instructions
The recipe makes two 2-ounce jars, so feel free to multiply.
Place shea butter, beeswax and coconut oil in a small pourable pot over very low heat, and stir until melted into a liquid. Remove from heat. Stir in jojoba oil and vitamin e oil.
Add your choice of essential oils (10-20 drops) to the 2-ounce jar and pour in the warm balm, stirring with a toothpick or chopstick. Let cool completely until opaque, about 1-2 hours.
Seal and label, giving it your own personal style.
Use on skin, hands, feet, lips or on dry hair.
Notes
I prefer adding the essential oil to the jars themselves so I can make different scents. If making more than one jar, but with all the same scent, feel free to add the essential oils to the pot after you remove it from heat.
Shea butter can have a tendency to crystalize. One thing that helps is to cool it down quickly by putting the jars in the fridge after you pour them. (If it does crystalize, the crystals will melt once they are rubbed in to your skin, but it doesn’t look as smooth.)
Hmmm…according to my calculations this makes a 4 ounce jar, but you say in the directions it makes a 2 ounce jar…am I missing something?
Thanks!
No, I think you are correct! I updated the recipe. 🙂
Thank you! 🌹 Please can you say if I can swap jojoba oil for graoeseed oil? 🪷
Yes, that would be totally fine!
Thank you 😊🌹 sorry meant to say grapeseed oil ☺️
I figured. 🙂
Is there a shelf life?
Hi Paula, I’ve been using the same batch for about a year now and it still seems good? I’m not sure of how long it will last specifically though. Does anyone else know?
Can you add honey to this?
Hi Rachel, You can add just a bit of honey- it doesn’t take much to make the balm sticky. Honey powder is often used, haven’t tried this but supposedly doesn’t make the product sticky.
I loved this recipe but I’m using many jars all at once due to making more than I probably should … can this be reheated and cooled into one jar ?
Yes, absolutely.
My balm is quite hard I’ve reduced the 1tbsp beeswax to 2/3rd tbsp but still quite hard can you pls advise minimum amount of beeswax needed that would give a good consistency? Thank you
Sorry about this Saiqa. I think you could go down to 1 teaspoon of beeswax. You can start with less, once all ingredients are melted, test a little on a spoon- let it cool. Add more to your desired consistency. You can also melt down the balm you made and add a second round of the ingredients, leaving out the beeswax. We need to revisit this recipe and fine tune it.
Used this recipe and added a little bit of turmeric powder to it for the anti-inflammatory properties. Instead of vitamin E oil, I used a vitamin E capsule. A little goes a long way, and I will be using this to help heal my laparotomy scar. I didn’t add any essential oils as I am sensitive to smell from chemo. The shea butter gives it a nice mellow smell anyway in my opinion.
Nice Kas, love that you made it your own! Wishing you the best on your healing journey.
So happy you enjoyed this and love the turmeric powder addition!
Thanks a lot , I’m interested to try it.
Let us know what you think Samah!
Do you think it would be okay to substitute jojoba oil for sweet almond oil?
Yes for sure!
Can I purchase Wonder Balm from you?
I would just send you one, but I don’t have any at the moment. 🙂
Thank you.
I didn’t see the amounts for the ingredients listed. Also, can you add a colorant to it?
Hi Wendy, jump to the recipe card! I am not sure about a colorant, havent tried but don’t see why not?
I see the ingredients for homemade miracle balm but you don’t give the amounts:1/2 tsp, etc
Scroll to the bottom of the post to the recipe card all the measurements are listed.
Mine came out quite greasy, any way to amend it? Maybe more shea butter or……
Sounds like it could use more beeswax?
Some people put arrowroot powder to counteract that
Oh that is good to know!