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Bramble Baby Belly Butter

Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials

Difficulty: Beginner
Time: 30 minutes
Yields: Four 8 oz. bail jars

With another Bramble Baby on the way (our Social Media Manager, Kristen, is due in October!) we decided to put a little spin our our original Whipped Belly Butter. We’ve supercharged this recipe with Tamanu Oil, Chia Seed Oil and Argan Oil, which are all known for their excellent moisturizing properties. We’ve also cooked up an essential oil blend fit for a king (or a queen!) that includes Roman Chamomile, Rose Absolute and Egyptian Geranium. A little bit of this lovely butter goes a long way, and it’s great for dry skin and pregnant bellies alike.

What You’ll Need:

1 oz. Tamanu Oil

10 oz. Shea Butter

3 oz. Cocoa Butter

4 oz. Mango Butter

3 oz. Chia Oil

1 oz. Argan Oil

1/4 cup Calendula Petals

Rose Absolute

Roman Chamomile Essential Oil

Carrot Seed Essential Oil

Egyptian Geranium Essential Oil

Hungarian Lavender Essential Oil

6 – 7 droppers

Optional: Stand Mixer with 5 Quart Glass Bowl

 

Click hereย to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart! And remember, you can always remove anything you donโ€™t need.

INFUSION PREP: Before you begin, infuse 1/4 cup Calendula Petals in an oil mixture of 3 oz. Chia Seed Oil and 1 oz. Argan Oil. If you’ve never made an infusion before, refer to this blog post on making a calendula infusion using your stove top.

ESSENTIAL OIL PREP: To make the essential oil blend, use droppersย to combine 20 drops of Rose Absolute, 10 drops Carrot Seed Essential Oil, 10 drops Roman Chamomile, 10 drops Egyptian Geranium and 10 drops Hungarian Lavender.

ONE: In a large mixing bowl, whip together the Mango and Shea butters on low speed for 30 seconds. Increase to medium speed for another 30 seconds. After about a minute of mixing, the butters should have a fluffy texture.

TWO: Some of the butter may have crept up the sides of the bowl. Use a spatula to incorporate it back into the mixture.

THREE: Melt the cocoa butter in the microwave on 30 second bursts. Once melted, slowly add it to the mixture with the blender on low speed. It’s very important that your mixer is on the lowest speed possible to prevent splattering the oil everywhere.

FIVE: Once the cocoa butter has been fully incorporated, slowly add the calendula infusion. Again, make sure your blender is on the lowest speed setting possible.

SIX: Slowly add in the tamanu oil and whip into the mixture on low speed. Once it has been fully incorporated, add in the essential oil blend.

SEVEN: With all ingredients in the bowl, turn the mixer on a medium speed for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

EIGHT: Package your butter in a jar or container. We like our 8 oz. glass bail jars.

And there you are — your luxurious body butter is ready to use!

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39 Comments

  1. Hi! I’m really interested in trying out this recipe but I’d like to make a small batch just to see how my skin reacts to it. (I’m very sensitive) Can you help me figure out how to alter the ingredient amounts to end up with about 2-4 ounces of finished butter? Also, I’d ultimately like to make something free nut oil free. What are some good substitutes for shea/argan that can produce a similar consistency that will be moisturizing and easy to spread? I was thinking maybe just using mango with extra cocoa to harden it up for the butters and maybe avocado oil for the liquid? Thanks so much in advance for the help! Love the blog and Soap Queen TV!!
    Kristin

  3. Hi there! We have a nut allergy issue in our household. Can you recommend a good replacement for the tamanu oil?

    • Hi Dani!

      You have a lot of options! Because the amount of Tamanu Oil is fairly small, switching it out for another oil won’t make a huge difference :). One option would be to increase the amount of Chia Oil, or Argan Oil. You could also use Avocado Oil!

      -Amanda with Bramble Berry

  4. Wow this seems like a great recipe. I’m new to this so I have fallen in love with your website. I was wondering about the consistency of this recipe. I am looking for a recipe that is thick yet creamy enough to be put into a squeezable style lotion bottle (something thicker than a lotion). Do you think this would be too thick? Also, could I use this as a base (minus the essential oils) to add my own essential oils to?

    • Good morning, Rasheedah!

      This recipe is creamy and fluffy, but because of the ratio of hard oils, it is not creamy enough to work with a squeezable style lotion bottle. If you want to experiment with the amount of hard and soft oils in this recipe, you can so that you can get it in a squeezable bottle.

      You can absolutely use this as a base to add your own essential oil blends to, and we’d love to hear how it turns out for you and which blends you pick. =)

      I hope this helps! Let us know if you have any other questions.

      -Becky with Bramble Berry

      • Thanks for the advice, I will definitely try that. In order to get this base to be used in a squeezable style lotion bottle, what ratio of hard oils to soft oils should I use?

        • Good morning, Rasheedah!

          If you wanted to reduce how thick this recipe was, I would experiment with the amount of Cocoa Butter until you get a consistency that works for you. Remember to test in small batches! Let us know what you end up going with, we can’t wait to hear how it turns out. =)

          -Becky with Bramble Berry

  5. Hi! I like this recipe. I have organic calendula oil – the organic petals were infused with organic olive oil. How could I incorporate that into this recipe? Thanks! Jennifer

    • Hi Jennifer!

      That organic calendula oil sounds like an excellent addition to this recipe. Instead of adding the Argan Oil into this recipe, you could add your organic calendula oil. I hope this helps! You’ll have to let us know how your version of this recipe turns out. =)

      -Becky with Bramble Berry

  6. This looks wonderful, I will have to try it.
    Quick question, in your average recipes for lotions, butters, scrubs, etc….are essential oils and fragrance oils interchangeable? I understand the difference between the two, just wondering if they can sub each other out.

    Thanks!

    • Good morning, Danielle!

      We used these particular essential oils because they have known properties that are great for the skin and body. But, with any recipe, you can always switch our the fragrance and essential oils for one of your choosing, just make sure to stay within the safe usage rate. I hope this helps! =)

      -Becky with Bramble Berry

      • Thanks for the quick response. Kinda a newbie with essential oils…does each oil have a different safe usage range? Will it be indicated on the bottle itself. If not, how does one calculate the ratio of essential oils to add?
        Thanks again!

        • Hi Danielle!

          There is a safe usage rate for each type of product you are making (cold process, lotion, melt & pour, etc.) and you can use Bramble Berry’s handy fragrance and essential oil calculator to get an exact amount for your particular project.

          Fragrance Calculator: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Fragrance-Calculator.aspx

          In general, we suggest using around .5 ounces of essential oil per pound of soap in cold process and .2 ounces per pound of base in melt & pour. Make sure to also check out each individual product page when using essential oils. We often have notes and usage rates listed there as well.

          I hope that his helps! If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask. =)

          Happy Soaping!
          -Becky with Bramble Berry

  8. This is very similar to a body butter I make and I love it! I’ve found the state (creamy, solid, etc.) varies with the temperature I am in, but these butters melt at body temperature so they should quickly absorb into the skin no matter what state they are in. I LOVE argan and tamanu oils and am trying to incorporate them into all my body butters and luxury body creams. I can’t wait to try this recipe!

  9. Great tutorial, thanks!

    FYI I clicked the “Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!” link and it just keeps telling me that my cart is empty. And I’m logged in (I checked).

    • Hi Maitri!

      Thanks for the eagle-eyes! We’ve actually taken a look at it and both links are now working so that you can add this kit to your cart. Let us know how you end up liking it! =)

      -Becky with Bramble Berry

    • Hi Mary!

      The shelf life of this particular product is going to be as long as the ingredient with the shortest shelf-life, which would either be the Mango Butter or Shea Butter at a shelf-life of one year. I hope this helps! =)

      -Becky with Bramble Berry

  11. Is there a way to store this? If so what container do I use and for how long?
    I’m really interested on making this to add to some homemade spa baskets for Christmas.

    Thx!! ๐Ÿ™‚

  12. Hi,
    This looks wonderful!! I made the last recipe for a friend and she used it faithfully, no stretch marks!! I think this would be great as a therapeutic body butter also, wouldn’t it?? I know two essential oils to add for tissue repair – Frankincense, and Hlichrysum..
    I use them in serums, and have seen fine lines and broken capillaries fade considerably. Thank you!!

  13. Does this stay light and fluffy or does it harden up? People at craft shows keep asking for ‘fluffy’ body butter.

    • I would be interested in scar cream myself. My 12 year old has had a number of surgeries and scar cream would be useful.

      Annie

    • Hi Merryn!

      While we cannot claim that this recipe will clear up scars, there are several ingredients in it that have been known to help stretch marks and I would definitely give this tutorial a try. You can also ask over at the Teach Soap Forums to see if there is anyone who can give you some tips and hints for the kind of recipe you are looking for. =)

      -Becky with Bramble Berry

      http://www.teachsoap.com/forum