Paleo Sweet Orange & Coconut Body Butter

I am proud to announce that I am starting a new ‘Primal Beauty’ section to my blog and this is my first ever DIY beauty recipe, and oh boy is it a good one!

My Paleo Sweet Orange & Coconut Body Butter is made using only a small handful of natural ingredients, is super easy to make and far cheaper than most organic/natural skincare brands on the high street. And did I forget to mention that it smells like Summer in a jar? Because it really really does! I mean it smells that good that you could eat it, and well everyone will probably want to eat you after slapping this lush stuff on your skin!

The texture isn’t too oily, only when you first apply it and then it soaks in like a dream. It’s best to keep this out of direct sunlight or heat in general as it will melt easily and then once it re-solidifies it will become more solid and less fluffy!

I would like to apologise for the appalling photos, I think it’s going to take me a little while to get into the swing of setting up some beauty product shots! But enough of my waffle, there’s more to this moisturiser than, well moisturising!

Reaping the benefits…

Shea Butter

I decided to use shea butter as my base as it is fairly inexpensive, but also as it is a super healing, vitamin A packed oil! Shea butter contains something called cinnamic acid, which yes is pretty close to your beloved spice cinnamon. This cinnamic acid is antimicrobial and packed full of antioxidants, couple this with the high vitamin A content in shea butter and you can treat a whole host of skin ailments from dermatitis, sunburn, insect bites, blemishes, eczema and to yes – even wrinkles!

Shea butter is even great for stretch mark prevention during pregnancy and due to it’s anti inflammatory properties it can also be used for muscle pain and fatigue. Do realise though that the more processed the shea butter is that you have purchased the less these amazing properties will be in abundance! This is because the cinnamic acid content drastically reduces.

Virgin Coconut Oil

The second moisturiser I added to my body butter was virgin coconut oil. I didn’t want to use refined coconut oil as it can block your pores – especially when used on your face! Again coconut oil is as we all know amazing for our bodies but it is also great for our skin as it is antifungal, antibacterial and as well as being a great moisturiser it smells amazing too!

Cacao Butter

My third and final moisturiser of choice is cacao butter. I went for cacao butter because as much as I love shea butter I am not a super huge fan of it’s smell and cacao butter just smells luscious! But it’s not only it’s smell that I love but the fact that it helps to reduce the visibility of stretch marks, something that I have had to come to terms with after giving birth to 3 cheeky babies. It’s also great for anti ageing too as it is packed full of antioxidants.

Coconut & Sweet Orange Essential Oils

And finally, I added in some gorgeous essential oils – coconut because I love the smell, and sweet orange oil because it is pretty much the best essential oil ever! Sweet orange essential oil is antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, an aphrodisiac, great for acne and dermatitis and to top it all off it is a great anti-depressant and mood booster! I cannot stress how amazing this body butter smells and I will admit that yes I do even feel a little bit sexy wearing it!

And after all of my incessant yapping, here is the recipe!!!

Paleo Sweet Orange & Coconut Body Butter

Yields: Roughly enough to fill 3/4 of a 380ml Mason Jar 

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Preparation Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

125g Unrefined raw shea butter
3 tbsp virgin coconut oil
3 tbsp cacao butter
50 drops coconut fragrance oil
40 drops sweet orange essential oil

Method:

1. Place your shea butter, coconut oil, and cacao butter into a heatproof bowl over a double boiler/bain marie on a low heat. Give it a good stir every now and then until the ingredients are fully melted. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 5 minutes.
2. Place the bowl into the freezer until the mixture solidifies, be sure to check on the mix and give it a good stir. This part of the process shouldn’t take too long at all – probably about 20-30 minutes.
3. Remove the bowl and get out your electric hand whisk, start to beat the mixture on the lowest setting and gradually begin to increase the speed, whip your mixture until it becomes a smooth and fluffy butter. Add your essential and fragrance oils and beat in until fully combined. Spoon into your airtight mason jar and store out of the way of direct sunlight for up to 3 months.