Cheap to make and in large quantities
There are several options in the market today for skin care products that claim to be able to moisturize and condition the skin. In order to cover the market, cosmetic companies specifically try to formulate products for dry, very dry and combination skin separately. It is not clear sometimes the difference between these products. This might sometimes be a marketing scheme as it is unclear how the products cater differently for skin of various types. However, one thing that is certain is the price of these products. Skin care companies often feel comfortable with charging a premium once they incorporate a few well known ingredients like Shea Butter, Vitamin C and other highly effective products into their brands.
As a consumer, you have two options, pay the premium for their branded products incorporating a few well known ingredients or make your own in the comfort of your own kitchen after securing the ingredients you prefer to have. With the increased health awareness and curiosity of consumers, I’d definitely like to know exactly what is inside my personal care products. It would even be great to select and incorporate them by myself in some cases and in relatively larger quantities.
Pure natural and free of chemicals
Apart from the premium skin care companies often charge for small quantities of well-known skin care ingredients, there is also the addition of several other unnecessary and unhealthy ingredients that you may be exposed to with moisturizing and conditioning creams you find in the store. While many controversial ingredients like ‘parabens’ and others have not been clearly linked to dangerous diseases like cancer and others, the sheer speculation makes several health gurus recommend to simply avoid them. Unless you live in the tropics where your skin is probably naturally dewy all day long, you will need to slap on a good amount of moisturizing cream every day. Because of the quantity and frequency of use, it will be great to know that you are using pure and natural ingredients that cannot do you any harm. This is because anything applied to the skin is eventually absorbed into the bloodstream. It does not take a doctor to know that the skin is an important organ of the body that plays an important regulatory role.
Highly effective for moisturizing and conditioning hair and skin
I have always been interested in taking good care of my skin right from when I was a very little girl. In fact growing up I remember smiling more frequently when my mom told me that frowning would cause frown lines on my face but that smiling would make me more beautiful. Till today, I always remember that statement whenever I put on a frown and I just keep an expressionless face when I don’t feel like smiling. Because of my keen interest, I have tried several skin care products in my young life. Some have been effective, others no so much. Some of the effective ones have come at a high cost. The ones that claim to moisturize never seem to do so successfully because I still see that ashy skin within a very short period of time.
If you are like me, you also detest the look of ashy skin. I also don’t like to see it on my kids or husband. I have found that the only thing that works highly successfully for all of us are whipped natural butters. Once we slap it on, we are good to go. Nothing else works on those feet, elbows and knees. Natural butters cannot be beaten when it comes to thoroughly nourishing and moisturizing skin of various types: dry, very dry, combination and even oily skin. Not only are natural body butters like Shea, Cocoa, Mango, Tamanu and others relatively cheap and free of chemicals and artificial ingredients, they are also highly effective for moisturizing and conditioning hair and skin.
Safe to use on entire family, adults and kids
Although the idea of having several skin care products seems appealing to some people, keeping it simple is the only way for some. Don’t you just like buying one skin moisturizing cream that the whole family can use? Well there are very few products out there that can be safely used by your infant, toddler as well as you and your significant other. Furthermore, many skin care companies make products with lots of chemicals that make it unsafe for children to use. The question is why use a product that your infant or toddler cannot use? What makes your own skin immune to the dangerous consequences that your infant or toddler can have by using these products? While I do not claim to have all the answers to these questions, I can safely say that we all use the same products in my family because we believe that what is dangerous for my 10 month old is also dangerous for his dad and I as well as his brother who is a toddler.
Once I slap on my whipped body butters on my toddler, his body stays moisturized throughout his stay despite all the running around outside. Not only are natural body butters like Shea, Cocoa, Mango, Tamanu and others relatively cheap, free of chemicals and artificial ingredients, highly effective for moisturizing and conditioning hair and skin, they can also be safely used by the entire family which make them irreplaceable.
Easy to make
Given all the unique benefits of using natural butters for caring for the skin, it is amazing how easily they are made. Nature has been so generous to us, some of the butters are ready to use in their raw and natural state. Shea Butter can be applied as it is in the raw state just by rubbing between the palms. To reap all the benefits, using it in the unrefined state is highly recommended. However some people do not like the smell. I’d say chuck in your favorite essential oil and you are all set. The other butters might need to be refined. Mango butter goes through a refining process so that it can be more easily incorporated in skin products. Cocoa butter is sold and needs to be melted before it can be successfully used. Tamanu butter is an extraordinary body butter that has tremendous healing properties. I’d say whip your butters to get some air into them so they can be fluffy and easily scooped onto the skin. However, there is no limit to how body butters can be used. It all depends on your preference. But as long as you have a kitchen and a few simple kitchen appliances, you are ready to make gorgeously fluffy body butters your entire family will love. They also make excellent handmade gifts that your friends and colleagues would love and appreciate. For presentation ideas, stay tuned to our blog.
Long shelf life
Not only are natural butters cheap, safe to use and free from harmful ingredients, they also have a long shelf life. Unrefined organic Shea Butter can keep for three years. It is hard to find moisturizing products on store shelves that can stay perfect for that long. However, in order to get the best out of your Shea Butter, the American Shea Butter association recommends using it fresh. If you intend to keep it for a long period of time, you can preserve the freshness and potency by storing it in an airtight container. Mason jars are your best friend for preserving these raw natural butters.
Easily incorporate unique and preferred ingredients: know all your ingredients
I am certain that I am not the only one that wishes I could understand what the ingredients found in many personal care products mean. No matter how curious you are, you would get exhausted googling all the complex chemical ingredients found on many skin care products. Even when you google the terms and find out what they mean, you may not be able to adequately determine what their effects (short and long term) are. But what if you could know all your ingredients and easily incorporate them into your skin care products yourself, in quantities that you are completely satisfied with. I am sure this would be a more preferred option for many people. Whipping up your natural butters with some nourishing carrier and essential oils can make a unique healthy butter that your whole family will love. You can even go ahead and customize everyone’s butter just the way they would like and enjoy it. This is the kind of flexibility that natural body butters can offer you.
Extraordinary healing potential
Not only are natural butters great for moisturizing the skin and hair, they also have great healing potential. There are many products out there that claim to clear acne and several other skin problems but only a handful are truly effective. The effective ones are often full of several chemicals. I personally witnessed my sister come down with severe migraine headaches while using a certain acne product in attempts to clear her skin. It was not until she read the side effects of the product that she realized the real cause of her migraine. Many people use these products and they do not even know where the symptoms they are having originated from. Natural butters like Shea and Tamanu are highly renowned for their healing attributes. While Shea Butter can clear various skin blemishes, eczema and many others (see article on what can Shea Butter do for you), Tamanu Butter is highly effective in curing acne conditions as well as slowing down the signs of aging (See more on the extraordinary healing potential of natural butters in our articles in the Butter Love series, ‘Butter Love part 1-3’).
Makes great gifts for friends and family.
With DIY skin care, there is a great potential for making incredible gifts that your friends and colleagues will highly love and appreciate. There is absolutely no limit to how you want to incorporate your favorite carrier and essential oils to increase the nourishment potential of your end products. So feel free to explore and be creative with your ideas. Please don’t forget to share your ideas and favorite DIY projects with us. We would highly appreciate your comments and feedback.
Please stay tuned for highly detailed DIY body butter recipes coming soon!
Pamela Izunwanne Jacobs, PhD is the director of Oslove Organics. Oslove Organics has a variety of ingredients for your DIY skin care products. We stock only the finest, pure and natural ingredients because we support DIY skin care in all shapes and forms.