DIY Cocoa Butter Body Balm

Winter is here and so is dry, patched, scaly skin. Urgh!!!

Sticking to my desire to stay away from chemicals as much as possible (click for post on Natural/Organic Fever), I decided to make my own body cream balm.  I followed Naptural85's shea butter creme recipe for hair but instead of using shea butter, I used cocoa butter. It smells good and leaves the skin moisturized, soft, and supple.

Next time I will skip directly to step 6 and 7. But since I wasn't sure how the process would work with cocoa butter, I will share with you what I did.

Step 1: Gather all the ingredients. 
Note: See end of the post for the list of places where I purchased my oils

You can mix the cocoa butter with whatever oils you like to use. Below is what I use in my hair/body mix during the warmer months (excluding the cocoa butter). 

Unrefined organic Cocoa butter

Extra virgin olive oil

Organic Jojoba oil

Organic Avocado oil

Castor oil

Organic Grapeseed oil

Vitamin E

Tea tree oil (not in picture)

Step 2: Portion the amount of cocoa butter you want to use and place it a blender. I used a knife to break up the cocoa butter.

Unrefined organic coca butter

Using knife to break up cocoa butter

Step 3: Mix the rest of the oils together in a separate container/bottle. You can use whatever oils you like.

Step 4: Blend the cocoa butter and oils together until it is somewhat smooth. You may need to add a good amount of the mixed oil to get the mixture going.

Keep blending. You are almost there....

Step 5: Scrape your mixture into a clean container. I reused my cocoa butter container.

Lumpy cream

You can leave the cream balm lumpy if you like as your body heat will melt away the lumps as you apply the cream. For those who want a smoother texture, proceed to step 6.

Step 6: Pour some hot (not boiling) water in a bowl and place the container with your cocoa butter in it. The water should be enough so that the container is not floating in the water. We don't want to lose all that precious cocoa butter now do we?

Stir the mixture as the lumps melt. Keep stirring and don't let the butter melt too much. The same process is used to melt chocolate so think chocolate, don't burn, chocolate, don't burn :)

Step 7: The cream will solidify once it cools making a balm but it is still soft enough to use. Your body heat will melt the balm as you apply it.

Enjoy your homemade cocoa butter body balm. Your body will thank you. 


UPDATE: Mix the oil with shea butter for a smoother creme/butter. 

My Purchase List (click on links if available)

Unrefined organic Cocoa butter - Moutain Rose Herbs

Extra virgin olive oil - any grocery store

Organic Jojoba oil - Jojoba Company

Organic Avocado oil - Whole Foods (also check GNC or Vitacost)

Castor oil - Vitacost

Organic Grapeseed oil - Whole Foods (also check GNC or Vitacost)

Vitamin E - Trader Joes (also check GNC or Vitacost)

Tea tree oil - Trader Joes (also check GNC or Vitacost)