Kokum butter is great for the skin because it contains antioxidants and vitamin E. It is also perfect for body butters because it is very light and absorbs very quickly on the skin. It is a light yellow cream color and the natural scent is earthy and pleasant. Its a very distinct scent just like the mango butter. Kokum butter is obtained from the fruit of the Kokum tree (Garcinia indica) and comes from the central part of India. I regularly use kokum butter in my triple butter soaps but today wanted to share a great, yet simple kokum butter body butter recipe that is perfect to moisturize the skin.
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This kokum butter body butter is wonderful, I love that it absorbs very quickly and does not feel greasy at all. It is a very simple formulation but truly a wonderful treat for the skin. The texture is airy and light but hard as this formulation is 70% kokum butter.
I decided to add some fragrance and a bit of color to this body butter. These two ingredients are purely optional. The body butter natural color will be a yellow color due to both the color of the kokum butter and the golden jojoba oil. The natural color is jus beautiful as well.
Ingredients to make kokum butter body butter
- 2.45 oz kokum butter
- 1.0 oz golden jojoba oil
- 0.05 oz vitamin E oil
- 0.05 oz fragrance (I used Honey I washed the kids for this body butter) – optional
- 1/4 tsp pink mica – optional
Other materials you will need
How to make kokum butter body butter
Step 1: Weigh out the kokum butter, golden jojoba oil and vitamin E oil. This recipe makes 3.5 ounces of body butter. This may seem as a small amount but with body butters, a little goes a long way. You can always increase the batch size if needed.
Step 2: Use the double boiler method to melt the kokum butter. I prefer using the double boiler method so that I have a bit more control of the temperature. I usually remove the butter from the water bath before it is fully melted and then use a spatula to mix and fully melt.
Step 3: Add the golden jojoba oil and the vitamin E to the melted kokum butter and mix well using a spatula.
Step 4: Place the body butter in the refrigerator for 45 minutes to an hour. Allow the body butter to cool. You will see that it cools and looks hardened however it will still be soft to the touch and perfect to whip.
Step 5: Whip the body butter using the hand mixer for one to two minutes. Then add the fragrance and the mica colorants if using.
For this project I used a fragrance called Honey I washed the kids, it is a soft scent and goes perfect with a pink color so I decided to add pink color mica.
Step 6: Continue to whip the body butter for 7 to 10 more minutes. At this point the body butter is done and ready to use.
Step 7: Transfer the kokum butter body butter to the bail jars and enjoy.
This body butter is perfect to treat yourself. I enjoy giving wonderful skin care products as gifts to my friends and family and this body butter is definitely one that I am very proud to gift.
The kokum butter has wonderful skin benefits
I love that this kokum butter body butter recipe only has three key ingredients. It is so light and perfect that does not require to add any arrowroot powder to enhance the feel on the skin. To me is just perfect.
I prefer body butters over lotions because they are just so easy to make. You can create so many textures and variations depending on the type of base butter ingredient you select. Also, you can specifically select other ingredients that enhance the benefits on the skin. Another good reason to try body butters over lotions is that they do not require a preservative since they do not include water on the formulation.
I still like lotions because it is a very different type of formulation and I love experimenting and creating wonderful skin care products. I am looking forward to sharing some of my lotion formulations with you in future posts.
If you like this body butter, I have other body butter ideas that you make like:
Mango and Avocado Body Butter – with mango butter
Turkish Mocha Body Butter – triple butter
Whipped Coffee Body Butter – with coffee butter
Hi Jasmine. I’m thrilled with your site. I would like to make this recipe. I have one question. It feels greasy on skin?
Thanks in advance.
Daysi Calderón
Hi Daysi, thank you so much for your comment. I am happy you like the site. This body butter is not very greasy and absorbs very quickly. If it is too greasy, make sure to add arrowroot powder to cut the greasiness. I recommend starting with one teaspoon of arrowroot powder until you get the perfect consistency for you.
Where did you buy the fragrance oil?
Hi Rhonda, I bought the fragrance oil from BeScented.com (https://bescented.com/product/honey-i-washed-the-kids/)
Thanks, your body butter looks amazing
Thank you!
Hi Jasmine, I have a small business,,, would this body butter do okay in warmer temperatures.. I mean not melt?
That is the problem I am having,,,
love to hear your thoughts.. I don’t want to stop making body butter because of the summer months..
TIA
Hi Debi, kokum butter has a higher melting point than shea butter and is also firmer than cocoa butter. I am in TX and it holds well for me during the summer months. The challenge during shipping is that the truck can get very hot. I still think it is a good butter to make during summer. I think you should give it a try. I wish you the best!
Hello Jasmine, great recipe! I’ve been wanting to make my own body butter recipe (opening small business) and I can’t decide whether to use shea or kokum butter, so I was thinking, what if I use both? I’ve been researching different carrier oils and butters, and these are the ones I’d love to have in a body butter – I will be using kokum butter, shea butter, almond oil, sunflower oil, vitamin e oil, arrowroot powder, and mica. Do you know the percentages that would be best for this formula? I’m a complete beginner and I’ve heard that there are certain usage percentages for each ingredient, so I’m stuck on creating a recipe. Any help or advice would be appreciated, thank you!
Hi Christina, congratulations on opening a small business, that is so exciting. I wish you all the best and success! For body butters with the ingredients that you want to use there are usually some starting guidelines based on hard oils/butters and liquid oils. You can start with a 60% hard oils/butters and 40% liquid oils. Another option is to start with 70% hard oils/butters and 30% liquid oils. It really depends on the consistency and how quick you want it to absorb on the skin. From these percentages you can then decide how much of each oil and butter you prefer to use. There are so many variations and options and the percentages are not really set in stone, for example you can create a mostly almond oil butter by mixing with almond wax. I recommend that you start with equal amounts of kokum butter and shea butter, since they are different in how they absorb on the skin (up to 70% of your formulation) then slightly higher amount of sunflower oil than almond oil since sunflower oil also absorbs a bit faster on the skin than almond oil (for the remaining 29%). Up to 1% of Vitamin E oil. On the arrowroot powder start with 1 TBS per pound of oils and with mica I will start with a very small amount like 1/8 tsp. I hope this helps. Experimenting is the best way to find what you like. I wish you all the best of success on your business!
Hi
Any preservative needed to keep it longer? or how long can it be used?
This body butter is good for about a year based on the shortest shelf life of the ingredients. For preservative I recommend Optiphen Plus https://amzn.to/3uwNDDu
Hey Jasmine,
Love the recipe, however I don’t have a hand mixer. Is there an alternative method I could use?
Thanks!
Hi Jess, I am so glad you like this recipe. I hope you try it. If you don’t have a hand mixer you can use a stand mixer if you have one. You can also mix with a whisk but it will take a bit longer to get the body butter to a good airy consistency! All the best!
Hi would this be fine as a face moisturiser?
Hello, yes kokum butter is considered non-comedogenic and with its nourishing properties it can be a good moisturizer. However, recommend to test it first in a small part of the face.