This simple DIY shea butter lotion recipe (made with just 3 ingredients) is the perfect moisturizer for the whole body, face included, and may be used for acne-prone and aging skin.
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I’ll guide you, step-by-step, through how to make shea butter lotion, using shea butter and no coconut oil (because coconut oil can and will clog pores). The final product is a non-greasy, 100% natural moisturizer, with a creamy consistency and skin-soothing properties.
This recipe is used just like store-bought body lotions: to moisturize the face, hands, feet, legs, arms. Technically, this is more of a homemade body butter recipe: a thick moisturizing cream versus a pumpable lotion. (Make pumpable lotion recipe here.)
But whatever you call it, it’s one thing: AMAZING!
What is Shea Butter?
Shea butter comes from the “nut” (or pit) of the fruit found on the Karite Tree. It is soft, compared to cocoa butter, and has a strong scent when it’s purchased in an unrefined state.
I use unrefined shea butter in body-care recipes, but if you don’t care for the (natural) fragrance, I recommend using refined shea butter. Shea butter softens and moisturizes the skin, making it perfect for homemade lotion, shaving cream, and lip balm.
Benefits of Shea Butter
Shea butter is the main ingredient used to make homemade body lotion and many other skin care products.
- It’s naturally rich in vitamins and fatty acids, like vitamin A and vitamin E.
- It contains anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties. It’s ideal for sensitive skin and as an anti-aging product. There’s even evidence that shea butter could help with wrinkles.
- Shea butter helps to combat dry skin. It’s an emollient: traps moisture on the skin without clogging pores. There’s also some evidence to suggest that it may help to alleviate eczema symptoms and soften scar tissue. Source: Medical News Today
- Shea butter contains stearic acid, a naturally occurring fatty acid, that allows the butter to spread smoothly on skin without tension. This makes it ideal for a body and face moisturizer since it will melt right into the skin!
I personally use shea butter moisturizer every night before bed. And I’ve seen the texture and softness of my skin improve.
Before You Get Started: Ingredients & Tools
The natural ingredients can be found at most health food stores or online via Amazon. Each ingredient is carefully chosen for its natural moisturizing properties.
Video Recipe Tutorial
How to Make Shea Butter Lotion: Step-By-Step Instructions
Here’s the best way to make shea butter lotion, step by step.
Step 1: Melt Shea Butter
Heat the shea butter to melt it, don’t burn it. To avoid burning the shea butter, create a DIY double boiler. This will allow you to melt the shea butter without it directly touching the heat.
Place a medium-size glass bowl over a sauce pan filled 1/4 the way full with water. The glass bowl should sit just on top of the saucepan, without touching the water in the pan.
Over medium heat, allow the water in the saucepan to simmer. Then add the shea butter and melt.
Once the shea butter has fully melted (about 2-3 minutes), turn off the heat and remove the bowl from the heat.
Step 2: Add Nourishing Carrier Oil
Stir 1 teaspoon of arrowroot starch into the liquid oil of choice (grapeseed oil, sweet almond oil, OR jojoba oil) and whisk to combine. Pour the oil (and arrowroot starch whisked in, if using) into the shea butter.
You can skip the arrowroot starch and add the oil directly to the shea butter at this step. The arrowroot creates a non-greasy lotion.
How do you make non-greasy shea butter lotion? Adding arrowroot starch, which is similar to cornstarch, is the best option. You’ll find this ingredient in the baking section at most grocery stores or online. This ingredient may also be used in cooking: make almond flour cookies and waffles or thicken stir-fry sauce.
Step 3: Cool in the Fridge
At this point, the shea butter and oil mixture should be cooler (along with the bowl).
If not, allow it to rest for a few minutes. Then place the mixture in the fridge and allow it to solidify (about 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on location in the fridge and temperature).
Alternatively, speed up the process by placing the bowl in the freezer.
Step 4: Add Essential Oils
Once the mixture is opaque and firm (not solid as a rock), remove the bowl from the fridge.
Add the essential oil (or a combination of essential oils) of choice, if desired. Add up to 15 drops of skin-safe essential oils to this mixture. A few of my favorite essential oils to add are listed in the recipe below.
Step 5: Whip the Shea Butter
Use the whisk attachment and an electric mixer, hand mixer, or a fork to whisk the mixture until it appears “whipped.” This doesn’t take very long, just a few seconds using a mixer and a bit longer with a fork.
Step 6: Spoon Lotion into a Jar
Now you get to enjoy this amazing homemade lotion recipe and all its benefits (we’ll talk about the awesome benefits in a minute). Or, share the lotion as a gift.
Choose a beautiful glass jar and spoon your creation into the jar. Add a label, if desired. And store the lotion at room temperature in a cool place (like a bathroom cabinet) for up to 6 months.
How to Choose a Carrier Oil
You can use shea butter alone as a body and face moisturizer, or you can mix it with a carrier oil to make a whipped body butter recipe or lotion (like this recipe).
Here’s what I recommend for a nourishing carrier oil to mix with the shea butter. The options absorb easily in the skin, making them the best options for a non-greasy lotion.
Jojoba Oil: Jojoba oil is made from a shrub that grows in Northern Mexico and the Southeast US. Jojoba is an emollient: a natural moisturizer that softens and moisturizes skin. Jojoba is the closest to our skin’s natural oil, making it ideal for all skin types.
Grapeseed Oil: This oil comes from pressed grape seeds. It has high amounts of fatty acids, vitamin E, and antibacterial properties. Grapeseed oil may be a great option for aging skin and for those with acne-prone skin.
Sweet Almond Oil: Made from sweet almonds and rich in vitamin A & E, fatty acids, and proteins.
Virgin Coconut oil is also an option, but as I’ll share in a minute, I don’t care for using coconut oil on my face. If you’re just using this lotion on your body, coconut oil may be a good option.
How to Use
Scoop a small amount of shea butter lotion out of the jar using your finger, then rub between your hands. The heat from your hands will soften the shea butter. Massage into your skin: face, arms, legs, feet, dry patches, etc.
A little goes a long way.
For the face, apply this moisturizer after cleansing (my favorite natural face cleansers) and toning (a spritz of rose water is my favorite). If you use any serums, apply a facial serum before applying the lotion.
What’s the Shelf Life?
This natural lotion recipe doesn’t use any preservatives. Store-bought lotions add preservatives to formulas out of necessity. Without a preservative, mold and other bacteria will grow in a water-based lotion.
This recipe doesn’t need a preservative because it doesn’t use water in the formula. This means you can make a long lasting moisturizing lotion, without using any preservatives and don’t need to worry about mold growth. Woohoo!
Store the final product at room temperature, in a cool dry place, for up to 6 months. I recommend keeping homemade shea butter lotion away from heat, like a hot steamy shower, since it will melt slightly. This recipe is intended for home use; not to be sold commercially.
How to Add Essential Oils
If you want to scent your own lotion, essential oils are the best way to do this! Along with their scent, essential oils are easily absorbed by the skin for nourishment, and provide antibacterial and soothing properties.
Add one essential oil or a combination of essential oils, totally 15 drops, to this lotion recipe. The best essential oils for homemade lotion are…
- Roman Chamomile
- Frankincense
- Lavender
- Rosemary
- Jasmine
- Carrot Seed
- Rose
- Lavender
- Tea tree
- Sandalwood
- Geranium
Essential Oils to Avoid: Avoid citrus essential oils (like lemon or orange essential oil) if you plan to wear this lotion during the day when exposed to the sun. Citrus essential oils are photosensitive and can cause your skin to develop a rash or sunburn.
Lotion Without Coconut Oil, Here’s Why
You’ll notice that this recipe doesn’t use any coconut oil. A lot of lotion and homemade whipped body butter recipes rely heavily on coconut oil.
Coconut oil is not the cure-all. Gasp, I know. That statement is practically heresy in the natural living community. Toothpaste? Coconut oil. Smoothies? Yep, coconut oil. A boo-boo? More coconut oil. We use it for everything! I’ve learned the magical oil isn’t always suitable for every need.
Many years ago, I decided it was time to ditch the toxins found in our bathroom. From lotions to body wash to makeup, the amounts of toxins I put on my body was astounding. With the urge for simplicity and natural living, I started developing my own replacements for things like foundation powder and lotion.
One of my very first DIYs was a simple homemade moisturizer using coconut oil. After a few weeks of using this moisturizer on my face, I experienced multiple break outs, daily peeling, and dry skin patches. Here’s why…
There’s nothing wrong with coconut oil, but from a skin care perspective, it’s not the best moisturizer option for the face. If you use it on your face, it’s likely to clog pores and cause breakouts due to its chemical composition.
Shea butter does not clog pores and is the best moisturizer option. So skip the coconut oil on your face and instead turn to shea butter and a non-clogging carrier oil!
FAQs
6 More Ways to Use Shea Butter
- Use shea butter to make homemade deodorant. You’ll also need arrowroot starch for homemade deodorant.
- Combine shea butter, coconut oil, and castile soap to make homemade moisturizing shaving cream.
- Combine butter, carrier oil, and beeswax to make Shea Butter Lip Balm or a custom DIY Lip Balm.
- Jojoba oil, coconut oil, shea butter, and soothing herbs come together to create DIY lotion bars.
- Shea butter, aloe vera, chamomile, and coconut oil make a fantastic homemade diaper rash cream.
- Use shea butter combined with mango butter and cocoa butter to make a customized body butter.
Homemade Moisturizing Shea Butter Lotion Recipe (Without Coconut Oil)
Equipment
- 1 electric mixer or fork
- 1 medium-size heat safe bowl
- 1 medium-size sauce pan
- 1 4-ounce glass storage jar (or larger)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup shea butter (4 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon arrowroot flour starch (optional, to make a non-greasy lotion)
- 2 tablespoons nourishing carrier oil such as: jojoba, sweet almond oil, or grapeseed oil. This can even be coconut oil or olive oil (if not using on the face).
- 5 drops lavender essential oil optional*
- 5 drops rosemary essential oil optional*
- 3 drops carrot seed essential oil optional*
- 2 drops tea tree essential oil optional*
Instructions
Step 1: Melt Shea Butter
- To melt the shea butter, make a DIY double boiler. This will allow you to melt the shea butter without it directly touching the heat.
- Place a medium-size glass bowl over a sauce pan filled 1/4 the way full with water. The glass bowl should sit just on top of the saucepan, without touching the water in the pan.
- Over medium heat, allow the water in the saucepan to simmer. Then add the shea butter and melt.
- Once the shea butter has fully melted (about 2-3 minutes), turn off the heat and remove the bowl from the heat.
Step 2: Add Nourishing Carrier Oil
- Stir 1 teaspoon of arrowroot starch into the liquid oil of choice (grapeseed oil, sweet almond oil, OR jojoba oil) and whisk to combine. Pour the oil (and arrowroot starch whisked in, if using) into the shea butter.
- NOTE: You can skip the arrowroot starch and add the oil directly to the shea butter at this step. The arrowroot creates a non-greasy lotion.
Step 3: Cool
- At this point, the shea butter and oil mixture should be cooler (along with the bowl). If not, allow it to rest for a few minutes.
- Place the mixture in the fridge and allow it to solidify (about 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on location in the fridge and temperature). Alternatively, speed up the process by placing the bowl in the freezer.
Step 4: Add Essential Oils
- Once the mixture is opaque and firm (not solid as a rock), remove the bowl from the fridge.
- Add the essential oil (or a combination of essential oils) of choice, if desired. Add up to 15 drops of skin-safe essential oils to this mixture. A few of my favorite essential oils to add are listed in the recipe above. You can add your favorite essential oil or oils, not the ones listed above (if desired).
Step 5: Whip
- Use the whisk attachment and an electric mixer, hand mixer, or a fork to whisk the mixture until it appears "whipped." This doesn't take very long, just a few seconds using a mixer and a bit longer with a fork.
Step 6: Store
- Choose a beautiful glass jar (4 ounces or larger) and spoon your creation into the jar. Add a label, if desired. And store the lotion at room temperature in a cool place (like a bathroom cabinet) for up to 6 months.
Video
Notes
- Roman Chamomile
- Frankincense
- Lavender
- Rosemary
- Jasmine
- Carrot Seed
- Rose
- Lavender
- Tea tree
- Sandalwood
- Geranium
Natural Body-Care Simplified
Learn how to make your own body and beauty products with simple ingredients.
Hi Kristin! I love your blog, and love this lotion! I like that it doesn’t need a preservative, and was wondering what the shelf life is? I have been experimenting with making my own products, and I’ve been wondering about preservatives. What products do you suggest using a preservative with? It’s so tricky! Thanks! 🙂
Hey Rosie, It’s great to hear you’re loving the lotion! I usually add a preservative (like Vitamin E oil, rosemary extract, or grapefruit seed extract) when a product includes water. I also make sure the water is boiled or I purchase distilled. Most of the time the products I make, which need a preservative, are used very quickly.
When using shelf-stable ingredients (and no water) a product like this lotion should last about 12 months, although I’ve never kept it for this long.
can i use olive oil instead of almond? its all i have on hand. . .
Hey Sara, Yes, you can :).
SO happy to come across your blog! I have seen many varieties for natural products but refreshing to read all of yours. I intend to make many, or most of them! Unfortunately many of the products listed, “don’t ship” to where I live ( Ontario) but I’m hoping to find some at the local “Goodness Me” store.
Thank you for all of these incredible tips and recipes!
Hey Ingrid, It’s great to hear that you’re enjoying Live Simply and the recipes. Many local stores now sell the products used to make DIYs, so I would definitely check out your local stores–maybe they could even special order a product? Enjoy!
Ingrid- I live in southern Ontario so check Zehrs in the Natural Values section & there’s a S & H Health food place nearby too. Zehrs doesn’t have great prices or great selection but they do have EOs. The health food store is better for prices & has a great selection of items, especially hard to find things. Hope that helps.
thank you so much for this recipe! I too have a problem with coconut oil on my face (although I still like it for other things). After using it for a few weeks my cheeks actually felt crunchy! I just made a face serum which is a little too oily for me. I’m going to try combining some of the serum with Shea butter and see if that’s the magic combo.
You’re welcome, Wendy! I hope this recipe is the secret “sauce” you’ve been looking for! Let me know how it goes.
Sorry. I made a mistake. It wasn’t tea tree oil it was lanolin along with the others I mentioned. Thanks.
I’ve made the coconut oil moisturizer & used cocoa butter as a substitute & both work work well. I’ve recently made the shea butter recipe but added 1tsp. each of vegetable glycerin, tea tree oil & liquid vitamin E & it turned out more like a granular scrub. Can I melt it back down & whip it again? I didn’t completely melt the butter down the 1st time.
Hey Tami, Yes, I believe melting the formula back down and whipping it again will help! You may want to add the tea tree oil back in once it’s heated and whipped (just a small amount), since the oil may not withstand the heat. Let me know how it goes!
nice recipe! I am making a balm using also shea butter, oils and I add beeswax to have the balm texture. I am using olive oil mainly, for my son’s eczema. I add a few drops of propolis in it, very effective for repairing skin:)
but I don’t see any conservative in your recipe. I use 5 drops of Vitamin E, or grapfruit seed extract to avoid oils to spoil.
Hey Prettyarty, That sounds wonderful! I don’t use a preservative since all the ingredients are shelf-table, and this recipe only makes a small amount.
Hi Kristin! Came across your blog after googling for a homemade moisturizer recipe. I have super, super, super (did I say it enough?) oily skin and I’m trying to find a moisturizer that doesn’t add to the problem. I tried coconut oil (because I have that on hand and use it for my body at times) as a facial moisturizer but it made it even more oily. And the creams and lotions at the store for mature skin are expensive so I figured I might as well make my own! Now, my question is, (sorry for the rambling), do you think your recipe be ok for my super, super oily skin?
By the way, awesome blog! I saw a link to your homemade foundation powder and need to read that!
Hey Barb, I also have very oily skin! I recommend using a nourishing oil in this recipe that’s best suited for oily skin (Squalene and Argan have been great ones for me). I personally enjoy this lotion and find it sinks into my oily skin after a few minutes. Another option (and less work) is a facial serum as a moisturizer: https://livesimply.me/2015/01/18/diy-homemade-facial-serum/. In the summer I often use the serum on my face because I just want something a bit lighter than lotion.
And thank you so much for the sweet blog compliment! I’m so glad you’re enjoying Live Simply!
hi Kristin
can i use this as a face mosturiser? i cant use coconut oil either. or is there something that would work better? another recipy maybe that doesnt use coconut oil either?
thank you
amanda xx
Hey Amanda, You can use this lotion for the face. Or another simple moisturizer (without coconut oil) is this facial serum: https://livesimply.me/2015/01/18/diy-homemade-facial-serum/.
Amanda- You can use this as face moisturizer. I have oily skin & it doesn’t increase the oiliness at all. I put it on in the morning after my shower & I don’t have any more than normal.
So glad I stumbled upon your blog, and I can’t wait to try these homemade beauty product recipes!
I noticed your recipe does not call for an emulsifier or water, which seems to be in a lot of other DIY lotion recipes I’ve seen. What would be the purpose of adding these ingredients? Just curious since it seems like your recipe works fine without them.
Thanks!
Hey Sara, I’m so glad you found Live Simply! It’s funny you mention the water or emulsifier as I’ve been playing around with a new lotion recipe using a hydrosol (a liquid) and beeswax (emulsifier) to offer people a more “pumpable” lotion. The reason, I believe, many people add these ingredients is to give the lotion a thinner consistency (more like store-bought) lotion versus a thick butter (like this recipe). I’ve tried a few recipes out there and experimented on my own, but I haven’t had much success. My biggest concern with adding water is the possibility of bacteria growth in a shelf-stable lotion (the reason I’ve been trying a hydrosol).
Hi Kristen…thanks so much for this fantastic recipe. I have been using this lotion as my night cream for the past 5 months and it leaves my skin feeling so nourished come morning. I also use this when I know I’ll be out in the sun for quite a while as the avocado oil has an SPF of 15 and the carrot seed oil has an SPF of 40. Next batch being made right now :). Thank you!
Hey Linda, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the lotion! Thank you so much for sharing.
Hi!
I love this particular combination – it works miracles on pimples. I see above that someone asks about adding zinc oxide to this recipe and it seems that you suggest following a recipe more similar to your sunscreen recipe. I’m wondering what your thoughts are on adding zinc oxide to this particular recipe? With the summer months coming, I feel more comfortable using a facial moisturizer with a stronger spf, but don’t want to use coconut oil or beeswax in my facial moisturizer. Thank you!!!
Hey Kelsy, Thank you for sharing! I’m so glad you love the lotion. I haven’t tried adding zinc (yet), but I think it would be a great addition! I suggest adding it during the final mixing stage.
Thanks for the recipe. Just wanted to add my experience with coconut oil. I used it exclusively, extra virgin organic, I applied it 2 x a day on my skin, all over. After 2 months I developed very very dry flaky skin. I’m 55 and have never had dry skin. I switched out the coconut oil for sweet almond oil and dry skin is gone.
After doing some research this is a common problem because coconut oil does not allow any moisture in! It makes a barrier for moisture. I want to add some aloe vwra gel to this recipe and see how that works
Hey Barbara, Thank you for sharing! That’s so interesting. I think aloe vera would be a great addition to this recipe.
I like this recipe. I actually have all these ingredients except the carrot seed oil. I’m 3 months pregnant with my second and I’m trying to prevent more “tiger stripes”. I was thinking aaallll the recipes I’d find were coconut oil based which would totally suck during the Texas summer. I’d rather not smell like a snack….lol.
Lol, no body snacks here ;). I’m so glad you found this recipe…enjoy!! Congrats on your pregnancy!
I’m new to shea butter. I tried this recipe today and I applied to my face, body and also my wet hair. it was so good for all of them. I don’t think I need to buy any other skin/hair moisturizer products ever again! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Yay, Katie! I’m so glad you like the moisturizer.
Hey Kristin,
I was just wondering if you could use rose hip seed oil instead of carrot seed oil with this recipe. If not, what would you suggest as a more affordable substitute?
Hey Chelsea, Rose hip seed oil is fabulous! I think it would work great as a substitute.
Hi Kristin! I ordered the shea which you linked to in your recipe, it arrived and boy does it have not the best smell. I went ahead and made the lotion, using sweet almond and the essential oils you had suggested. The lotion continues to have a strong weird smell. Did I get a bad batch or have you had other comments about the smell of shea in general? Have you ever received a rancid batch from this company?
Thanks so much, other than the funky smell, the lotion is really nice 🙂
Hey Kristin, I would definitely contact the shea butter company and let them know. The shea butter should not have a rancid scent. Some people don’t care for shea butter and think it smells like peanut butter, but I haven’t heard of a rancid scent issue (yet). Let me know how it goes!
Thank you for a recipe without coconut oil! I found that I was allergic to it! My face would break out!! There aren’t too many recipes without it. I love coconut, but noticed I would get a headache after consuming it. Anyway, thank you and I can’t wait to try it!
From someone allergic to coconut, I am so excited to have found this recipe! I cannot wait to try it!!!
Awesome, Jen! I’m so glad you found the lotion recipe :).
Hello Kristin, I have been having numerous issues with my facial skin for over a year and trying many different (expensive) products (in addition to a $250 dermatologist who did nothing but tell me to put vaseline on my face and gave me a prescription for a steroid cream!). I have been using your recipe for about 3 weeks now and notice my skin is much softer and the my other issues are improving slightly. Thank you so much for this recipe! My face was really stressing me out and now I feel so much better. I also tried your toothpaste recipe and love it! I printed off several other recipes and am going to try them too. Keep up the good work! Oh, ever think of coming up with something for hair? Regards. Shari
Hey Shari, Thank you so much for sharing. I’m so excited for you!! I’m currently working on one hair product (it’s not quite perfect yet), and hopefully more in the future. Enjoy the recipes and amazing skin!