Whipped Shea Butter Lotion

This past winter I had terribly dry skin mixed with an allergic reaction to chemicals I use at work. It was bad. My hands hurt, they were red and itchy. It got so bad that it was spreading up my arms and chest. My knuckles bled. It was not pretty at all.

I tried all kinds of lotions and creams. Nothing seemed to help. So I resorted to the Internet and my "natural" resources. I tried Coconut Oil first and that seemed to help. Then I tried a sample of Shea Butter and I fell in love!

So here is the my recipe. I gathered ideas from a bunch of sources including websites, blogs and books. This recipe contains both coconut oil and shea butter and is the best lotion you will ever use.

Note: Coconut oil can be found at most grocery stores. I bought my last jar of oil from Walmart. Most natural or organic stores will have a larger selection. The shea butter, I found at Everything Natural in Clarks Summit, but other stores like Whole Foods will have a selection.


This recipe will yield about 8 oz. of lotion

1/4 c. Shea Butter
2 Tbsp. Coconut oil
20 drops of your preference of essential oil (I used 10 peppermint, 10 lemon)

Step 1:
Melt the butter and oil in a double boiler or (as I do) in a glass dish in a pot of boiling water.

Step 2:
After it is completely liquefied, remove from heat and cool slightly. I put the bowl in the freezer for about five minutes. I just wanted it to start hardening but not to the point it became solid again.

Step 3:
With a hand mixer and whisk attachment. Whisk the mixture until it becomes fluffy and lotion type consistency. This will probably take about 5-10 minutes. If it isn't fluffing up after 10 minutes, the liquid needs to be cooler.

Step 4:
Transfer to a jar or container. My mixture fit perfectly in a 8 oz. mason jar. Enjoy!