This luxurious hand and body cream features:
- shea butter, to moisturize and condition dry or damaged skin
- lavender flowers, for their soothing, anti-inflammatory properties
- skin nourishing sunflower oil
- and purple Brazilian clay, a natural colorant.
It was inspired by the wonderful whipped body butter recipe, found over at the Soap Queen blog.
Lavender Shea Hand Cream & Whipped Body Butter Recipe
Measurements are by weight.
- 7 oz (198 g) shea butter (I use refined from HERE)
- 2 1/2 oz (70 g) lavender infused sunflower oil (directions below)
- 2 1/2 tsp arrowroot powder
- 1/2 tsp purple Brazilian clay
- 30 drops lavender essential oil
- a few drops of ylang ylang or litsea essential oil (optional)
Yield: fills around 7 two-ounce jars
For the Lavender Infused Oil
Fill a jar about 1/4 to 1/2 of the way with dried lavender flowers. If you have a small jar, use a small amount. If you have a larger jar, use a large amount. For this recipe, an 8 oz canning jar will yield plenty, with some leftover for other projects.
Pour sunflower oil over the dried flowers, until the jar is filled. Give it a stir to release any air bubbles, then cap and set aside for four or five weeks, shaking occasionally.
If you’d like a quicker result, don’t cap the jar. Instead, set it down into a pan containing a few inches of water. Set the pan on a medium low burner (I use my wood stove in the winter since it’s always burning) for two to three hours, checking to make sure the water doesn’t evaporate out or the oil gets too hot.
Once sufficiently infused, it should have a noticeable sweet lavender smell. Strain and store your oil in a clean, dry jar in a cool, dark place. Shelf life is around 9 months to a year.
Place the shea butter in a mixing bowl and beat for several minutes. A stand mixer is recommended, but I don’t own one, so use an inexpensive hand mixer with no trouble – as long as I remember to stop every so often so it doesn’t overheat.
Once the shea butter is light and fluffy, add all of the other ingredients. Arrowroot is added to help cut the greasy feel that some creams and body butters can have. If you don’t have arrowroot, try tapioca or corn starch instead.
The clay is added for a light lavender color, that won’t tint your skin. It too helps absorb some of the oily feeling, so if you don’t have any on hand, leave it out and add a pinch more starch instead.
To prevent splashes and splatters, resume beating on low, gradually increasing speed as everything incorporates together. Whip for a few more minutes or until it reaches an airy, cream like consistency.
Spoon into jars and cap tightly. After several months of storage, the cream will start to settle a bit. You also want to keep it out of direct heat or sunlight or it may melt down. Rub a small amount into dry skin, as needed. A little bit goes a long way!
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You may also like:
Lavender Soap | Aloe Rose Anti-Aging Cream | Wild Rose Body Butter
Links to Mountain Rose Herbs & Bramble Berry are affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase, I earn a commission for sending a customer their way. This provides me with a small income and lets me keep doing what I do. (Thank you!) :)
Lavender–my FAVORITE! And purple Brazilian clay, oh, I simply MUST make this. And SOON! Thanks, Jan, for another great recipe and tutorial. Have a great day.
I hope you enjoy the cream! Have a wonderful day too! :)
I too love lavender, I definitely will make this awesome butter. thank you so much for your blog and the the things you post!
Hi Rayetta, Lavender is one of my favorites too! I hope you like the recipe! :)
Hello can you use Lavender infused olive oil instead of sunflower oil. Thanks:))
Oh my goodness! I love your recipes and books. I love using Calendula, Chamomile , Lavender & Dandelions. Since making and selling these amazing products my website has really picked up. I do 3 farmers market a week in season and its wonderful to offer so much more than my awesome goat milk soaps. He-he. Just curious, mz farmwife, do you think I could use Brambleberry’s Shea body butter base to make the Lavender hand cream as a substitute for shea butter? Thanks, Mary, goat mom.
I’m so happy to hear that Mary! I haven’t tried Brambleberry’s shea body butter base, but took a quick peek at it and the comments under the listing. I don’t think it would substitute 1 on 1 for shea, but it would be it’s own recipe in itself – so (and this is just a guess, but I think it would work), you would only need to melt it and add essential oils and the clay for color (if you’d like) and then pour it into jars. Though, I did see someone in the comments added argan oil too which sounds like it has some room for experimentation. I think it’s worth a try!
hi.. I would like to ask.. Doesn’t arrowroot and clay require a preservative?
Hi Mansi, You’d only need to consider a preservative for a cream if it contains a water based ingredient. Since arrowroot and clay aren’t, then you’re good to go! I don’t use preservatives myself – I make small batches, store them in the fridge and use them up in a short time frame, but if you’re interested in learning more about preservatives, the Soap Queen has an informative article here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/lotion/talk-it-out-tuesday-preservatives/
There is a lavender farm on Washington Island (WI). I think I will purchase some there and try your recipe. It sounds wonderful.
A lavender farm visit sounds absolutely lovely! :)
Jan… How long does Shea Butter last? Does it need to be refrigerated until I use it in a recipe? Do the other ingredients need to be refrigerated also?
Hi Ron! Shelf life of shea butter is about one year. I don’t refrigerate mine and you want to avoid temperature fluctuations with it, or it may turn grainy in products. Two oils I always refrigerate are unrefined hemp oil and rosehip seed oil. Most of the rest are good in a cool location out of direct sunlight. Here’s a post on some oils and their shelf life that might help too! http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/free-beginners-guide-to-soapmaking-common-soapmaking-oils/
I made this cream yesterday. I didn’t have the clay and could not find arrowroot so I used corn starch. It still turned out great. Will post a picture on the Facebook page!
Hi Diane, So happy you liked it! Thank you for sharing the photo on the Facebook page too! I loved seeing your projects! :)
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