DIY Body Balm Recipe (Super Moisturizing!)
Have you ever tried the cult classic Nucifera Balm? It’s a multi purpose balm and it is so good! It has a beautiful, musky scent and the combination of oils and butters leave your skin feeling super soft. After buying a jar of the balm and going through it quickly, I decided to DIY it of course! This really is the ultimate body balm recipe. You need to try it!
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What’s in this Body Balm Recipe?
This body balm recipe is a combination of two body butters, four oils and a musky essential oil blend.
If your skin is super sensitive you can skip the essential oils, but we are added such a small amount that you may be able to handle it.
What I really love about this body balm recipe is that it’s there is no beeswax involved. Yes, it’s vegan-friendly!
While I do love beeswax, I’m not crazy about using it all over my body just because of how it makes my skin feel. My lips go crazy for beeswax-based balms though!
Butters in our Body Balm Recipe
The two kinds of butter we are using are Mango and Kokum.
Mango butter is rich in vitamins A and E and is super moisturizing. It’s cell regenerative, nourishing and great for dry/damaged skin.
Kokum butter is very similar in texture to cocoa butter but it has no scent. It’s great for DIY recipes because you can add a small amount of essential oils and it will still be really fragrant. Like mango butter, it’s great for dry, irritated skin.
Oils in our Body Balm Recipe
The four oils we are using are coconut, avocado, borage and moringa. If you want to make this today and don’t have all of the oils, feel free to substitute any of the oils with what you have. You will still be able to make a beautiful balm.
Coconut oil is a staple in all body balm recipes! Coconut oil is emollient, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging and more. It’s a truly wonderful product, even on its own. This is the coconut oil I swear by.
Avocado oil is great for softening and protecting the skin. It blends really well with other oils in the recipe.
Borage oil is one of my new favorites! It has the highest content of gamma-linolenic acid of any oil. From the book Power of the Seed by Susan M. Parker, “The high GLA content helps regenerate, firm and rejuvenate the skin’s barrier function, decreasing water loss and maintaining the skin’s elasticity. Along with beneficial GLA, borage seed oil contains linoleic acid (35%), helping to prevent wrinkles and premature aging, and fighting loss of skin elasticity and dryness.” This is a must-have oil!
Moringa oil is another skin gem. It’s emollient and moisturizing – very healing for rough and dry skin.
Essential Oils in our Body Balm Recipe
Since this is inspired by the Nucifera Balm, I used (most of) the essential oils listed on the label. The scent is pretty close, but not exact. If you don’t have a few of the essential oils, don’t worry about it! You can leave them out. It took me a long time to build my collection.
I make a 5 ml blend of these essential oils, that way I have it ready when I want to add it to a recipe or just use it as a perfume.
15 drops Lavender
10 drops Mandarin
7 drops Patchouli
7 drops Peppermint
6 drops Frankincense
3 drops Sandalwood
2 drops Palo Santo
1 drop Carrot Seed
I use Green Mandarin from doTERRA because it is not photosensitive. That way you can use the balm in the morning and you won’t have to worry about your skin being more sensitive to the sun.
Obviously, feel free to use whatever essential oils or blends you like! Check out this post on how to make perfume with essential oils for different ideas.
How to make the body balm recipe
This body balm recipe is super easy!
- The first thing you will want to do is set up a faux double boiler. Add a small amount of water to a pot and get it to a simmer.
- Then grab a glass bowl or measuring cup. You are going to put your oils and butters in the measuring cup and place it in the simmering pot. Let it melt low and slow.
- Once your mixture is melted, let it cool for a few minutes and then add in the essential oil blend. Stir it really well!
- Cover it and put it in the fridge for about an hour (you want it to firm up but still be stirrable).
- Whip it for a minute or so to thoroughly combine the ingredients. You can skip this step if you want it super balmy. Whip it longer if you want it to become a whipped body butter!
- Pour it into your container of choice and pop it back in the fridge to firm up for a bit.
How to use your Multi Purpose Balm
A few ways you can use the balm:
- as an all-over body lotion
- as a face cream
- as a cleansing balm
- as a hair mask
- as a cuticle cream
Are you going to try this body balm recipe?
If you’ve been around here for a while, you know I usually only share very simple recipes with a few ingredients. This recipe has a lot of ingredients, but once you have them, you can whip it up again and again!
If you don’t want to invest in all of the ingredients right now, use what you have, modify the recipe and collect the ingredients over time. I think it’s really fun to try new ingredients! I never heard of Kokum Butter before this recipe and now it’s a staple for me. Do what’s right for your budget.
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