Aloe Butter: Benefits, Uses, & How to Make Your Own
Creamy smooth and moisturizing, body butters are fantastic moisturizers. But I was surprised to find that there are seven main categories of body butters, and aloe butter isn’t one of them.
Uh…so what the heck is aloe butter?
Well, body butters are lipid-based. The most common category of body butter is shea butter, an ivory fat extracted from shea nuts. The other main categories of body butters are mango butter, almond butter, cocoa butter, hemp seed butter, kokum butter, and olive butter. (You may have heard of soy butter too.)
Aloe vera is a gel composed of up to 99% water. So, it’s not exactly a creamy lipid.
But that doesn’t mean aloe vera is completely out of the picture when it comes to body butters!
Benefits of Using Aloe Butter vs Traditional Body Butter
Body butters are generally much healthier than lotions, because they contain all-natural ingredients and aren’t full of chemicals.
But the one problem with using body butters regularly is that they are almost entirely made of oils and fats. This makes them great for dry skin, but a little over-the-top for everyday use. Because they are so thick, body butters can be too heavy for oily skin types.
Aloe butter solves this problem by balancing the heavy butter with aloe vera.
Aloe vera is mostly water and absorbs into the skin very quickly. The glucomannan in aloe vera helps your skin retain moisture, without smothering your skin in oils.
Basically, aloe butter is ultra-moisturizing, but it helps cut down on the amount of oil you are loading onto your skin.
Creative Ways to Use Aloe Butter
Do you know how to use body butter?
Yeah, I know that sounds like a dumb question. You just apply it like a cream, right?
Yes…but there are many other ways you can use aloe butter!
Bar Soaps – Aloe soap is fantastic for your skin, because the aloe vera helps neutralize the dehydrating effects of bar soap. If you make your own soap, add about 1 Tbs of aloe butter per pound of soap to help make your bars softer and more moisturizing.
Lip balms - Did you know that you can use aloe butter as a balm too? It works better than most commercial lip balms - without the waxes and chemicals.
Herbal creams - If you make your own herbal remedies or creams, add aloe butter to your herbal blend! In addition to being moisturizing, aloe vera is an anti-inflammatory, making it a great addition for healing remedies.
Hair masks - You can also use aloe butter as a hair mask. It may sound strange, but if you think about it, aloe butter is basically oils and aloe vera gel - both of which are used separately for hair masks.
DIY Aloe Butter
Aloe butter is literally one of the easiest natural skincare products to whip up at home.
What you need:
Butter of your choice – I recommend choosing one of the seven main butter categories I mentioned earlier. Shea butter and cocoa butter are two of the most common choices for diy aloe butter, but you can experiment with different butters to achieve different textures. For example, shea butter is very creamy, while cocoa butter has a harder texture.
Aloe vera gel - Make sure you choose an aloe vera gel that is about 99% pure aloe vera, with the minimal number of preservatives and thickeners. Click here to read more about ingredients to avoid in aloe vera gel.
Vitamin E oil – The vitamin E oil functions as a preservative for your aloe butter, but vitamin E is also an antioxidant that absorbs quickly into the skin and helps protect your skin from cellular damage.
Tea tree oil (optional) – Tea tree oil is also a preservative and helps prevent microbial growth.
Honey (optional) – Yep, honey is another preservative, but it’s also very nourishing and moisturizing for your skin.
Essential oils (optional) – Feel free to add your favorite essential oils to give your aloe butter a lovely fragrance.
Instructions:
Measure out your butter and aloe vera gel in a 3:1 ratio. For example, if you use 3 Tbs of butter, use 1 Tbs of aloe vera gel. Feel free to play around with this ratio to achieve your desired texture, but this is a good starting point.
Melt the butter until it is a creamy liquid, then pour it into a blender. (If you don’t have a blender, you can use a whisk or handheld beater.)
Add the vitamin E oil (about one capsule per Tbs of aloe vera gel) and blend the butter, vitamin E oil, and optional ingredients until they form a smooth mixture. Then add the aloe vera gel and blend until thoroughly mixed.
Store your aloe butter in the fridge to prolong the shelf life. Prior to using, warm up the amount of aloe butter you are using. This will make it easier to apply, and help your skin absorb the butter more quickly for optimal skin nourishment and moisturization. Enjoy!
