How To Make Face Cream With Shea Butter For Soft And Healthy Skin

I have wanted to go chemical free with my skincare for some time, so I bit the bullet and decided to search for some face cream recipes. I have enjoyed using shea butter on my feet and lips and knew I wanted to search for a face cream with shea butter in it.

I love making my own face creams at home, I can make it chemical free, control what is added and it is usually more cost effective than purchasing it. It is also a super rewarding feeling. I have created a DIY shea butter face cream recipe and it is one of my favourite products to use on my skin.

When I was experimenting with face cream recipes I wanted something to help smooth, soothe and moisturise my dry skin. I also wanted something that could help add a glow to my skin. My DIY face cream with shea butter has managed to do all i wanted from it and so i thought it would only be right to share it with you. (Which I go through below)

Shea butter is an awesome ingredient for skin care and in this guide I will take you through all you need to know about shea butter about how to make the best shea butter face cream.

Have any questions? Make sure you ask in the comments below!

What Is Shea Butter?

Shea butter is full of goodness your skin needs to look great. Shea butter is made from the extracted oils from shea seeds found on the shea tree in West Africa. Shea butter is loaded with nutrients, fatty acids and vitamins, all great for moisturising and soothing the skin. Its a super popular ingredient for use in skincare and other beauty products.

There are two types of shea butter you can purchase, refined and unrefined.

From shea seed to shea butter is quite the process. The first step is finding the shea seeds which are inside shells within the shea fruit. The seeds then need to be removed and dried.

This is where the dried shea seeds are then either turned into refined or unrefined shea butter.

Turning the shea seeds into refined shea butter is the cheapest way to produce and purchase shea butter. This method uses chemical solvents and high heat, stripping most of the nutrients.

I do not recommend using refined shea butter in my face cream recipe because of this. Refined shea butter may be the cheaper option but it is not nearly as beneficial for your skin.

Unrefined shea butter, on the other hand, is the process of turning the dried shea seeds into a ground powder, the powder is then roasted before being ground again and forms a viscous substance.

This substance has water added while it is kneaded and then whipped. This process forces the oils to form together on the surface where they can be removed and boiled – the boiling removes impurities and excess water.

After this process, the product is now shea butter that is then strained and left to cool down. Once at room temperature, the raw shea butter is thick and creamy, off white with a smoky and nutty aroma.

Click here to buy shea butter now.

Why Is Shea Butter Good For Your Face?

Shea butter face and body cream has so many benefits for your skin.

It is rich in fatty acids and antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that are helpful to your skin in a number of ways.

Shea butter used alone is great and will benefit your skin, however if you add additional ingredients such as almond oil, you will get even more benefits from your face cream. I get more in depth about this further in the article.

Full Of Antioxidants

The antioxidants found in shea butter are linked to its high levels of vitamins A and E. Antioxidants are vital anti aging agents that protect the skin cells from free radicals, leading to dull and prematurely aging skin.

Anti-Inflammatory Properties

It has been proven that shea butter has substantial anti-inflammatory properties that can help to calm down swelling or redness on the face/skin.

Give Relief To Peeling/Itchy Skin

The main fatty acids found in shea butter are linoleic, oleic and stearic acids. These absorb quickly into the skin and are known to help skin rashes, skin peeling and other issues related to the skin such as eczema.

Anti-Aging

Shea butter contains vitamins A, D, E and F and a heap of fatty acids that can help with anti-aging. Shea butter can also boost your skin’s collagen production because of the presence of triterpenes.

Not Oily On The Skin

Shea butter provides a soothing and deeply moisturising effect and glow to your skin. It does this without leaving your skin feeling oily after use.

Why Make Homemade Face Cream With Shea Butter?

There are a number of reasons you should try making home made face cream using shea butter. Lets go through some of them.

You Control What Is Added

If you have sensitive skin or you are looking for a chemical free product to use on your skin, making your own shea butter face cream is the way to go. You control what is added meaning you can ensure your face cream is totally suited to your skin needs.

If you have sensitives to certain ingredients, do not add them, if your skin loves a certain oil over another, you can add that.

Cost Effective

Making your own face cream is a great way to have a high quality product that often won’t cost you as much as purchasing a bottle of natural face cream without chemical additives.

Making your own also usually makes a lot more than you can purchase for the same price.

Creative and Fun Activity

If you have children, get them involved. It is a lot of fun and quite a creative process of creating your own face cream. They will enjoy applying their cream after having the chance to make their own.

Better For The Environment

Making your own face cream, you can use the same container again and again. You do not have to keep purchasing new bottles of product. This reduces your overall waste.

Makes A Perfect Gift

Homemade face cream is a great gift idea for friends and family. You can store your face cream in glass jars with labels. It also shows other how easy it can be to make their own face creams.

Click here to find some great bail jars on eBay to package your body butter.

Ingredients For The Best Shea Butter Face Cream

One of the big benefits of making face cream with shea butter yourself with this recipe is that you don’t need many ingredients. You can even leave some of the below items out.

As long as you have shea butter and an appropriate oil, that’s all that matters. The vitamin E oil, essential oils and arrowroot powder is really up to you although it does make for a more amazing shea butter face lotion.

eBay and Amazon Australia are quick and easy places to buy ingredients and all the gear you need. Below, I direct you to the best place to buy each ingredient or you can click here to buy now on Amazon or here for eBay.

Shea Butter

Shea butter is full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids and there is plenty of reason to use it in a face cream. Shea butter is super easy to spread on your skin and will soothe, soften and moisturise the skin. It provides a protective layer on the skin, moisturising and keeping the skin beneath hydrated.

If you have dry skin, shea butter is going to work wonders for you. It is a handy product to have for its anti-inflammatory properties also. Being good for cuts, redness, rashes and extra parts of skin that need some love.

Shea butter may, however, clog pores. It is unclear if it does or not so it is not recommended for individuals prone to acne or oily skin.

Shea butter is a great facial moisturiser for my dry skin and it’s an important ingredient in my face cream recipe, helping to give it the right consistency and many great effects for your skin.

However, if you wanted to switch out shea butter for another ingredient you could opt for cocoa butter.

Click here to buy shea butter now.

Almond Oil

I personally love using almond oil on my skin. This is particularly why I have recommended it in this recipe. However if you have a preference of a different oil, you can use that.

For example, some people love to make a homemade face cream with shea butter and coconut oil. Coconut oil is a heavier oil than almond, and for that reason it is too heavy for my skin personally. However, you may enjoy it.

Now to explain why i personally love using almond oil in my face cream. Almond oil helps the skin retain and attract moisture, smooths out your skin by filling in gaps while also working as a barrier cream. However, individuals with oily skin might want to avoid this ingredient as it can clog pores.

Almond oil can help reduce puffiness around your eyes, due to the anti-inflammatory properties and may reduce the signs of aging and help repair damaged skin. Almond oil may also provide a limited protection from the sun due to the vitamin E presence (SPF 5).

If you want to look at other oils instead of almond to add to your face cream, you could also try jojoba, avocado or safflower.

Click here to buy almond oil now.

Vitamin E Oil

Vitamin E oil is a fantastic product for the skin. It helps to reduce inflammation and its high antioxidant presence makes skin appear younger. It can help repair your skin and has loads of great benefits.

Vitamin E is found in almond oil and shea butter but by adding additional vitamin E to your face cream, it will give you even more benefits from the vitamin. However you can leave it out if you wish.

Click here to buy vitamin E oil now.

Arrowroot Powder

To reduce oiliness of your facial cream, you can add arrowroot powder. Arrowroot powder is the starch of tropical plant roots. It absorbs the extra oil in the face cream which reduces the greasiness.

Arrowroot powder also contains B vitamins that can help the skin absorb other nutrients (helping your skin absorb other ingredients in this face cream) and improve circulation.

If you want to switch this ingredient with another, you could use cornstarch or tapioca flour instead.

Click here to buy arrowroot powder now.

Essential Oils

Essential oils give the face cream a great smell and depending on the type you choose, they can add extra benefits to your skin. Essential oils are totally an optional ingredient. Shea butter has a scent and if you don’t want it overpowered, you do not have to use an essential oil.

However, I personally love the smell of essential oils and always enjoy adding them to my face cream. Here are a few oils you could consider trying in your face cream.

• Lavender – Lavender is a beautiful smelling essential oil and one of my favourites to use. It is known to help relax and keep you alert.
• Lemon – Lemon is a very cleansing and clean scent. It can help uplift the mood and can help with attention and focus.
• Orange – Orange scent is lovely, fresh scent that may help with depression.
• Peppermint – Peppermint has a nice cooling effect and a fresh scent. It is nice on sore lips and can help focus the mind and help inflammation.
• Spearmint – Spearmint is slightly sweeter smelling than peppermint, with a cooling effect and is good for stress.
• Vanilla – Vanilla scent is a favourite among many. It lifts the mood, is good for depression and smells romantic.
• Rose – Many people also love rose oil, it is good for skin imperfections and can stimulate the mind.
• Chamomile – Chamomile is known to soothe and relax and is good for the skin.

Note: In my personal recipe for face cream I am only sharing the level of essential oil that personally works for me and my skin. You may need to adjust the amount based on what is good for you and your skin.

Click here to buy essential oils on eBay now.

How To Make Face Cream With Shea Butter

It is simple to make your own homemade face cream with shea butter. To do this, you will need to melt your shea butter and mix your additional ingredients into it.

You can add or remove any ingredients from the list that you wish. Your face cream can be completely customised to your personal needs. I have provided a number of alternatives you can use to the ingredients above if one or more of them doesn’t suit your needs.

To store the face cream, i recommend using an airtight container that is kept away from any moisture as this can impact its shelf life. Bail jars make the face cream look super special but any container that is sealed can do fine.

Homemade Face Cream With Shea Butter Recipe

Yield: 1 cup

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

This shea butter DIY face cream recipe is great for leaving your skin healthy and soft. It particularly works well on dry skin that wants some extra moisture. I use it daily. So good!

Print

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Shea Butter
• 2 tablespoons Almond Oil
• 1 teaspoon Vitamin E Oil
• 10 drops Essential Oil
• 1 tablespoon Arrowroot Powder
• Jar/container

Instructions

1. Use a double boiler to melt the shea butter. You could also do this in the microwave but it works better on the stove
2. Add the almond oil, mix and remove from heat
3. Cool for 15 minutes
4. Mix in the vitamin E oil and essential oils
5. Add the arrowroot powder
6. Mix until well combined
7. Pour into an airtight jar or container
8. Cool. It'll take overnight to set fully but you can use it once it's cool if you wish
9. OPTIONAL: If you like the consistency of body butters, you can whip this once it cools. See notes below

Notes

This shea butter homemade face cream is good to use when it's cool. However, at room temperature, it is quite solid although it will warm up quick and is easy to apply using your finger on your face.

If you are someone who prefers a lighter consistency that comes from whipping (so it's more lotion-like), you can whip it once it is partially solidified. Simply mix it with an electric mixer for a couple of minutes until it has the consistency you want.

This shea butter almond oil face cream should last about a year assuming you use fresh ingredients.

Final Words

Hopefully you have found this guide to making homemade face cream with shea butter helpful and I have inspired you to try making your own. Personally, my skin loves this face cream, with my skin looking and feeling great after use.

It’s super fun and creative to try different oils, powders and essential oils to find what you really love in a face cream. I personally love vanilla and spearmint for a cooling and romantic feel and sometimes I prefer chamomile and lavender if I am feeling stressed or overworked.

I like to have a few face creams made up with these alternatives for me to pick and choose from.

Hopefully, you have enjoyed my face cream recipe and found it useful and I would love to know what you think of my face cream.

Want to make more natural skincare that’s fun and easy? Find all my DIY skincare recipes here. You may also like my body butter recipe here and my foot balm recipe here. I also highly recommend my facial serum recipe here and my peppermint fudge lotion bar here. You can also learn how to make face lotion with water here.

Ask any questions below! I love to hear from other skincare makers.

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