How to Make Calendula Infused Body Butter Sticks

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DIY body butter sticks are a great way to apply homemade body butter without the mess.

Maybe you’ve tried lotion bars before and thought, ‘Gee, these are messy to use! They get a little melty in my hands!’

While a solid lotion bar is meant to melt in your hands (that’s how the nourishing butters and oils get to your skin), it’s not always what you want with a lotion product.

Cue body butter sticks.

These cute sticks of butter, wax, and nourishing oils are like solid lotion bars, but they come in a deodorant-style container for easy application.

I especially love body butter sticks for dry areas like the heels of your feet or as a final step to a skin-softening foot soak (time to get those feet ready for sandal weather!).

Body Butter Sticks for Skin

It’s a recipe that is perfect for skin or for anyone who prefers to skip essential oils in their body butter. Not only that, it’s easy to apply and generally mess-free.

It includes homemade calendula-infused almond oil, which gives this solid body butter skin-soothing properties.

It is fragrance-free, although the combination of unrefined shea butter and calendula oil gives off a mild, earthy scent that is very subtle. If you don’t prefer the smell of shea, go for refined shea butter in this recipe.

Body Butter Stick vs. Solid Lotion Bar

You might be asking—what’s the difference between a body butter stick and a solid lotion bar?

These two products are very similar! The main difference is in how you apply the final product. A body butter stick is housed in a push-up, deodorant-style tube, making for easy, mess-free application. Whereas a lotion bar is molded into a solid, almost soap-like bar. Lotion bars are applied with bare hands, and the homemade solid lotion melts on contact as you use it.

This body butter stick recipe is similar to my lotion bar recipe with a beeswax base and butters, but it is slightly different. I use mango butter in this recipe, while my basic lotion bar has cocoa butter (and a slight cocoa scent, if using unrefined butter).

Mango butter is softer than cocoa butter and unscented, which gives these body butter sticks a slightly smoother texture than their lotion bar sisters.

Body Butter Stick Supplies

You’ll need six ingredients, a double boiler setup, and plastic tubes for storing these body butter sticks. They are easy to make once you’ve gathered your supplies. Let’s take a look at what we’ll need.

Beeswax—Beeswax is a natural wax that gives these body butter sticks a slightly stiff texture.

Shea Butter—Shea butter is a bournishing choice to go ahead with. I prefer unrefined shea butter because it has undergone less processing and has a slightly earthy smell. Refined shea butter can be used instead if you prefer unscented.

Mango Butter—This is another rich, moisturizing butter from the mango seed. It has a similar texture to shea butter and is unscented. Hence, it does NOT smell of mango.

Calendula Infused Almond Oil—this is where the calendula comes into this recipe. I like to make my calendula oil, but you can purchase it already infused if you prefer. This is not the same as an essential oil; it is a carrier oil that has been infused with calendula.

Jojoba Oil—One of my favorite carrier oils for DIY moisturizers, jojoba oil is a liquid wax that is thick, and even the tiniest amount can go a long way.

Vitamin E—I add this to lots of my homemade products. Vitamin E oil can also help preserve the shelf life of other natural oils, helping your homemade body butter stick last a bit longer.

Deodorant Tubes—I use deodorant tubes, as they are in the perfect shape for this recipe.

Double Boiler – You’ll melt the beeswax, shea butter, and mango butter over low heat in a double boiler. It’s an essential product that I use a lot, and if you plan to make recipes like this more often, then I highly recommend a double boiler!

Kitchen Scale – Another device that I commonly use is a kitchen scale, as for my recipes, I prefer measuring by weight instead of volume to have a more consistent finished product.

Let’s get started on our body butter sticks!

How to Make Body Butter Sticks

1. Add beeswax, mango butter, and shea butter to the double boiler and gently melt over medium/low heat. You don’t want to boil or overheat; only melt.

2. Once the wax and butters are melted, remove from heat and add calendula oil, jojoba oil, and vitamin E.

3. Stir until combined.

4. Pour into tubes and let sit to harden.

Your homemade body butter sticks will keep for six months or more. These are water-free, so they do not need a preservative. Store in a cool, dry place. They will soften in hot temperatures!

More DIY Body Moisturizer Recipes

How to Make Lotion Bars

Vanilla Latte Whipped Body Butter

DIY Hot Chocolate Lotion Bars

How to Make Whipped Body Butter