How to make a homemade eczema body butter with aloe vera. This easy recipe has shea butter, herbal infused oil, and essential oils that can promote healing and better looking skin.
As a mom of three kids, I figured eczema would hit us at some point. Caleb is allergic to several environmental things and has asthma and breathing problems, so I figured it would be him.
Nope. It's me.
I'm glad it's not Caleb or one of my other kids because eczema kinda sucks. It's itchy, gross looking, and annoying. Recently, it was even painful.
Eczema is a common skin condition that affects millions of people in the United States. It can cause itching, oozing, dry skin, scaly skin, and inflamed skin.
There isn't a cure for eczema. Common prescription treatments include steroids to thin the skin. You can talk to your doctor about using natural ingredients like shea butter or aloe vera to manage your symptoms.
Keep track of your favorite DIY recipes with these printable essential oil recipe cards or use my printable essential oil journal.
Homemade Eczema Body Butter With Aloe Vera
When I was formulating my homemade eczema cream with aloe vera, there were some ingredients that I wanted and some that I didn't.
I didn't want water in my recipe. Water is obviously inexpensive, so it's often the first ingredient in eczema creams and lotions.
I wanted a body butter because I wanted more oils and butters in my DIY eczema treatment instead of water.
Since this homemade eczema cream with aloe vera doesn't have water in it, it doesn't need a preservative.
If you've landed on this page, I'm guessing that you're making this for personal reasons and probably don't have a preservative on the shelf.
This body butter and other things I make help, but using the eczema wet wrap therapy has helped the most.
Shea Butter
Shea butter is my favorite natural body butter. It's solid at room temperature, but it melts when it touches the skin.
It has vitamins A, E, and F to promote healing. It's also a natural anti-inflammatory to reduce inflammation naturally.
It has fatty acids that moisturize the skin. It can penetrate deep into the skin, so the fatty acids and the vitamins get deeper into the skin.
Shea butter also forms a barrier on top of the skin. This helps hold the other ingredients close to the skin to maximize their effectiveness.
Learn more about the types of body butters for hair and skin and their benefits.
Cocoa Butter
If shea butter is my favorite butter, cocoa butter is my second favorite. Cocoa butter helps hydrate and moisturize the skin. It also forms a barrier on top of the skin to hold in the other ingredients.
Cocoa butter has phytochemicals, which can boost blood flow to the area and promote healing. Cocoa butter is often used to promote healing for eczema, scars, and stretch marks.
Cocoa butter is a dense butter, so it makes this homemade eczema cream firmer at room temperature.
Aloe Butter
Since this is a body butter and doesn't have water, it doesn't need a preservative. Aloe is water soluble, so it won't mix with the butters and oils.
If you add aloe vera gel, it will separate from the oil. You'd need to add water and a preservative.
To get around this, I used an aloe butter. Aloe butter is a blend of aloe and a hydrogenated vegetable oil.
It has no odor, and it melts on your skin with your body heat. It's creamy and helps hydrate dry skin and eczema quickly.
Herbs
Last summer, I went to the Amish bulk store looking for herbs. They have an entire wall full of shelves of dried herbs. I can get half of a cup of dried herbs for anywhere from a quarter to a dollar.
The woman that runs the store and her daughters are very knowledgeable about herbs. The Amish in the community look to them for advice on herbal and essential oil treatments for common ailments.
I asked for herbs for eczema, and they recommended burdock. My only experience with burdock until this point was picking it out of the goat's fur.
I used horsetail, burdock, and plantain to infuse my oils. You don't have to infuse the herbs and oils, but it does give you the benefits of the herbs with the benefits of the carrier oils.
Horsetail is a great herb for the skin. It is said to help heal rashes, wounds, and burns. It's also naturally anti-inflammatory to reduce inflammation from eczema.
Burdock has been used for generations for skin conditions, including eczema. IT's naturally anti-inflammatory and antibacterial. It's often used to treat burns, and it can also help promote healing
Plantain is my favorite herbs for skin conditions and eczema. It's said to promote wound healing and lowers the chance of scarring. Learn about plantain leaf uses.
Learn more about using herbs in natural skin care products in the Botanical Skin Care Course from The Herbal Academy.
Carrier Oils
I used both baobab oil and wheat germ oil to infuse my herbs in. Baobab isn't an oil that I use very often because it is more expensive than other oils. I did use it in a hair oil recipe, and I loved it for that purpose.
It's said to help regenerate the skin and soften skin. It's a good oil to use for healing. It's high in vitamins A, B, and C and has fatty acids that moisturize the skin.
Wheat germ oil is rich in vitamin E, an antioxidant. While it's not as powerful for healing as the baobab oil, it is less expensive. It also absorbs deeper into the skin and won't leave you feeling greasy.
Wheat germ oil is said to boost collagen production and help the skin repair and heal. It's also a natural emollient, so it helps the skin retain moisture.
Don't use wheat germ oil if you are allergic to wheat or sensitive to gluten. Use another oil like grapeseed oil, avocado oil, or jojoba oil.
Learn more about different types of carrier oils and their benefits here.
Essential Oils
I also added some essential oils. I used Neroli, Helichrysum, and Frankincense
Other good oils to use are:
If you do use different essential oils, use the same amount that I did.
How to Infuse Herbs and Carrier Oils
Infusing herbs and oils gives you the benefits of the herbs without using them whole in the recipe. If you are going to infuse oils, always start with a dried herb so you don't risk it growing mold.
There aren't exact measurements for infusing herbs and oils. I fill a pint mason jar about half full with herbs and cover with a carrier oil.
Then let it sit for two weeks to infuse them. Strain, discard the herbs, and reserve the oil for recipes. If you have leftover infused oil, save it for another recipe.
Don't want to take the time to infuse or just don't want to mess with it? I get it! You can buy a plantain infused oil or an herbal infused oil for eczema. Both would work well in this recipe.
>Ingredients
- 1/2 cup shea butter
- 1/2 cup cocoa butter
- 1/2 cup aloe butter
- 1/2 cup horsetail, burdock, plantain infused baobab and wheat germ oil
- 6 drops Frankincense essential oils
- 6 drops Neroli essential oil
- 6 drops Helichrysum essential oils
Directions
Step #1
Use a double boiler to melt the shea butter, cocoa butter, and aloe butter. Drizzle in the oil and stir well.
Step #2
Add the essential oil and stir again.
Step #3
Place the bowl with the melted oils in the fridge for about an hour. You can also place it in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes just until it starts to form a hard top.
Step #4
Remove from fridge or freezer and use a hand mixer to whip. Whip for 10 minutes.
Step #5
Spoon it into a jar. I like the flat wide mouth jars for my whipped body butter recipe for eczema.
I hope you like this homemade eczema body butter recipe with aloe vera! If you're looking for more recipes for eczema, try one of these:
- DIY Eczema Hand Soap Recipe
- Homemade Eczema Relief Salve Recipe
- Dandelion Salve Recipe
- Scar and Stretch Mark Scrub
Whipped Body Butter for Eczema
materials:
- 1/2 cup shea butter
- 1/2 cup cocoa butter
- 1/2 cup aloe butter
- 1/2 cup horsetail, burdock, plantain infused baobab and wheat germ oil
- 6 drops Frankincense essential oils
- 6 drops Neroli essential oil
- 6 drops Helichrysum essential oils
steps:
- Use a double boiler to melt the shea butter, cocoa butter, and aloe butter. Drizzle in the oil and stir well.
- Add the essential oil and stir again.
- Place the bowl with the melted oils in the fridge for about an hour. You can also place it in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes just until it starts to form a hard top.
- Remove from fridge or freezer and use a hand mixer to whip. Whip for 10 minutes.
- Spoon it into a jar. I like the flat wide mouth jars for my whipped body butter recipe for eczema.
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