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Massage Butter vs. Massage Cream: When to Choose a Massage Butter
Just like dairy, butter is thicker than cream. Both massage cream and massage butter are useful to therapists, and although there is some overlap, each have their own qualities and charms. Let's look at the differences and think about the benefits of massage butter.
What Is Massage Butter?
Massage butter or body butter is so named because it’s a very similar type of substance to the butter we spread on toast. It consists mostly of natural fats and carrier oils that are solid or semi-solid at room temperature. This allows it to melt into a liquified, oily substance when warmed up by body heat.
The essential fats and minerals that make up the majority of body butter are usually extracted from natural ingredients. These include shea, cocoa, various nuts, fatty fruits, palm, etc.
Carrier oils help certain beneficial ingredients absorb into the skin. But the liquified butter does not absorb into the body.
Instead it coats the skin with a layer of oil, keeping moisture and the moisturizing ingredients from escaping. It also makes any fragrances added to the butter last longer than the fragrances of other skin products.
Another distinction of massage butter is that, unlike lotions and creams, it contains no water. Body butters also tend to contain fewer unnatural ingredients. In fact, you can even make your own massage butter from a selection of natural ingredients.
Uses and Benefits Of Massage Butter
Because body butter absorbs slowly and holds in moisture for a long time after application, it’s best for soothing dry and/or irritated skin. It’s excellent for dry, cracked skin and chapped lips during wintertime.
Massage butter is great for rehydrating and reconditioning skin after exfoliation. This will prevent the exfoliated skin from drying out and becoming rough or flaky.
Lastly, its oily consistency makes it perfect for therapeutic massages, particularly deep tissue massage. It provides the perfect amount of lubrication for you to massage deeply without rubbing the skin raw.
Unlike lotion, body butter won’t absorb completely into the skin. This means the lubrication of body butter will last longer through the massage without the need for reapplication.
How is Massage Butter Different From Massage Cream?
Massage creams enjoy a kind of middle ground between lotions and butters. They are thinner than body butter but thicker and more oily than lotion.
Creams do contain water, though not as much as lotions, and are made thicker than lotions using thickening agents like beeswax or xanthan gum. They may or may not contain natural butters.
Massage & Body Butters We Recommend
Butter Body Butter Honey & Fruit Blossoms
Biotone Smoothing Massage Butter
How to Make Massage Butter
The dairy butter we spread on toast is made by agitating whole milk for a long time. This separates out the fat (butter) from the water. Natural plant oils can also be whipped into butter form, but they release no water. All of these oils can be used to create homemade massage butter:
- Shea Butter
- Apricot Oil
- Argan Oil
- Avocado Oil
- Jojoba Oil
- Grapeseed Oil
- Sunflower Seed Oil
- Sweet Almond Oil
Use kitchen equipment - it's easy. Use a hand mixer and a large mixing bowl to whip individual oils into a semi-solid form. A few drops of your favourite essential oil can be added during the mixing process, but go easy. One or two drops at a time is best. The process works best if the bowl and mixing equipment are chilled beforehand. You can pause and refrigerate the bowl during the process as well, if it is not forming a butter quickly.
Whipping the oil in a chilled bowl incorporates air into the mix. Just like whipped cream, that results in a stable, semi-solid butter. Store the butter in an airtight tub or plastic food container. It can be refrigerated if it seems unstable or like it might melt on its own.
We make no claim or recommendation about the medicinal benefits of the products listed in this article. We advise you seek the guidance of a doctor or other qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.
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