Lime + Ylang Ylang Body Butter DIY Recipe
Lime + Ylang Ylang Body Butter DIY Recipe
Some body butters feel bright, soft, and a little dressed up.
Fresh lime. Creamy florals. Smooth skin. A little tropical, a little sunny, and soft enough to feel like a pretty after-shower treat instead of a heavy perfume.
That is the mood behind Lime + Ylang Ylang.
This DIY body butter recipe is for anyone who loves fresh floral body-care scents with a soft tropical finish. It is made for dry areas, after-shower routines, and soft skin days when you want something bright, creamy, and feminine.
What You’re Making
You are making Lime + Ylang Ylang Body Butter, a whipped body butter inspired by fresh lime, soft tropical florals, warm skin, and smooth after-shower body care.
This formula is weighed to about 6 oz by weight and will usually fill about one 8 oz jar by volume after whipping, depending on how much air is whipped into the butter.
Details
Prep time: 20 to 30 minutes
Chill time: 20 to 30 minutes
Makes: About one 8 oz jar by volume
Skill level: Beginner to intermediate
Method: Whipped anhydrous body butter
Scent style: Fresh, floral, tropical, soft, creamy
Best for: Body butter, dry skin areas, after-shower routines, summer body care, floral scent layering, and soft skin routines
What You’ll Need
Digital scale
Heat-safe bowl
Small saucepan for double boiler
Mixing bowl
Spoon or spatula
Hand mixer or stand mixer
8 oz jar with lid
Disposable gloves, optional but helpful
Label or marker
Clean towel for workspace
Ingredients
For one 8 oz jar by volume, use:
2 oz shea butter
1.5 oz mango butter
0.75 oz solid coconut oil
1 oz fractionated coconut oil
0.60 oz jojoba oil, sunflower oil, sweet almond oil, or grapeseed oil
0.20 oz arrowroot powder or tapioca starch, optional, for a softer dry-touch feel
0.05 oz vitamin E oil, optional
0.05 to 0.08 oz skin-safe Lime + Ylang Ylang fragrance oil or scent blend, measured by weight
Make Sure
Use a skin-safe Lime + Ylang Ylang fragrance oil approved for leave-on body products.
Do not use candle fragrance oil unless the supplier clearly says it is safe for leave-on body care.
This is a leave-on product, so the fragrance must stay within the supplier’s leave-on usage rate.
Body butters and body creams are usually checked under the leave-on body product category on IFRA sheets, commonly Category 5A for body lotion/body cream style products. Always check the supplier’s IFRA sheet for the exact fragrance oil or scent material you are using. (CandleScience)
Do not use lime juice in this recipe.
Do not use lime zest in this recipe.
Do not use ylang ylang water, floral water, or hydrosol in this recipe.
Do not use regular cold-pressed or expressed lime essential oil in this body butter unless your supplier clearly gives safe leave-on usage and phototoxicity guidance for that exact oil.
For the safest beginner version, use:
Skin-safe Lime + Ylang Ylang fragrance oil
Skin-safe lime fragrance oil
Steam-distilled lime essential oil
FCF/non-phototoxic lime essential oil
Skin-safe ylang ylang fragrance oil
Ylang ylang essential oil used at a very low amount
Ylang ylang essential oil is strong and can take over the blend quickly.
Ylang ylang essential oil may bother sensitive skin if too much is used.
Keep ylang ylang low, soft, and well diluted.
If you blend lime and ylang ylang separately, the total scent amount should still stay between 0.05 and 0.08 oz for this recipe unless your supplier allows more.
If using ylang ylang essential oil, keep the ylang ylang portion at or below 0.04 oz in this recipe to stay comfortably under a 0.8% ylang ylang level for this batch size.
Always follow the lowest supplier usage rate when blending fragrance oils or essential oils together.
This recipe is an anhydrous body butter, meaning it does not contain water.
Do not add water, aloe vera, hydrosols, tea, milk, honey, glycerin, or water-based ingredients to this recipe.
Because there is no water in this formula, it does not need a preservative if made and stored correctly.
Keep water out of the jar during use.
Use clean, dry hands or a clean spoon when scooping.
Body butter can feel rich, so a small amount is enough.
Do not use this body butter on your face, intimate areas, broken skin, irritated skin, sunburned skin, or freshly shaved skin.
Instructions
Start with a clean, dry workspace and clean tools.
Make sure your jar is clean and completely dry.
Add the shea butter, mango butter, and solid coconut oil to a heat-safe bowl.
Place the bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water to create a double boiler.
Melt the butters and coconut oil gently.
Stir slowly until everything is fully melted.
Remove the bowl from heat.
Add the fractionated coconut oil.
Add the jojoba oil, sunflower oil, sweet almond oil, or grapeseed oil.
Add the vitamin E oil if you are using it.
Stir until the oils are fully blended.
Let the mixture cool for a few minutes.
Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes.
Chill until the mixture looks thick, cloudy, and partly firm around the edges, but not rock hard.
Remove the bowl from the refrigerator.
Whip the mixture with a hand mixer until it becomes creamy, lighter, and fluffy.
Add the Lime + Ylang Ylang fragrance oil or scent blend.
Add the arrowroot powder or tapioca starch if you are using it.
Whip again until the body butter looks smooth and fully blended.
Check the texture.
If the body butter feels too soft, chill it for 5 to 10 more minutes and whip again.
If the body butter feels too firm, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes and whip again.
Spoon the whipped body butter into your clean, dry jar.
Tap the jar gently to settle the butter, but do not pack it down too tightly.
Wipe the rim clean.
Add the lid.
Label it Lime + Ylang Ylang Body Butter and add the date you made it.
How to Use It
Use Lime + Ylang Ylang Body Butter on clean, dry skin.
Apply a small amount to arms, legs, elbows, knees, feet, and dry areas.
Use after a shower when skin is dry but still slightly warm.
Massage gently until the butter melts into the skin.
Start with a small scoop because this is a rich body butter.
Reapply as needed if your skin tolerates it well.
Avoid using right before putting on delicate clothing because oils can transfer.
Do not use on irritated skin.
Do not use right after shaving if your skin is sensitive.
Avoid applying before strong sun exposure unless you are using a confirmed non-phototoxic lime material.
Parlor Scent Lab Notes
Lime + Ylang Ylang should smell bright, creamy, floral, tropical, and soft.
The lime gives the body butter freshness and sparkle.
The ylang ylang adds creamy floral warmth and a soft tropical finish.
Together, they should smell like warm skin, fresh lime, soft yellow flowers, and a pretty shower routine that feels a little more polished.
This scent should not smell like sharp lime cleaner.
It should not smell too heady or too floral.
It should feel soft, fresh, creamy, and close to the skin.
Shea butter gives the body butter richness.
Mango butter helps make the texture smoother and less heavy.
Solid coconut oil adds a creamy body-care feel, but too much can make the butter softer or more melt-prone.
Fractionated coconut oil helps the butter glide on more easily.
Jojoba, sunflower, sweet almond, or grapeseed oil help soften the skin feel.
Arrowroot powder or tapioca starch can make the butter feel less greasy, but too much can make it feel powdery.
Vitamin E oil is optional. It can help slow oil oxidation, but it is not a preservative.
If your home is warm, this body butter may soften or melt. For a firmer version next time, reduce the solid coconut oil slightly and increase the mango butter.
Keep the color soft. White, cream, pale yellow, very light blush, or soft coconut white works best for the Lime + Ylang Ylang look.
Do not add dried lime, lime zest, flowers, petals, sugar, food extracts, milk, honey, or kitchen ingredients to this recipe.
If your body butter smells strange, changes texture, develops spots, becomes watery, or looks contaminated, throw it away and make a fresh batch.
Storage and Safety
Store your body butter in a cool, dry place.
Keep the jar tightly closed between uses.
Keep water out of the jar.
Do not store it in the shower.
Do not leave it in a hot car, sunny window, or warm bathroom.
Body butter can melt in heat.
If it melts and firms back up, the texture may become flatter or grainy.
Use clean, dry hands or a clean spoon to scoop the body butter.
Use within 3 to 6 months for the freshest scent and best texture.
Always patch test before using a new scented body butter all over.
Avoid using on broken skin, irritated skin, sunburned skin, freshly shaved skin, or intimate areas.
Keep away from eyes and mouth.
If irritation, itching, redness, burning, headache, or discomfort happens, stop using it.
Keep out of reach of children and pets.
If you are pregnant, have sensitive skin, or are making this for someone with health concerns, check whether lime and ylang ylang are appropriate before use.
If you are selling this body butter, your formula should be properly tested, labeled, and checked for cosmetic compliance in your area.
Scent Strength
For an unscented sensitive-skin version, use:
No fragrance oil
For a very soft Lime + Ylang Ylang scent, use:
0.05 oz Lime + Ylang Ylang fragrance oil
For the regular Lime + Ylang Ylang version, use:
0.06 oz Lime + Ylang Ylang fragrance oil
For a slightly stronger but still soft leave-on scent, use:
0.08 oz Lime + Ylang Ylang fragrance oil
For a lime-forward version, use:
0.04 oz lime fragrance oil, distilled lime essential oil, or FCF lime essential oil
0.02 oz ylang ylang fragrance oil or ylang ylang essential oil
For a ylang ylang-forward version, use:
0.03 oz lime fragrance oil, distilled lime essential oil, or FCF lime essential oil
0.03 oz ylang ylang fragrance oil or ylang ylang essential oil
For a softer creamy-floral version, use:
0.03 oz lime fragrance oil, distilled lime essential oil, or FCF lime essential oil
0.02 oz ylang ylang fragrance oil or ylang ylang essential oil
Do not add extra fragrance oil or essential oil unless your supplier’s leave-on usage rate allows it.
Do not use regular cold-pressed lime essential oil for the scent variations unless your supplier clearly gives a safe leave-on amount and phototoxicity guidance for that exact oil.
If using ylang ylang essential oil, keep it low. More is not better in this blend.
Lime + Ylang Ylang should stay fresh, creamy, floral, tropical, and close to the skin.
One Last Soft Scoop
Lime + Ylang Ylang Body Butter is fresh, creamy, and softly floral on purpose.
It is smooth skin after a shower, a little lime in the air, a soft tropical flower note on the vanity, and that rich body-butter feeling that makes dry skin feel cared for.
A small scoop, a soft rub, and there she is.
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