DIY Organic Belly Butter

This recipe for DIY Organic Belly Butter is made with an incredibly moisturizing combination of various organic butters and oils. It’s whipped in texture yet thick and creamy and a wonderful way to hydrate the skin and help with stretch marks, tightness and itchiness that often accompany growing bellies during pregnancy.

When my aunt reached out to our extended family about planning a baby shower + baby sprinkle for me and my sister back in April, I started to get so, so excited to shop for some fun presents for my sister and her baby-on-the-way. Though my mom and I are planning to throw Leslie a shower in her hometown closer to her September 25 due date, I loved putting together “round one” of gifts for Leslie and her first baby and tried my best to make my gifts a combination of necessities and adorable things for her little one that were just too cute to resist.

One of the gifts I was most excited to give Leslie was a homemade jar of belly butter! This may seems a little out there and a bit odd, but Leslie and I are constantly bouncing cleaner living ideas off each other, whether it be all natural household cleaners or more natural makeup products, and I had a feeling she’d love a jar of belly butter made solely with natural and organic ingredients.

Truth be told, it was a gift that ended up being a bit pricier than I anticipated since I stuck with organic butters and oils and ordered rather large quantities, but the belly butter ended up being a HUGE hit with Leslie! I ended up making another big batch for myself from the remaining butters and oils and still have some of the ingredients leftover. I’m actually planning to make even MORE of this butter after delivery because I love it so much and it feels like a luxurious body butter but more moisturizing and hydrating. It’s also wonderful to use on dry, itchy skin all over my body.

This belly butter is incredibly creamy and slightly oily when applied but my skin absolutely SOAKS it up every time I apply it. The texture is whipped yet thick and I’ve been using it every day after my shower and often right before bed as well. I apply it to my belly and breasts and it’s been heavenly for my growing, stretching skin. It also helps with tightness and itchiness that seems to pop up in a serious way during the third trimester!

The belly butter in this recipe is unscented since I know smell sensitivity during pregnancy is HIGH but you may be able to detect a very slight smell from the shea butter because I opted for unrefined shea butter. I don’t notice an odor at all once it’s applied but if you’d like to make a scented version of this belly butter, consider adding a small amount of a pregnancy-safe essential oil like lavender to the recipe!

DIY Organic Belly Butter

Recipe adapted from Blossoming Belly Butter

Makes about 2 cups of body butter

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup mango butter
• 1/2 cup shea butter
• 1/2 cup refined coconut oil
• 1/4 cup grapeseed oil
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
• 1/4 cup rose hip seed oil

Directions

1. Using a double boiler or a large glass measuring cup placed inside a pot of water, melt melt mango and shea butter together over a medium-low heat, stirring regularly.
2. Add coconut oil, stir and melt completely.
3. As the coconut oil and butters melt and mix together on the stove top, combine grapeseed oil and arrowroot powder and stir until dissolved.
4. Carefully remove melted butters and coconut oil from heat and stir grapeseed oil mixture and rosehip seed oil into the melted butters.
5. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and refrigerate until completely cooled. (This will take a few hours. I refrigerate mine overnight.)
6. Remove from refrigerator and allow butter to soften a bit at room temperature. (You want the texture to be similar to softened butter and still hold its shape but give easily under the pressure of a finger.
7. Using a mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed until the belly butter becomes light and fluffy.
8. Transfer belly butter to jars with airtight lids. Store belly butter in a cool place away from sunlight.

Recipe Notes

Here are links to the exact oils and butters I used:

• Pure Organic Mango Butter
• Sky Organics 100% Unrefined Shea Butter
• Nutiva Organic Refined Coconut Oil
• Sky Organics 100% Grapeseed Oil
• Thrive Market Organic Arrowroot Powder
• Kate Blanc Organic Rosehip Seed Oil

The color of this belly butter will naturally vary depending on the butters and oils purchased. (The belly butter you see above was rather yellow in color due to the color of the rosehip seed oil I used. Rosehip seed oil can vary significantly in color.) You may use refined or unrefined oils and butters in this belly butter but unrefined oils and butters will likely give the butter a scent. I used all refined oils and butters with the exception of unrefined shea butter and felt the smell was very subtle.

Also, if you’re looking for a high-quality organic belly butter alternative that doesn’t require any DIY-ing, I also love Mambino Belly Butter. A little bit goes a long way and I used it throughout my first pregnancy and during my current pregnancy up until I began making this DIY Organic Belly Butter!