This key lime whipped coconut oil recipe is the perfect moisturizer for summertime (or when you wish it was summertime!). Key lime pie is one of my favorite desserts, so it comes as no surprise that I rather enjoy smelling like key lime pie in the mornings after applying this whipped moisturizer.
The sweet, tangy combination of lime and lemon essential oils brightens my mood, lifts my spirits, and makes me dream of lying in the sun on a tropical beach somewhere–even if it’s below freezing outside!
A New and Improved Whipped Coconut Oil Recipe
My key lime coconut oil recipe contains a few extra ingredients that weren’t in my original whipped coconut oil body butter recipe.
First, there is a small amount of liquid oil, such as olive oil or castor oil. (I recommend a low-PUFA oil because vegetable oils aren’t your friend–either in your body or on your skin).
There is also aloe vera gel, which is soothing to the skin, and great for treating acne, wrinkles and scars. Both the liquid oil and the aloe vera gel keep the coconut oil on the softer side (even in frigid temperatures).
The lemon and lime essential oils not only give this whipped moisturizer its tantalizingly indulgent aroma, but they have beneficial properties as well. Both citrus oils have antiseptic, antiviral, antibacterial, disinfectant, and astringent properties. I notice they combine well with the moisturizing properties of coconut oil, and tend to keep it from feeling excessively greasy–a common complaint about using coconut oil as a moisturizer. The skin on my face absolutely glows after using this combination!
I’m quite impressed with the results, and am secretly pleased that this body butter recipe easily outperforms an expensive facial cream I tried recently. Just imagine: a facial moisturizer that contains only food-based ingredients and costs pennies on the dollar compared to department store creams. What’s not to love?
Key Lime Whipped Coconut Oil Body Butter Recipe
Ingredients:
(Makes About 1 Cup of Whipped Coconut Oil)
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (or try castor oil)
- 2 tablespoons aloe vera gel
- 20 drops lime essential oil (where to buy essential oils online)
- 20 drops lemon essential oil (where to buy essential oils online)
Learn where I shop for high quality therapeutic essential oils online.
Instructions:
1. Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl. Note: Do not melt the coconut oil first. It will only whip up if it’s solid.
2. Mix with an electric mixer on high speed with a wire whisk attachment for 3-7 minutes or until whipped into a light, airy consistency. (After 3 minutes, check back every minute or so until it reaches the right consistency.)
3. Spoon the whipped coconut oil body butter into a glass jar and cover tightly. Store at room temperature, or in the refrigerator if your house is so warm it melts the oil.
Tip: An electric hand mixer will work, but my KitchenAid stand mixer did the job quickly and easily with little effort on my part (love it!). A blender or food processor will not work with this coconut oil recipe, because they tend to warm the oil too much and prevent it from whipping up. If your coconut oil is too soft to whip, try putting the bowl in the freezer for a few minutes before mixing.
Have you made this body butter recipe? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Do you love coconut oil? You might enjoy these posts:
- Coconut Oil for Clear Skin
- The Coconut Oil Miracle Book Review
- Super Easy Coconut Oil Fudge Recipe
- Coconut Oil Benefits: Lauric Acid
- Coconut Oil, Weight Loss and Metabolism
- 4 New Ways to Use Coconut Oil
LOVE THIS POST? PIN IT BELOW!
I love this idea. I’ve been thinking about what I could add to make the straight whipped coconut oil more of a stable lotion. My bathroom gets a little steamy and warm by the time I’m done within my shower, which is when I use my whipped coconut oil, so its been starting to melt at the bottom. Does this new recipe stand up to the heat a little better? Perhaps a high speed emulsification in the VitaMix might help? Thanks!
Not sure about it holding up to heat. It may actually hold up to heat even less this way, because of the olive oil. Adding shea butter or cocoa butter might help, as these have a higher melting point than coconut oil.
I made the key Lime Moisturizer this evening. I used Sesame Oil instead of Olive Oil because I am a Vata (Ayurvedic Dosha) and prefer the combination of Cocount and Sesame oil – anyway the finished product was “perfect”. i couldn’t believe how soft and creamy the texture is and the smell was right on Key Lime Pie. I used it this evening as an all over moisturizer and facial cream. My skin is so soft – so far I love it. I’ll continue to use it and in a few weeks will have more first hand experience to share. So fun to try new things!!
Glad you liked the recipe! 😀
I just wanted to add something important with the use lemon or citrus oil. These E.O oils are photo-sensitizing oils and can produce harmful effects if applied to skin that will be in contact with the sun. Just a word of caution when using these oils especially on the face outdoors.
Would lavender essential oil be fine?
yes with tons of benifits
I apologize, I see you have addressed that this particular method doesn’t work in a blender. Makes sense, because of the heat but also because it wouldn’t be so airy and whipped.
Yes, heat is definitely the enemy of whipped coconut oil. It’s always better to have it a little on the cold side than the warm side.
I’m guessing this would have to be kept refrigerated during summer months. If it melts, can it be re-whipped once it’s been cooled again?
Yes, it can be re-whipped once it’s cooled into solid form again. For summer, I think I’m going to try mixing it with cocoa butter to help keep it solid.
I love cocoa butter as an addition but don’t use it on my face this way.Cocoa butter unfortunately is quite comedogenic.
This might work really well as an after shave lotion/moisturizer for a man’s face.
Good idea, Ed. No doubt the aloe would be very soothing.
For the Aloe gel, could one use the gel right from the plant?
I believe so, though a reader on Facebook mentioned this might mean the whipped oil would need to be refrigerated (since fresh aloe can spoil).
I can’t wait to try this. How long does the whipped body butter last?
Do you mean how long will it keep? I’m not sure, though 3 months seems to be a good rule of thumb for homemade cosmetics. If you use fresh aloe, the mix should probably be refrigerated.
Hi Elizabeth! I tried out your receipt with a Sweet Orange and Patchouli blend that turned out great! I don’t know if you ran into this problem too, but after a day, the whip separated from the oils and turned into liquid again. I do keep my home pretty warm (76-77 degrees) so I’m wondering if it may be from heat. I still use it and it works out great for my skin. I just wish I could figure out how to make it less messy.
Sweet orange and Patchouli sound incredible! That does sound like a heat issue to me. For warmer temperatures and summertime, I think I’ll be tweaking this with cocoa or shea butter to keep it from melting.
I will try that. Thank you!
Could fresh aloe be used?
I believe so (I haven’t tried it), but then the mix would probably require refrigeration.
I just made this today, I did a lemon lavender blend. It’s fantastic! Thanks! 🙂
Sounds lovely! I’m running low on mine and I can’t wait to try another blend.
I have an electric hand mixer with only the beaters not the whisk attachment, will they work as well for whipping?
That could definitely work–it’s worth a try! Just be careful not to let the coconut oil warm up enough to melt, because then it won’t whip up.
Can you use different essential oils? I don’t have the lime essential oil but I have orange and lemon and some others. I’d love to make this and the original one too. Is this one mainly for the face or is it body too? Just found your site and I love it! Thanks!
Definitely! I love experimenting with different essential oil combinations. Peppermint is my latest favorite.
I used the key lime coconut oil on my face and body. It works well all over!
So glad you’re enjoying my site, Amber! 🙂
I love this idea. Living in Hawaii means this would have to be refrigerated, which would probably feel darn good in our warmth. I only have a blender and an old fashioned hand whip. I’ll have to give the recipe a try using that. But, the BlendTec has variable speeds, so their might be one that would work w/o heating up contents. I’ll do a test or two both ways and let y’know.
Definitely let me know how it goes!
Do you have suggestions for brands of cocoa or shea butter to purchase? Also wondering if any types/brands of essential oils have worked best for you? Thanks!
I’ve mostly used NOW foods brand up to this point because they’re so economical and are decent quality. I would like to upgrade and try some of the organic brands sometime, though.
Here is a link to where I buy my essential oils. They are great quality without any of the hype and multi marketing. The prices are better since you aren’t paying someones wages to sell them to you .
http://www.edensgarden.com/essential-oils/single-oils
Do you think the “Aloe Vera & Vitamin E” baby oil would work as a sub for the oil and aloe parts? Also is cocoa butter as in cocoa butter LOTION? I have the Equate Cocoa Butter Conditioning Body Lotion, would that work? I don’t have any essential oils and I don’t know where I can buy them locally. I hate waiting for online shippments lol.
I don’t recommend using commercial products as substitutes in these recipes, as they might have chemical additives. Cocoa butter lotion isn’t the same as pure cocoa butter, so I don’t believe it would work.
This sounds “delicious!” Be careful using essential citrus oils when you’ll be out in the sun. I found out the hard way that they are photosensitive (meaning they SOAK up sunshine) and could lead to sunburned skin!!!
That’s a great tip to remember–especially in the summertime!
My face LOVES this stuff. My thyroidectomy scar LOVES this stuff. My pocketbook LOVES this stuff. I even caught my boyfriend putting it on top of his shaved head! I also put a pearl sized dab in my short hair as a leave-in conditioner. It makes my hair even softer than leave-in straight coconut oil. . . maybe the aloe is balancing the ph of my hair.
That’s awesome, Gina! I’m so glad you guys are enjoying this recipe. 🙂
I have made a recipe for body butter similar to this using coconut oil, shea butter, aloe, vitamin e, and lime essential oil. It turned out well, light and fluffy but then had similar issues that it turned more liquidy over time in the heat (storing in bathroom cupboard). I was wondering if chilling the mixing bowl before hand would make any difference? I also only added 2 tbsp of shea butter to 1/2 cup coconut oil, wondering if I should add more to thicken it up. Any tips?
If it’s getting too warm, then yes, adding more shea butter will help keep it thicker over time.
Hi Elizabeth, I made my very first body butter with your recipe today!
I used 1/4 cup of coconut, 1/4 shea butter, and the rest was the same. I used Castor Oil instead of olive.
It looks and smells so yummy- if anything changes I’ll let you know as it’s my first try but I wanted to thank you for the recipe!
Sue
Forgot to ask- what do you think of using shea for half of the coconut?
Nevermind- I see that others have done so- probably where I got the idea 😀
Can you tell I’m excited??
Glad you like the recipe, Sue! I’ve been doing cocoa butter with coconut oil and it works very well. I still need to try shea butter.
Hi Elizabeth, I’m going to try cocoa butter as well.
Love The Nourished Life, thanks for everything 🙂
Sue
Thanks, Sue! 😀
I have tried different recipes for body butter, and given some to my daughters as well. This is by far the favorite of all of us! From now on, when I want a different scent, I’ll just use different essential oils in this recipe. 🙂
Thanks, Linda! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! 😀