How long does a body butter keep?

[lovingit]

Good morning!

I made myself a body butter last night (I was brave enough after a couple of years of spending so much on other people making it for me.) I made it with mango butter and apricot kennel oil.

I didn't have any Vit E on hand...

...would anyone know how long this butter will keep before it starts to go bad?

Thanks so much!!!! It is sooo lovely for my crazy sensitive skin...

[xenabyte]

I read somewhere, that is there is absolutely NO water in it, it will keep indefinitely. It's the small 'extras' in water that make it go bad, give bacteria a place to start reproducing....

If you are not sure, can you keep it in fridge? I will look up that link and post it, if I can find it. Had to switch computers and am still trying to find all my old links

[lovingit]

I asked around as well...and what some of these toiletry makers said that the expiration date is when the first oil or butter expires...in my case, for sweet almond oil: 3-6 months. (I didn't have any water in it)

Gosh there is so much to learn...but I guess it's worth it because my skin is sensitive to toiletries with paraben. And, paraben-free products are just so expensive.

Thanks so much for responding!

[xenabyte]

I use straight virgen coconut 'oil', which is solid at room temp here in Colorado.

Not only is it good for cooking with, but i use to 'clean' my face with, and massage it into my skin.

Good stuff. If you heat it up a little (until liquid) and add in a 'liquid' oil, it will all stay liquid.

I have some great recipes for making your own stuff, but am currently busy in the 'nutrition' forum and my desk is covered with food recipes and I'm working on experimenting in the kitchen with fermenting foods, etc.

I will try to post a few 'home made' creams when I can get around to it (add in chasing down toddler and caring for a 5 month old, cloth diapering, cooking, cleaning, etc...hehe)

[xenabyte]

Here is a link that might be helpful to you

http://www.makingcosmetics.com/homem...er_july_04.pdf

[lovingit]

Thank you!