If you’re looking for a moisturizer that feels rich and creamy but still light on your skin, this homemade body cream recipe is a lovely one to try out.
Unlike heavier body butter recipes, this is a true natural body cream that’s soft, smooth and easily absorbed. It delivers a lasting hydration without leaving a heavy or greasy layer behind… making it perfect for everyday use across all skin types.
We’ve combined some super nourishing butters, lightweight oils and a few carefully chosen botanicals to help create a DIY body cream that not only hydrates but also helps soothe and protect the skin. The result is a beautifully balanced cream with a natural golden color, and a soft botanical aroma that feels so special.
Spotlight On The Benefits
- Rich yet lightweight homemade body cream that absorbs easily into the skin.
- Thick, creamy texture that feels luxurious without being heavy or greasy.
- Hydrates and helps lock in moisture for soft, comfortable skin.
- Suitable for all skin types, including dry and sensitive skin.
- Made with natural oils, butters, and botanical extracts.
- Contains soothing ingredients to help calm and protect the skin.
- Naturally scented with a gentle botanical aroma. Its quite strong so feel free to lower the amount of essential oils.
- Lovely natural yellow color body cream recipe that’s easy to make and customize.
- You could go a little further with this one and use a botanical hydrosol.
About My Homemade Body Cream Recipe Ingredients
D Panthenol Powder
Also known as pro-vitamin B5, this is one of those lovely, skin loving ingredients that helps draw moisture into the skin and keep it there, leaving it feeling soft, smooth and well hydrated.
We’re using powdered panthenol here, which is heat stable and best dissolved into the water before heating. If you’re using the liquid version, which is just as lovely, it’s best added during the cool down phase as it isn’t as heat stable and can result in separation.
Glycerin
Glycerin and panthenol are such a lovely little duo to work with. Glycerin pulls moisture into the skin, while panthenol helps hold onto that hydration and keeps everything feeling soft, smooth and comfortable. Together, they give a more lasting, well-hydrated feel rather than just a quick boost that disappears quickly.
BTMS 50
BTMS 50 is a conditioning emulsifier that brings the water and oils together into a smooth, stable cream. But it does more than just emulsify, it also adds a lovely silky feeling on the skin.
It’s especially nice in body creams because it helps the lotion glide on easily and leaves the skin feeling conditioned rather than greasy. It can also give a slightly thicker, creamier texture, which makes the final product feel a bit more luxurious.
Cetyl Alcohol
Cetyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol that helps give your cream a bit more body and structure, making it feel thicker and more stable. It also has some lovely skin benefits, helping to condition and soften the skin.
It adds a nice slip to the cream when applying, allowing it to glide over the skin more easily and giving the finished product a more luxurious feel.
Kokum Butter
Kokum butter is a dry, almost crumbly butter that’s becoming more and more popular. It has some fantastic qualities, including moisturizing the skin without leaving an oily feeling.
It adds a lovely lightness to the cream while still being very nourishing, making it a great choice if you want hydration without heaviness.
It’s also a reasonably priced butter and can be used in most formulations where you’d typically use other butters, especially when you’re aiming for a lighter, less greasy finish.
Calendula Infused Oil and Camellia Oil
We love this pairing in a body cream, especially when you want something that feels both gentle and a little bit special.
We are using calendula infused in sunflower oil, which is such a beautiful ingredient to work with. Although I have seen calendulas infused in other carrier oils, sunflower oil is the most common used.
Sunflower oil on its own is lightweight, soothing, and absorbs really nicely into the skin without leaving any heaviness. But once it’s infused with calendula, it takes on those extra calming, skin-loving properties, making it perfect for dry, sensitive, or easily irritated skin.
Camellia oil, on the other hand, brings that slightly more luxurious feel. It’s beautifully light, sinks in really well, and gives the skin a silky finish without leaving any greasiness behind.
Together, they work so well. The calendula sunflower oil gently nourishes and soothes, while the camellia keeps everything feeling light, balanced.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E helps care for both your skin and your formula. It’s packed with antioxidants which can help support and protect the skin, leaving it feeling soft and nourished. It also helps slow down the oxidation of your oils, which means your lotion stays fresher for longer and is less likely to go rancid too quickly.
Calendula and Chamomile Extract
We wanted to bring a touch of botanical goodness to the cream, and these two are perfect for this. They’re both beautifully calming and especially nourishing for dry skin, helping to soothe and comfort while adding that extra bit of care.
They also give the cream a more nurturing feel, making it ideal for everyday use, especially when your skin is feeling a little tired, dry or in need of something gentle. These little additions can make a simple cream feel that bit more special.
The Calendula extract gives the cream its amazing yellow color, don’t worry it doesn’t transfer to the skin. You may also notice that the Chamomile Extract has a slight green tone to it, this is perfectly normal and will not impact the finished product.
Essential oil/Fragrance
We have gone for one of our all time favorites here, lavender and geranium. It’s like a match made in heaven and fits perfectly with our botanical theme. Both oils are suitable for all skin types and have some excellent soothing and healing properties.
Preservative Eco
Because your lotion contains water, it creates the perfect little environment for bacteria and mold to grow, so we need something in there to keep everything safe. We have chosen a natural preservative with a good pH range.
Substitutes
- Distilled Water, using a hydrosol/flower water would be lovely. Aloe vera juice would also be a nice addition.
- Glycerin, honey at around 2% would work
- Panthenol Powder, you could use liquid panthenol but it’s heat sensitive so it will need to be added at the cool down phase. Liquid panthenol is also less concentrated so add around 3% and reduce the water by 2%.
- BTMS 50, any emulsifying wax should work as a substitute. However this may affect the viscosity of the finished cream.
- Cetyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol would be the obvious choice.
- Kokum Butter, Manogo or shea would be nice
- Calendula Oil, I would go for sunflower, apricot kernel, argon or grape seed.
- Camellia Oil, Sub with more sweet almond or try apricot kernel, argan or grape seed
- Vitamin E, this keeps the oils in the cream fresh. You could leave it out and use the cream within a couple of months or use rosemary extract.
- Calendula & Chamomile Extracts, Try Bisabolol (at 0.5%) or oat extract (at 1.5%). You could also leave it out and increase the chamomile by 1%.
- Fragrance/Essential oil, replace with your own choice.
- Preservative Eco, any broad spectrum preservative. Check usage rate and adapt if need be.
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Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- 67 grams Distilled Water, 5 grams Glycerine, 1 grams D-Panthenol PowderPlace the distilled water, glycerin and panthenol powder into one of the heatproof beakers, stir until all of the panthenol has been dissolved.
- 5 grams BTMS-50 Emulsifying Wax, 2 grams Cetyl Alcohol, 5 grams Kokum Butter, 6.5 grams Calendula Oil, 4 grams Camellia Seed OilIn a separate heatproof beaker place the BTMS 50, cetyl alcohol, kokum butter, sweet almond and camellia oil.
- Place both beakers into the water bath. A water bath consists of a shallow pan with a couple of inches of gently simmering water. Leave the beakers in the water bath until the butter and waxes have melted and the water has heated through.
- Once melted remove the beakers from the heat and combine by pouring the beaker holding the water into the beaker holding the melted oils.
- Using a spatula start to blend the mixture. Stir until the mixture has started to thicken and has fully mixed together, similar to runny cream. Then continue to stir on and off until the cream has cooled to below 40c ( 104f) which is around room temperature.
- 1 grams Vitamin E Oil, 0.75 grams Calendula co2 Extract, 0.75 grams Chamomile ExtractWhen cooled add the vitamin E, Calendula and Chamomile Extract stir them in well.
- 1 grams Geogard ECT, 0.6 grams Lavender Essential Oil, 0.4 grams Rose Geranium Essential OilNext we can add the preservative and the essential oils, mix again to make sure everything has been fully combined.
- 1 Cosmetic Jar 4 ozTransfer to a clean sterile jar, ready for use.
New to DIY skincare?
If you’re enjoying making your own products, you might like Radiance, my free email course where I teach the foundations of DIY skincare step by step!
How to use
Use daily, or whenever your skin needs a little extra moisture and care.
Apply a small amount to clean, dry skin and gently massage in until absorbed. You will find that it melts beautifully, leaving the skin feeling soft, smooth and well hydrated without any greasy residue.
Storage and shelf life
As long as you’ve used the correct amount of preservative and store the cream in a clean, airtight container, keeping it out of direct sunlight, it should last for around 6 months.
As always, if you notice any changes in smell, colour or texture, it’s best to stop using it and make a fresh batch.
Final Thoughts
This homemade body cream is such a lovely example of how you can create something that feels nourishing and super lightweight at the same time.
The combination of kokum butter, calendula oil and camellia oil gives the cream a soft and balanced feel, while the added botanicals bring that extra touch of care to your skin. It’s the kind of natural body cream recipe that works beautifully as your everyday moisturizer and leaves skin feeling hydrated, smooth and comfortable.
Once you’ve learned how to make this body cream you can easily adapt it to suit your own preferences, swapping oils, using a hydrosol or adjusting the scent to create your own personal blend.
A simple, reliable and nicely balanced DIY body cream you’ll want to come back to again and again.
