Why Should You Use A Nourishing Body Butter?

We all know the importance of keeping our face moisturized. After all, dry patches and flaky skin doesn’t look cute. And even if your skin is more on the oily side, avoiding moisturizing your skin can actually increase oil production and leave you with a slick face in no time. Moreover, with all the care you put on your face by having a skincare routine, it is more important than ever that your body gets some TLC, too.

The harsh dry winter winds coupled with the indoor heat and friction from woolen are major contributors that draw away the natural moisture from your skin and result in dry, patchy, and irritated skin. While you might be pampering your body right with a scrub and moisturizer, sometimes your skin needs more than that. This is where body butter or oil helps.

Body butter is one such skincare product that is used primarily by people with dry skin or during weather transitions. However, with people becoming aware of the benefits, it is now slowly gaining popularity due to its highly nourishing and moisturizing properties. If you are someone who has got your hands on body butter yet, we are going to make sure you get yourself one by the end of this blog.

This guide will help you know all about body butter from its uses to its benefits of the same and so much more.

What is Body Butter?

These are nothing complicated, but really just a moisturizer that is thicker and creamier than your normal body cream or simple lotion. It contains dense emollients that are made of plant-based oils and nutrient-rich fat extracts.

These contain butters or essential oils derived from various plants like shea butter, cocoa butter, jojoba oil, and tamanu oil to give them a rich texture and pleasant fragrance. These are extracted and made from the nuts or seeds of the respective trees.

Thanks to its richness and rich consistency, it stays on the skin for longer, penetrates deep into the skin, and moistens the parched areas on the skin. For best results, it is important to invest in body oils composed of only organic ingredients with a semi-solid consistency, unlike body lotions that have a gel-based or cream-based fluid consistency.

How does moisture loss affect the skin barrier?

Before we actually dive into the benefits of body butter, some background on what moisture and on the opposite end, moisture loss, does to your skin. The function of the skin is to be a protective barrier for the underlying tissues, also protecting the internal organs from infections and irritation.

Skin loses moisture through a process called trans epidermal water loss, this is when moisture seeps out through your epidermis and evaporates. The thing is that you don’t need to worry as it is completely normal but the thing is you need to accommodate a good moisturizer. Your skin may feel dry and rough, and look slack or dull without a good routine. Resulting in wrinkles and lines also appearing deeper when the skin doesn’t have enough moisture.

Certain factors can make it worse, while transepidermal moisture loss occurs naturally. Especially, in the winter season, the cold and dry weather can sap moisture from the skin, for one, which is why skin gets dull and drier in the winter.

Other external and internal factors that can affect your skin barrier:

too much sun exposure
allergens, irritants, and pollutants
alkaline detergents and soaps
exposure to harsh chemicals
over-exfoliation
psychological distress
and genetic factors that make your skin prone to certain conditions

What Ingredients to look for in Body Butters?

Every day, our skin is exposed to a wide variety of environmental factors such as excessive hand washing, ultraviolet rays, dry climates, dangerous pollutants, and comedogenic skin products. It has become essential to protect ourselves from these factors and restore our skin with high-quality, natural ingredients.

As we mentioned above body butters differ from lotion in that they are thicker, more intensely moisturizing, and consist of oils and butters. All natural or organic ingredients are formulated with ingredients designed to protect and heal the skin.

Ingredients to look out for are familiar, hydrating powerhouses, such as shea butter, cocoa butter, and oils like coconut, tamanu, as well as Vitamin E, which softens skin and protects the skin’s moisture barrier.

Spoiler: You have to check the ingredient list and spot atleast one rich emollient that helps to heal cracked skin and avoid any ingredients that will dry out the skin, like alcohol or witch hazel.

Benefits of Body Butters for Skin

Provides ample moisture to the skin: One of the many uses of body butter is to provide relief from dry, chapped, flaky, and cracked skin and if you suffer from severe conditions like eczema. As you know body butters penetrate deep into the fatty layers of your skin providing deep moisturization and ensuring that the moisture remains intact in the skin for long hours, so it is imperative that you choose a natural body butter free from any harmful chemicals to let it work effectively on your skin.
Protects skin barrier: To lock in moisture, body oils form a protective barrier on the skin. These are available in thick consistency and are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids that also protect the skin against environmental damage like the sun, dry air, and cold winter chills. However, not completely, they get absorbed by the dry skin seamlessly. The part that remains above the skin acts as a protective layer on the outside, locks the moisture, and prevents it from escaping for quite a few hours. These layers also offer protection against pollution, dust, and heat.
Pack of Skin-Nourishing Vitamins: Most body butters are made with only oils and butters. Nothing but the absolute best ingredients, period. All these ingredients are packed with fats that soothe inflamed skin apart from keeping it moisturized. They also help to keep the skin nourished for a long time. Whether you have just shaved, waxed, or have dryness, a body butter or body oil is the solution.
Cures stretch marks and scars: Yes, you can also apply it to stretch marks and scars in the long run, which means you are contributing to healing your skin as you moisturize. For instance, most mothers use these thick moisturizers to reduce the appearance of stretch marks that are formed post-childbirth or due to weight gain or weight loss. With amazing regenerative and skin-healing properties, butters make the best add-on to heal stretch marks on your body. Of course, this is not an overnight cure, but applying it daily with the right ingredients can act as a skin-firming solution and give you a visible result within months.

How and When to Use Body Butters?

The prime use is to nourish your skin, so the best time is to use body butter is after a shower or bath when the skin is damp. So just as you step out of your bath, pat your skin dry, take a good amount of body cream in your palm and give a gentle massage to your whole body till it gets absorbed. You can also use it as a night cream before bed to nourish your skin.

If you have rough patches, pay more attention to those to ensure that the skin is still moist. If you face dry skin patches, or your skin gets irritated in winter, you can first apply a moisturizer or lotion on the skin and then follow with a rich emollient.