When you’re new to DIY skincare, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by ingredients. Oils, butters, extracts, essential oils, preservatives — you name it. But the truth is, if you’re creating hydrating products, butters are one of the easiest, most beginner-friendly, and most transformative ingredients you can work with.
The best butters for skincare don’t just add thickness and richness — they bring deep nourishment, stability, and luxurious texture to your balms, creams, butters, and facial products. And because butters are versatile and simple to use, they’re the perfect entry point for new formulators who want salon-quality results without complicated techniques.
Below are the three most reliable, high-performance butters every beginner should start with.
Explore all ingredients in the Ingredient Library.
Butters bring something special to skincare: structure, slip, richness, and an instantly luxurious feel.
They are ideal for:
Butters contain nourishing triglycerides, essential fatty acids, and antioxidants. Some are lightweight and silky, while others are dense and occlusive — perfect for winter skincare or damaged barriers.
Best of all, butters are forgiving. They melt easily, blend well, re-solidify beautifully, and pair with almost any oil.
Let’s break down the top three.
Want the shortcut version?
Use the Which Butter Should I Use guide to choose the right butter faster (without second-guessing).
Lightweight
Soft
Velvety
Non-greasy
Mango butter is one of the most beloved butters for facial formulations because it gives slip and hydration without heaviness or pore-clogging properties.
Benefits:
Why beginners love it:
It melts quickly, doesn’t grain easily, and pairs beautifully with luxury oils like prickly pear and squalane.
Shea butter is deeply nourishing, rich in stearic and oleic acids, and supportive for dry, irritated, or mature skin.
Benefits:
Why beginners love it:
Stable, predictable, and easy to work with.
(A Mango & Emerald Signature Butter)
Tacumu butter is a firm buttery ingredient with a creamy texture and a luxurious feel.
It brings body, structure, and richness to creams and balms.
Benefits:
Why we recommend it:
It elevates beginner formulations instantly — creating creams that feel high-end and professionally developed.
Want help choosing the best butter for winter dryness? See the Winter Body Butter for Dry Skin guide.
Even though butters are simple, a few techniques ensure smooth, high-quality results.
Melt gently
Use low heat and a double boiler to prevent burning.
Cool quickly if prone to graininess
Some butters form crystals when cooled slowly.
For shea and mango, refrigerate for 10–20 minutes.
Use them in the right ratios
Blend with compatible oils
Butters pair beautifully with:
Overheating the butter
This can degrade nutrients and increase graininess.
Cooling too slowly
Letting the butter solidify at room temperature can create gritty textures.
Using too many butters at once
Stick to 1–2 per formula — simple is best.
Adding too much essential oil
Use no more than 1–2% total to stay skin-safe.
Explore how individual butters and oils actually work inside a formula with our Ingredient Library.
1. Simple Hydrating Balm (No Water Phase)
2. Lightweight Face Cream (Anhydrous)
Want the shortcut version?
Use the Which Butter Should I Use guide to choose the right butter faster (without second-guessing).
Choosing the best butters for skincare means choosing ingredients that elevate both your product quality and customer experience. Butters bring richness, hydration, and smooth texture while helping your formulas feel purposeful and luxurious.
Start with mango, shea, and tacumu — and you’ll create products that feel soft, elegant, and deeply nourishing right from the first batch.
If your body butters still aren’t working, the issue may be barrier repair — not moisture.
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Want a done-for-you option?
If you’d rather skip ingredient guessing and start with a proven barrier-repair formula, this is the easiest place to begin.
For barrier repair support, try the Plain Jane Barrier Repair Body Butter.