Ideal at this time of year to help combat dry winter skin, avocado butter is our oil of the week, and it is definitely one of our favourites!

Avocado butter comes from the avocado pear (also known as an alligator pear) of the Persea Americana tree, native to Mexico but long cultivated world-wide. Avocado trees bear fruit from 3 to 5 years and can bloom for decades. Each avocado pear emerges as the berry of a bloom and contains a single large seed. Avocado trees are partially self-pollinating and can also be propagated through grafting to ensure the quality of future fruits.

How Avocado Butter is made:

The first step in making avocado butter is similar in fashion to avocado oil:

1. Cold pressing the flesh of the avocado to get the oil.
2. This pure oil is then hydrogenated to alter the chemistry and create a butter consistency.
   Hydrogenation means 'to treat with hydrogen'. In the hydrogenation process the polyunsaturated avocado oil molecules (which form the liquid oil) are bonded with hydogen to form saturated fats, which are solid.
3. The oil has now been converted into a rich butter which melts and absorbs quickly on contact with skin.

What is Avocado Butter Good for?

Avocado butter is:

• A natural humectant, drawing moisture from the surrounds into the skin. 
• Rich in Vitamins A, B, C and E. 
• High in protein. 
• High in lecithin. 
• High in antioxidants. 
• High in potassium.

Avocado butter is a fairly hard oil at room temperature and you will need to gently melt it before use. It is most commonly used in skincare and hair care products, but is also great for cuticles and nails. The butter is wonderfully softening and moisturising, and leaves skin feeling revived. Avocado butter is ideal for soothing irritated skin from sunburn or shaving, and can help reduce the appearance of age spots. Its high Vitamin E content stimulates collagen activity and helps in anti-ageing by fighting free radicals and softening the skin.

It is my favourite out of all the butters I have worked with so far, due to its great absorbency and soft feel. I love using it in sugar scrubs and my whipped chamomile cream.

Scrubs are mild abrasives packed with good oils and butters to slough off any dry and dead skin, making way for new, smooth and healthy skin. They are a great way to moisturise and exfoliate simultaneously and they smell wonderful. Plus they couldn’t be easier to make!

Here are some easy recipes using avocado butter that your skin will love!