All About Avocado Butter
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.
The first step in making avocado butter is similar in fashion to avocado oil: cold pressing the flesh of the avocado to get the oil. 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. The oil has now been converted into a rich butter which melts and absorbs quickly on contact with skin.
Avocado butter is a natural humectant, drawing moisture from the surrounds into the skin, and is rich in Vitamins A, B, C and E as well as protein, lecithin, antioxidants and 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 antiaging 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!
Moisturising Sugar Scrub for Dry Skin
½ -¾ c brown sugar or coconut sugar
2 - 3 T avocado butter
2 T soft oil of choice, I like olive oil or grapeseed oil but you can use any
5-10 drops essential oil of choice
Options:
-Citrus essential oils plus cinnamon powder for a warming and circulation boosting scrub - plus has the benefit of smelling like cinnamon sugar and lemon pancakes!
-Try peppermint and lemongrass for a vitality boost
-Rose oil plus a teaspoon of hibiscus powder and some crushed dried rose petals
-Substitute out the avocado butter for organic coconut oil and a dash of lime and vanilla for a pina colada style scrub
-Substitute some of the brown sugar for oats and add in a dollop of honey
-Substitute the sugar for fine Himalayan salt, add in 2 spoons of powdered kelp and try neroli and orange essential oil for fragrance
-For a less abrasive scrub, use finer white sugar instead of brown
Gently melt the avocado butter and oil together in a water bath. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar, then lastly add in your essential oils. Spoon into a glass jar or tin, leave to set then enjoy!
This hair conditioner is made with an array of hair-loving oils and protein rich avocado butter for a nourishing treatment, while oat milk provides moisture and softness to dry or frizzy hair.
Conditioning Hair Cream
1 T oats or oat flour + 100ml boiling water to make 50ml oat milk
2 tsp vegetable glycerine
8ml Eco E wax
2 tsp avocado oil
8ml olive oil
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp argan oil or jojoba oil
1 tsp avocado butter or you could use mango butter
2g beeswax
5 drops orange
3 drops geranium
2 drops basil
2 drops Euxyl 940
Make the oat milk by pouring the water over the oats and leaving to steep for 20 minutes. Then strain out and measure out 50ml. Weigh out the emulsifying wax, oils and butter into a bowl and gently melt in a water bath. While the oils are melting, blend together the oat milk and glycerine and gently warm through (microwave for 10 seconds). Then pour the oat mixture into the melted oils and gently warm then remove from the heat. As the mixture cools, gently whisk it. It will turn into a white cream. You may want to blitz with a blender to get everything fully mixed. Then add the preservative and essential oils and blend to combine. To use, scrape out a bit on your fingers and massage through damp hair. It can be a leave in conditioner (use very small amounts to avoid a greasy look) or a rinse out product.
This also makes a lovely hand and body lotion! We hope you enjoyed learning about avocado butter!
