honey in body butters

[beate64]

Hello there, I am about to make my own body butter and like to use honey in it but am unsure about the amount to use in regards to the other ingredients, oils/butters.
Does have anyone experience using honey in creams or butters?
I am very thankful for any advice :)

Thanks so much!!!

[beaglady]

What properties do you expect the honey to add to the finished product? Will this be an oil based product or an emulsion?

[beate64]

Hello and thanks for your reply,

I like the moisturizing, antimicrobial, and healing properties of honey and would like to use it in a cream/butter.

I did order different butters and oils to mix together for a product rich in natural antioxidants and with natural UV protection. (For a blocker I am using a natural product with zinc, but this is supposed to be for every day, face and body.)

I am not sure if I will add a water phase yet as I wanted to keep it simple, but I also ordered organic soy lecithin which is used as an emulsifier and honey is also an emulsifier... so it might be a good idea to add some aloe vera juice maybe... just a thought... so I am pretty much open for ideas and suggestions... :) :) :)

Thanks again, Beate.

[LusciousHoney]

I've not heard that honey is an emulsifier... people usually have a hard time incorporating honey into their lip balms which is an all oil/wax environment. The lecithin will probably help to emulsify the honey, but I wouldn't count on it also emulsifing aloe vera juice. You could try aloe vera powder instead?
Petra

[samak]

I agree, honey is not an emulsifier. It is water soluble, so if you try mixing it with oils, you will see that it just settles to the bottom.

[beaglady]

If you dilute the honey as part of the water phase, you will lose any benefit of anti-microbial properties. Think mead. I would strongly recommmend using a preservative if you are going to add honey to an emulsified cream, because it will provide additional nutrients for molds and bacteria to grow in.

Like many others, I have had trouble keeping honey emulsified in lip balm, and a non-emulsified body butter is basically the same product. I'd also be concerned about stickiness in the finished product.

I have used lecithin as in ingredient in a lotion, but not as the main emulsifying ingredient. It was to strengthen a beeswax/borax emulsion and allow it to hold more water than it would typically hold.

If you've never made body butters before, Id suggest you start by coming up with a basic formula, then worry about adding honey after you have an otherwise seccessful result.