Body Butter gone grainy

[Jeana]

I made some really nice creamy body butter. About a week after making it, it went grainy. If you rub it betweens your hands the warmth melts all the grains but I would rather have it not get like this.

Does anyone know how to avoid this?

[Soapymomma]

Was it made with shea butter? Often times shea will get grainy if it is heated too hot and cools too fast. Like you said the grains will melt, but I agree it is nicer without them in the first place. My last batch of mango shea did that. I got a batch of shea that was grainy in the first place too and that didn't help either. Soapymomma

[Jeana]

It did have shea in it. If I avoid using shea will this eliminate this issue altogether? I'm not stuck on shea, I have other butters I can use, mango, sal, olive, or others. I just saw some of my lip balms are going grainy as well. They contain shea too.

[Ann M]

I have had problems with shea turning grainy too. It is very frustrating. I have found that when I make my whipped shea, the shea butter I am using must be free of grains. I try some out on my hands to be sure the original product is grain free. Also I do not melt my shea at all. This is where I ran into problems in the past. I would melt my shea and then when it solidified it would turn grainy in a few days. I have had no problems at all as long as the shea is kept at room temp and I just whip and add my oils. If the shea is quite hard you can soften it a bit in the microwave, but no not melt.

I also made a product with mango butter and it was grainy too. I think it is just the nature of some mango butters. I love kokum butter and so far I haven't had any problems with it turning grainy.

Ann