Organic body butter is an oil-based skin soother made with organically grown ingredients. Most organic skin butters can be used on the face and all outer areas of the body. Many people like to use organic body butter on their feet and elbows as well as on the cuticles around the lower part of fingernails. Organic body butter often contains one or more different oils such as olive, jojoba or avocado. It usually also has cocoa and/or shea butter added.
Although the assorted butter and oil ingredients found in organic body butters come from different plants, they all are used to moisturize skin. Many of them are also high in nutrients thought to be soothing and protective to the skin, such as vitamins A, C and E. Usually, several rather than just one type of oil or butter are added to various types of organic body butters to help create the proper consistency and texture to the products.
In addition to butters and oils, an organic body butter often features other ingredients considered healthful to the skin such as extracts of green tea or cucumber. Green tea is said to have antioxidant properties, which means it's thought to reduce effects on the body caused by irritants such as pollution and stress. Cucumber has a cooling, soothing feeling on the skin.
The percentage of organically grown ingredients can vary greatly between each body butter product depending on where it's sold. For instance, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has asserted that organic body butters must contain at least 95 percent organically grown ingredients. There are many organic body butters on the market with 100 percent of their ingredients organically grown.
It's important to read all labels when choosing skin butters since a product not specifically labeled organic body butter isn't legally required to use a minimum of 95 percent organics. Rather, if the product packaging merely says the butter “contains organic ingredients,” then only 70 percent organically grown items may be used in accordance with USDA guidelines. The amount of organics used in body butters will vary depending on whether the product is specified as being “organic” or as just containing a few organically sourced ingredients.
Organic body butters usually have a pleasant, relaxing scent. Grapefruit, orange, lavender, rose and sandalwood are just some of the popular scents added to body butters. An organic body butter is often sold in a short, cylindrical jar. Organic body butter bars are more in the style of a bar of soap, although they may look like hearts, flowers or other shapes. These body bars are often sold in packages of three or more, while jars of butter are usually available individually.
