A quality hair care product goes beyond fragrance oils and packaging. Once you have curated your hair care aesthetic, consider the underlying elements of the formula. Butters are the foundation of nourishing DIY hair products. They affect texture, performance, and stability.
Depending on your intention for the product, you will need to select a specific type of butter.
The biggest decision is weight. Heavy butters suit thick, coarse, or high-porosity hair. Lighter butters work best for fine or low-porosity hair.
What to Expect from the Most Popular Hair Butters at Bramble Berry
- Shea Butter: Rich and creamy, built for deep conditioning treatments and hair masks. Best for dry, coily, or high-porosity hair.
- Mango Butter: Slightly firmer than shea with a lighter, less greasy feel. A well-rounded choice for masks and styling butters, and a good fit for wavy to curly hair. Provides nourishment without heaviness.
- Murumuru Butter: Lightweight and high in oleic acid, it adds shine without weighing hair down. Ideal for fine hair, low-porosity hair, and leave-in formulas.
- Avocado Butter: Soft and spreadable with a lighter texture that works well across all hair types. Especially nourishing for dry or damaged hair. A good choice for leave-in conditioners, hair masks, and pre-shampoo treatments.
- Cocoa Butter: Firm at room temperature, cocoa butter adds structure, shine, and hold to styling butters and pomades. Best for dry, coily, or coarse hair. Keep it at lower percentages to avoid stiffness in leave-in formulas.
How to Use Butters in DIY Hair Care Formulas
Waterless butter formulas do not need an emulsifier. You melt your butters, blend them with any oils, and let them cool. Once you bring in a water-based ingredient like aloe vera juice or a hydrosol, you will need an emulsifier to keep the two phases from separating.
For hair care, BTMS-50 is the preferred choice. Unlike standard emulsifying wax, it also conditions the hair as it works, which is why you find it in most rinse-out conditioner recipes. Any formula with a water phase also requires a preservative. Optiphen Plus and Germaben II are both reliable options.
Vitamin E can be added to most butter-based hair formulas. At 0.5 to 1% of your total formula, it acts as an antioxidant, slowing oxidation in the oil phase. Oxidation is what causes butter to go rancid and develop an odd smell over time. It also adds a conditioning quality to the finished product and helps protect the hair from environmental stressors. Add it during the cool-down phase after your butters have melted and blended.
Butters can be used in all sorts of DIY beauty projects. Makers love using Bramble Berry butters for lotion making, DIY soap, and more. Any leftover shea, mango, or avocado butter can be saved and repurposed.
What is the difference between using butter in a leave-in versus a rinse-out hair product?
In a leave-in formula, use butter sparingly to avoid buildup and residue on the hair. In a rinse-out conditioner or mask, you can go richer since the product washes away.
Why did my butter turn gritty after I melted it for a hair mask?
When butter melts and then cools slowly, different fatty acids solidify at different rates, forming grainy crystals. To fix it, gently remelt over a double boiler, then place the container in the freezer for 30 minutes to cool quickly and set smoothly.
Do I need an emulsifier if my hair butter has no water in it?
No. Waterless formulas do not need an emulsifier to stay stable. Emulsifiers become necessary when you introduce a water-based ingredient such as hydrosol or aloe juice. If you are looking to create a hair mask or a more traditional conditioner, you will need an emulsified formula to properly combine water and oils. These types of formulations also tend to feel lighter on the hair, as straight butters alone can feel very heavy or greasy.