Check out the best natural body butters with non-toxic ingredients to help with ailments like dry skin and muscle recovery
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If you have dry skin, or need some deep-penetrating skin relief, these natural body butters will make you feel like a new person! I’ve compiled a list of the best non-toxic body butters based on your specific needs.
All of these body butters are free of toxic ingredients that can cause irritation or dry out the skin, with only the good stuff your skin needs! But first, let’s make sure we understand what makes a natural body butter good for your skin.
What are Natural Body Butters?
Natural body butters are made with ingredients that absorb deep into your skin to provide long-lasting moisture. This includes things like shea butter, coco butter, and essential oils.
The job of natural body butters is to hydrate your skin while being safe for your skin’s overall health. They can be used to hydrate dry patches on the skin that tend to get dry and flaky again very fast.
The most basic of body butters are usually just one one ingredient instead of several, like traditional body butters you typically find at the store. These butters often have ingredients that can irritate the skin or cause other damage.
Depending on what you want to achieve, you can totally buy a single-ingredient butter like shea butter and call it good. But there are plenty of other options out there!
Some natural body butters have CBD in them for increased relief from pain or an increased sense of relaxation. It’s important to know how natural body butters work so you can find the best one suited for you!
Which Body Butter is Good for Skin?
There are a few kinds of single-ingredient body butters that are all great for your skin! But each one is unique with their own scents and textures.
Shea butter—Shea butter is a natural fat that comes from the shea tree. It’s often used to soothe and moisturize skin, as well as help with stretch marks and other scars.
Shea butter is a natural source of Vitamins A, E, and F, which are all great for your skin! It’s texture is a bit on the grainy side, but that quickly dissipates when melted with heat and applied to the skin.
It has little to no scent (In my opinion) and a jar of this stuff makes a great addition to any skin care item, like my DIY Lotion recipe. It does, however, make your skin feel a bit on the greasy side when applied.
Cocoa butter—Cocoa butter is a natural fat that comes from the cocoa bean. It’s a popular ingredient in skincare products because it keeps skin happy and hydrated.
Cocoa butter is also full of vitamins that keep your skin’s elasticity intact while making it look super baby-soft. It has a smooth texture and melts very quickly when applied to the skin.
Cocoa butter feels amazing on the skin! It has a really smooth texture and melts quickly when applied. Plus, it smells slightly like cocoa, but it’s not overpowering at all.
There are plenty more plant-based butters out there on the market, but these two are the most common and the easiest to find. You’ll see at least one of them on the ingredient list of almost every product in this post.
And, as always, there are things you need to look out for when deciding on a natural body butter. All of the products on this list are vetted by me, but what makes other products miss the mark?
Toxic Ingredients in Most Body Butters
Like every other product in the cosmetic industry, the ingredients are heavily under-regulated. Companies are often allowed to decide for themselves what does and doesn’t go into their products with no rules or regulations.
This means that a lot of body butters out there have ingredients that can be harmful to your skin. These ingredients include synthetic fragrances, parabens, SLS (sodium laureth sulfate), and other harsh chemicals.
These chemicals can often dry out the skin, cause irritation, or lead to other long-term ailments that I’m sure you’d like to avoid. And that’s why I’m here; to educate and help my readers find safe and effective products.
Here is a list of some of the most basic toxic ingredients that you can find on the labels of body butters that are not completely natural. It’s not exhaustive, but it’s enough to help you start to understand ingredient lists.
BHA (Butylated Hydroxyanisole)—A form of Vitamin E that is often used in lotions and other cosmetics. It can cause irritations in the skin when in contact for too long without moisturizer. BHA has also been found to raise risk for cancer in animals like rats.
Fragrance—A loophole term used to keep a company’s list of what makes their product smell so good a trade secret. Since they are not required to disclose the ingredients, they can use whatever they want! This can consist of hundreds of toxic ingredients.
Parabens—A type of preservative that is often used in cosmetics. It’s been linked to breast cancer and other hormone disruptions because it mimics the hormone estrogen when absorbed into the body.
Artificial Dyes—Artificial dyes are chemicals that can be found with a number after it on a label (like red-7). They are in everything from food to natural body butters! They have been linked to behavioral problems in children, among other things.
Now that we know the basics of toxic ingredients to avoid in more than just body butters, let’s take a look at an example that I’m sure you’ve already seen in real life.
Are The Body Shop Body Butters Natural?
The short answer is no, unfortunately. I came across this company several times when I was researching this post, so I had to address it.
Just a quick scan of the ingredient list on one of The Body Shop’s popular body butters made me realize that this company gets an automatic “no” from me. It’s a perfect example of greenwashing that reels people into thinking they bought a “natural” product.
Almost all of their body butters (and several other products) contained “fragrance” and artificial dyes, like “yellow 5” and “blue 1.” There were other ingredients that I haven’t talked about in this post as well.
If you want to become a real expert on reading ingredient lists, you can check out my eBook “Essential Moves to Clean Beauty.” It’s the ultimate crash course on having a smooth transition to safer products that I wish I had when I first started!
Best Natural Body Butters for Dry Skin
These natural body butters are for just about anybody. Some are super basic, while others have some healthy additives to really help moisturize and heal. Let’s start with one of the most popular!
Weleda Skin Food Body Butter
If you’re looking for a super basic yet effective natural body butter, look no further. Weleda has been known as a great company for basic skin needs to keep you looking and feeling your best.
The Skin Food Body Butter from Weleda is a moisturizer that has been loved by many for decades. It restores natural oils in the skin and can be used on face, lips, cuticles, hands, feet and elbows.
Its natural ingredients include plant oils such as hemp seed oil, jojoba seed oil and coconut oil with shea butter, so it has all the good stuff! I’ve found that it doesn’t feel as heavy on my skin compared to most butters, which is a huge plus.
Indie Lee Whipped Body Butter
This natural whipped body butter is air whipped for easier absorption into the skin and a great option for those who want moisture without that feeling of heaviness afterwards. I know it can certainly drive me crazy sometimes!
Indie Lee is a great natural skin care brand that I’ve been using for years, and their body butter has been a favorite of mine since the beginning. It has ingredients like shea butters and natural oils to give you hydrated and healthy looking skin.
It also contains natural fruit extracts like orange to awaken and revitalize your senses. Not to mention this product will last you forever!
GoopGenes Repair Body Butter
This butter is designed specifically for those with dry or damaged skin. It contains natural ingredients like shea and cocoa butters, as well squalane oil. This weird-sounding oil keeps moisture locked into the skin’s barrier, which helps retain moisture.
If you suffer from extremely dry skin, the Repair Body Butter is very much worth the investment. There has even been studies done on its effectiveness, and the results overwhelmingly said that people’s skin looked soft, supple and even younger than before!
The scent is lightly citrus, but it’s not overpowering or obnoxious. I’ve found that most body butter scents disappear after a little time has passed anyway.
Now Solutions Pure Shea Butter
You can’t get any more basic than the original ingredient! I had to include this in the list just in case you wanted to try something at its simplest.
I actually put straight shea butter on my belly for the first trimester of my pregnancy with great success. It never stained my clothes, and my skin never felt too heavy or congested after applying.
Just keep in mind that it’s a solid at room temperature, and it takes a moment or two to properly melt and absorb into the skin. The texture is also a bit grainy, but that disappeared very fast once I applied it to my skin.
Nucifera The Balm
This natural body balm is a great choice for those who want a simple butter with a light, refreshing scent. The ingredients include natural oils and butters like coconut oil, avocado oil and sandalwood essential oil.
The added bonus of this balm is the scent! The mango really comes through on this one and leaves me feeling happy and rejuvenated. Probably because it reminds me of my time in Hawaii.
Just keep in mind that it’s a balm, and not quite a body butter! This means that it will be more solid than a body butter, but it’s still just as effective.
Best Natural Body Butters for Recovery
If you’re an athlete or in need of some extra TLC for your muscles, these body butters are great natural options. Apply after a nice relaxing bath for best results!
Misuli Recover Body Balm
You need to treat your muscles with respect if you want them to work properly. And this recovery body balm is the perfect solution.
Arnica and eucalyptus are natural extracts in this natural body balm. These are great for relaxing aches and pains, which makes it a great choice for athletes or those who spend a lot of time on their feet!
This comes with the added bonus of natural essential oils like lemon, rosemary and more. These not only give you aromatherapy benefits, but also help with sore muscles to make them relax without getting too stiff.
Nature of Things Superlative Body Balm
Makes those muscles relax after a long day at your desk or on your feet. This natural body balm is geared towards those who suffer from muscle tension anywhere on the body.
The ingredients include natural extracts and oils like boswellia, menthol, and arnica. These work together to calm the senses and help relieve tension while providing a cooling sensation to tired muscles.
If you’re looking for a natural body balm that does the job without giving you an overwhelming scent, this is a great option. I know these calming scents don’t work with everyone.
Best Natural Body Butters with CBD
With this non-psychoactive substance making huge waves in the cosmetics industry, I had to give these body butters their own section! They’re great for sore muscles, as well as pain relief and even improved sleep.
Prima Skin Therapy CBD Body Butter
If you’re looking for natural pain relief, this could be a great natural body butter for you. The main ingredients are natural oils and butters such as citrus, ylang ylang and geranium.
But if that isn’t enough, CBD oil has been added to aid muscle recovery! It’s a great alternative to taking traditional pain killers and actually gets to the root of the problem.
Don’t worry about the moisturizing power because of the CBD. It’s still incredibly healing to the skin. If you suffer from anxiety or tension combined with dry skin, this is the perfect solution.
Plant People Balm + Relief
This natural body balm provides relief to your dry skin, sore muscles, and nervous system! This balm is full of healing and restoring ingredients to give you your best recovery yet.
The main ingredients here are cannabinoids like CBD and CBC, as well as other essentials like lavender and arnica. These work together to promote relaxation and relieve tension. The lavender is a personal favorite of mine for its sweet, floral scent.
Plus, it comes in a handy jar for easy transport and no messes. I love to keep it in my dance or gym bag when I know I’m in for a hard workout.
Rasa Restorative Potion
If you love herbs that help regulate and calm your nervous system, this is as good as it gets! This body butter is incredibly unique in the fact that it contains hemp-derived CBD, as well as reishi mushrooms and chaga.
These herbs are great for helping our adrenal glands recover and regulate themselves after a hard day, which everyone in our society could use! This body butter also used prickly pear butter instead of the more mainstream butters.
This particular natural body butter really thinks outside the box, so if your traditional body butter doesn’t cut it for you, I highly recommend this one. It’s the best body butter to restore a tired body back to life.
Best Natural Body Butters for Mothers and Babies
Birth and motherhood are one of the most transformational times in anyone’s life. Which means that the skin can get a little crazy! Here are my favorite ways to bring some relief.
Earth Mama Belly Butter
This is the only body butter to use a pump instead of a jar or other kind of container with a lid, which means it’s got more of a lotion consistency. It’s also great for more than just mothers!
This one is pretty high on my list because it’s a great compromise between wanting the benefits of a good body butter but also wanting the convenience of a good natural lotion. You essentially get the best of both worlds.
Plus, it contains natural ingredients like chamomile and lavender oil, which are known for their calming and relaxing properties. Perfect for post-birth when your skin is especially delicate!
Earth Mama Organic and Vegan Nipple Butter
Yes, this area can get especially inflamed and dry during those first few days or weeks of motherhood. But this natural nipple butter is specially formulated to be safe for babies which is crucial for development.
As with all other Earth Mama products, there are natural ingredients like olive oil and shea butter, which means you don’t need to worry about your baby ingesting any of the nasty ingredients we talked about earlier.
Plus, there’s both an organic and vegan version! I’ve read that it stains clothes for some mothers, so watch out for that. I’ll report back once I’ve given birth with my full thoughts.
Pipette Baby Balm
Babies get dry skin too! And the best thing to do is give them solutions with as few and natural ingredients as possible. That’s why I love Pipette.

What’s interesting about this baby balm is it contains squalane, which is something that babies are born with to help with retaining moisture to survive. However, this depletes over time.
If you’re a mother, this natural body butter has a little bit of that squalane built into it to help your baby keep moisture within their skin and prevent their skin from drying out. This will set your baby’s skin up for success, unlike most lotions for babies on the market.
Zoe Organics Belly Butter
This is by far one of the cheapest natural body butters on this list that can be for more than mothers! I love that you can find rosehip seed oil on the ingredient list, because I recently went into more detail on why rosehip oil is great for hair and skin.
Shea butter is the base of this body butter, with floral essential oils like lavender and chamomile to help with natural muscle recovery for mothers or anyone else who uses it.
This also comes in a cute little glass jar that makes it travel-friendly. It’s also vegan and made with all organic ingredients.
Erbaviva Baby Butter
Another fantastic natural baby product! This natural body butter contains fair-trade natural ingredients like cocoa butter and chamomile in safe amounts to hydrate and soothe sensitive baby skin.
If your baby is suffering from inflamed or irritated skin, this is a great way to calm the irritation. As always make sure you get to the root of the problem if your baby has irritated skin!
This is just a great way to help the side effects of the problem, not solve it. Regardless, this product can be a life-saver for those occasions when your baby’s skin needs to take a chill pill.
Final Thoughts on Natural Body Butters
I’ve been using body butter for years. It’s a tool in my skin care cabinet that I love to use to help my skin stay hydrated during the cold winter months.
Body butters are so creamy and thick- which is perfect if you have extremely dry skin or seasonal eczema. Plus, they usually contain ingredients like arnica and CBD.
Not only will your skin be super moisturized after applying one of these bad boys- you might also feel a little less sore from all the time spent on your feet!
Which body butter from this list is your favorite? Are there any you would love to try? Let me know in the comments below!
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