How to Make Whipped Shea Butter for Natural Hair (by Hand!)

Updated: April 1, 2021

This may not be the first whipped shea butter recipe for hair you’ve come across. I get it – I too scrolled past many whipped shea butter recipes myself after looking at the time, effort, and equipment it required.

It was intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be! However here I am, after many trials and errors, giving you the simplest version of the recipe, you’ll ever find!

In this article, we’ll be giving you our hand-whipped shea butter recipe for natural hair, as well as the benefits of whipped shea butter in your natural hair regimen!

How to Make Whipped Shea Butter for Natural Hair

Equipment

• Hand Whisk
  
  
• Mixing Bowl
  
  
• Cooking Pot
  
  
• Measuring Spoons
  
  
• Mixing Spoon
  
  
• Glass or Plastic Container
  
  
• Ziplock (optional)
  
  
• Pair of Scissors (optional)

Materials

• 4 tbsp raw shea butter
  
  
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
  
  
• 3 tbsp olive oil
  
  
• ½ tbsp castor oil
  
  
• 1 tbsp moringa oil (recipe here) (or avocado oil)
  
  
• 1 tbsp Hibiscus powder
  
  
• 10 drops lemon essential oil
  
  
• 5 drops lavender essential oil
  
  
• 5 drops peppermint essential oil

Instructions

1. Melt and Combine All the Ingredients, then
   
   
2. Fill your pot halfway with water and bring it to a boil
   
   
3. Turn off the stove after the water boils and take the pot off the heat
   
   
4. Add the shea butter, coconut oil to a bowl and place this bowl in the pot of water
   
   
5. Move the shea butter and coconut oil around until it is completely melted (this method of heating and melting butters is known as the double boiler method)
   
   
6. Add the remaining oils and hibiscus and combine well
   
   
7. Place your mix in the refrigerator for about an hour (or until the mixture becomes opaque and is solid to touch) 

Next Steps

1. Use your whisk to break into the surface of the mixture. Spin the whisk around a few times, until the hardened mixture begins to lift and gather inside the whisk
   
   
2. Tap the whisk on the sides of the bowl to let the product drop back into the bowl and continue to spin until the mixture is more malleable
   
   
3. Add the essential oils, and continue to whisk the product in almost up-and-down-yet-circular motions (like beating an egg.) This motion is to ensure that you’re actually folding air into the mixture. The mixture will become softer and softer as you whisk it. Do this for about 10 minutes and definitely take breaks in-between to rest those arms!
   
   
4. Your mixture is ready when it has the consistency of a thick lotion, or creamy enough that it dissolves on contact! Get ready to pour it into your fancy jar now!

How to Store your Whipped Shea Butter

• Pour the mixture into a ziplock bag. Once it’s all in there, push all the product into a corner and snip off the tip of the ziplock with a pair of scissors
  
  
• Sanitize your pot or jar with the alcohol or sanitizer if you want to, and pour your mix in slowly

Notes

The sanitizer ensures your whipped shea butter recipe mix stays fresh and clean, and the ziplock ensures a neat pour into the jar. It also helps you fit more product! 😉

And voila! Your whipped shea butter mixture is ready to use! You can use it to moisturize your type 4 hair daily (or just as often as you need to!)

Disclaimer: Please do a patch test before using any DIY recipe on your whole scalp and hair. To do this, apply the product to a hair strand in the back of your head or the skin on the back of your arm. If you have no reaction – it’s safe to use!

Essential Oils Used in the Recipe

Lavender: Promotes and stimulates hair growth. Anti-microbial. Smells amazing. Prevents and kills head lice. Counters skin inflammation. Smells amazing!

Lemon: Promotes shine and nourishment of hair. Smells great. Really cuts through the buttery smell if you don’t like that as much as I do! 

Peppermint: Antiseptic and antimicrobial. Stimulates blood circulation and potential growth. Cools the scalp, eliminates dandruff and fights lice.

Hibiscus: Rich in amino acids and vitamin C that nourish hair and strengthen its roots. Shown to stimulate hair growth from dormant hair follicles and bald patches. Increases hair thickness and reduces hair fall, while preventing premature greying.

3 Main Benefits of Shea Butter for Hair

Here are the 3 main benefits of shea butter for natural hair:

1. It is Moisturising

Shea butter has been scientifically proven to be extremely moisturizing for the hair and scalp. It is filled with vitamins A and E as well as essential fatty acids that are essential for hair health.

These reduce dryness, prevent split ends, increase shine, and reduce frizz. Type 4 hair can especially benefit from using shea butter to seal and keep moisture in our hair. As you’ve probably heard, retained moisture = retained length! 

2. It is Anti-Inflammatory

Scientists also found that shea butter prevents your skin from reacting badly to irritants. This may also help reduce scalp redness and irritation by providing anti-inflammatory and medicinal effects without clogging your pores.

3. It is a Sealant

After moisturizing your hair using the commonly-known LOC method (leave-in conditioner, oil, then cream), shea butter makes the perfect sealant to lock everything in. This is because shea butter creates a film on your hair, so if you have low porosity hair, this isn’t great news. However, if your hair is coarse or high porosity, and you have a difficult time getting your 4c hair to stay moisturized – this is perfect.

Is Whipped Shea Butter better than Raw Shea Butter?

A good whipped shea butter recipe is a great way to reap all the benefits of shea butter, in addition to all your other favorite carrier oils and essential oils for hair. These make the whipped shea butter smell great, and offer hair growth benefits of their own! When shea butter is whipped, it is also usually often easier to apply because of its lighter texture.

Does Shea Butter Promote Hair Growth?

Shea butter is a complex substance that contains tons of fatty acids including oleic acid, stearic acid, and linoleic acid. Some components of shea butter are reported to have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and humectant properties. It is also cited to have the ability to absorb UV radiation! All of these properties make shea butter a key ingredient to maintaining the health of your hair. In this way, shea butter promotes hair growth by promoting length retention!

Feel free to let us know in the comments if you tried this recipe and how it worked for you!