is your body butter the real deal?

"I simply love my body butter :) ...The body butter is an amazing product that is not oily and absorbs easily. Smell is light and wonderful and I've received many compliments when I use it. Highly recommend it." ~ Jailan

Do you use a body butter?

And if you do, are you using the 'real deal'?

A body butter is the queen of moisturisers and a concentrated blend of butter and oils which hydrate, nourish and moisturise your skin.

But rarely on the High Street will you find a true body butter.

Mostly you'll find a product containing butters and oils but which is predominantly water-based. The reason for this is, not only is it cheaper to produce, but when a product contains water it absorbs much faster into your skin. And also, by incorporating water, the product is softer and more liquid... a bit like a thick lotion. As most of us are familiar with lotions we feel more comfortable trying a product which is along those lines.

A body butter, we think, should be something we already feel reasonably familiar with and, therefore, comfortable using as a 'step-up' from a lotion.

But this isn't what a traditional, real body butter is about.

You want to receive maximum nourishment, maximum hydration, and maximum moisturising from your body butter.

It should be a product that you need only apply once a day, even on the most stubborn dry areas (like elbows and knees). And in order to achieve this, sometimes it means getting used to a thicker and slightly heavier product which takes that bit longer to absorb.

In essence a body butter should be like a body lotion on steroids.

My body butters have always been my top-seller. My regular customers love them and would never return to the diluted version.

But for some customers, mostly first-time customers, it can be a bit difficult moving from the lotion or diluted body butter they've been used to, to a real traditional body butter, simply because it is more concentrated and may require a small change to your morning routine.

The first time she tried a body butter, Allison wrote: "I found this [body butter] a bit difficult to dig into -- I was expecting something soft, but it's hard to the touch. "

So how do you get the most out of a real, traditional body butter when it can be so different to body products you've used in the past? How do you work with a product which is firmer and ore concentrated than you're normally used to?

Well there is a very simple change you can make to your morning routine. You can, simply, change the sequence in which you do things.

Now, I know, when you get up in the morning, rub the sleep from your eyes and fall out of the bed, you're not as alert as you will be in an hour or so. Your 'getting up and ready' routine is something you can do with your eyes closed (sometimes literally) so why would or should you consider changing it?

Well I have a couple of excellent reasons for you:
1. by changing your routine slightly, you'll be able to enjoy the luxurious softness and sumptuous velvetiness a real body butter will bring to your skin
2. you'll be more focused and more open to introducing some self-love into your morning routine... there's simply no better way to kickstart your day.

So here's my suggestion for your daily 'get up and go' routine.

First up - shower & dry
Second up - apply your body butter
Third up - do whatever else you need to do (e.g. brush teeth, dry hair, wash face) before putting on your clothes

If you incorporate these simple changes to your routine, you'll find that by the time you're ready to put on your clothes, your body butter will have already been absorbed into your skin because you've applied it when your pores were open (as a result of the warmth of the shower) and given it a few extra minutes to absorb.

Oooohhhh.... and one final tip. When using a real, traditional, concentrated body butter, you only use a very little at a time and, with the heat of your hand, massage it well into the surrounding area of your body. If the product seems to take far too long to absorb into your skin, you've probably used too much.

Are you now ready to try a real body butter? Then hop on over here.

Viv xx