The 18 Best Body Butters to Revive Your Skin for Spring - WWD
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When you're plagued with dry skin, it can feel like no amount of body lotions or creams are ever moisturizing enough. And you're not imagining things — many hydrating products can just simply sit on the surface of skin, rarely getting absorbed to repair dryness. But that's where body butters save the day. These rich, ultra-concentrated creams can resolve a plethora of concerns, from cracked skin to achy muscles to reducing the appearance of cellulite. But first and foremost, what is body butter?
What is Body Butter?
"I like to think it's a descriptive term," says Bee Shapiro, founder of fragrance and body care brand Ellis Brooklyn and New York Times columnist. "It's not a technical term, but we use it to communicate that the texture is extra rich and thick."
Almost any skin type can benefit from using body butter, as the extra hydration will help soothe and hydrate even normal to oily skin, but dry and sensitive skin are especially nourished by body butters.
"Texture and concentration of moisturizing ingredients are what define a butter versus a lotion," says Dr. Audrey Kunin, board-certified dermatologist and founder of Dermadoctor. "While both hydrate the skin, body butters are thicker, creamier, and contain a higher concentration of super-moisturizing ingredients, such as squalene or shea butter, than their thinner, lighter-weight lotion counterparts."
To source the best body butters, we tested a slew of products and spoke with a roster of respected dermatologists, including board-certified dermatologist and founder of Idriss Dermatology, Dr. Shereene Idriss and Director of Cosmetic and Clinical Research at Mount Sinai Hospital's Department of Dermatology and board-certified dermatologist, Dr. Joshua Zeichner.
Ahead, the best body butters to hydrate, repair and soothe your skin.
Best Body Butters of 2023
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Fenty Skin Butta Drop Whipped Oil Body Cream
Best Refillable Body Balm
- Size: 6.7 oz
- Fragrance: Subtle tropical scent
- Special features: Refillable packaging
Rihanna doesn't play around with her beauty line — so it's no surprise that Fenty Skin's Butta Drop Whipped Oil Body Cream is brimming with powerful skin-smoothing ingredients. The formula is extra dense, so a little goes a long way. Smooth it on after showering, and the shea butter, glycerin, and seven plant-based oils will flood your skin with hydration for a luminous look. When you run out, simply order a refill pod that slides into the original packaging.
What reviewers say: "I love this product, it is very moisturizing without being sticky or oily. I love that it is "lightly scented" for me there is nothing worse than a heavily scented body cream that will, with daily use, dry out my normal skin and cause it to itch. This is beautiful. Highly recommend for normal or dry skin."
L'Occitane Immoretelle Shea Body Balm
Best Body Balm
- Size: 6.9 oz
- Fragrance: Subtle honey scent
- Special features: Refillable packaging
L'Occitane is a French brand that's popular for their shea butter-based hand creams, luxurious bath oils, and plant-forward skin care products. The Immortelle Shea Body Balm is the latest addition to the brand's popular Immortelle collection — and it's rich with skin-transforming ingredients. The formula contains sustainably sourced shea butter, firming pea-derived peptides, and antioxidant-rich organic Immortelle Essential Oil. Use it consistently, and you can expect your skin to have more bounce.
What reviewers say: "I have used this for a month and just love it! I have noticed the skin on my arms and décolleté is more firm, smooth, and has less fine lines. The scent is clean and light, and the balm absorbs quickly without any sticky feeling. This is an amazing product and I love this as part of my post shower routine."
Susanne Kaufmann Body Butter
Best Body Butter for Dry Skin
- Size: 7 ounces
- Fragrance: Light floral scent
- Special features: Enriched with vitamin E, honey, and whey for deep hydration.
Handcrafted in the Austrian Alps, Susanne Kaufmann's eponymous label utilizes the rich bounty of botanicals in her own Alpine backyard. For this luxurious body butter, that means rich shea butter, olive oil, whey, honey, and bee pollen — all carefully selected to restore the skin. The rich fatty acids and antioxidants from the shea butter and olive oil soften and hydrate skin, while honey protects and repairs skin cells and the milk protein whey helps skin's natural healing process. This soothing cream is wonderful for the whole body, but is particularly effective on rough and chapped elbows, knees, and feet.
What reviewers say: "I have been using Body Butter for a while now. It is the most luxurious cream ever. I give it as gifts and the recipients refuse to share it with their partners. It is really and truly the best cream you can buy. It will make you feel so good and smell wonderful."
Ellis Brooklyn Marvelous CBD Extra Rich Body Lotion Cream
Best CBD Body Butter
- Size: 6.52 ounces
- Fragrance: Fresh scent with notes of pine
- Special features: Loaded with 500 mg of full-spectrum CBD to soothe skin.
CBD has been a buzzword in beauty for years, but what does its inclusion in body butter do? For Shapiro, it meant including 500 mg of full-spectrum CBD in Ellis Brooklyn's body butter. "I have psoriasis and I also run regularly so I'm always looking for soothing body care and supplements," she says. "I wrote a story on CBD years ago for The New York Times and I became fascinated with CBD and how full-spectrum CBD, in particular, has all these gorgeous complex cannabinoids that our body's own cannabinoid system can recognize. It's a super gentle way of soothing the skin and body."
CBD in skincare has been shown to reduce inflammation, swelling, pain, and redness, and is especially great for skin conditions, like eczema and psoriasis. Users have noted how soothing this body butter is for sore muscles, too.
What reviewers say: "This body cream is amazing for the winter! Super rich and luxurious, leaving the skin so soft and smooth. It does initially have a strong scent, but it fades out when you apply it, which I like. The packaging is amazing and heavy; it's really a beautiful piece to display on your vanity. I love applying it right when I get out of the shower so my skin can soak it up right away"
Mario Badescu Coconut Body Butter
Best Coconut Body Butter
- Size: 8 ounces
- Fragrance: Light coconut scent
- Special features: Leaves skin with a radiant, glowing sheen.
When slathering on Mario Badescu's Coconut Body Butter, you'd never guess it's only $18. This luxurious, freshly scented cream is mega hydrating. Its blend of shea and mango butters, infused with argan, apricot, meadow seed foam, and rosehip oils, melt into skin immediately — like a cream triple its price point. If you're interested in body butter but don't want to spend an arm and a leg, this is the one for you.
What reviewers say: I bought this as an after sun moisturizer. It's thick but absorbs quickly. My skin looks dewy after and hydrated. It's a tropical scent but it's not that very fake coconut smell that is in a lot products.
Supergoop! Body Butter SPF 40
Best Body Butter with SPF
- Size: 5.7 ounces
- Fragrance: Hints of eucalyptus, clove, and vanilla
- Special features: Infused with chemical broad-spectrum SPF 40 protection.
Moisturize and protect the skin with this 2-in-1 body butter from Supergoop! The whipped body butter formula leaves skin soft and hydrated while providing UVA/UVB protection with SPF 40. Plus, the 5.7-ounce squeeze tube makes application much easier than scooping it out from a jar. When you've used all the product, take a strong pair of sanitized scissors and cut the container in half horizontally, and then scoop out the product (carefully – those cut edges can be sharp) to use every last drop.
What reviewers say: "Finally I've found a moisturizer with sunscreen that I can use everyday. I have to protect any exposed skin since I have an autoimmune disease that makes me sensitive to the sun. I was using a regular sunscreen as a body moisturizer to save a step. They either made my skin feel sticky or dry. Not what you want on a daily basis to go to work. This just feels like a really nice moisturizer and I love that it has such a high SPF."
Sol de Janeiro Beija Flor Elasti-Cream
Best Scented Body Butter
- Size: 8.1 ounces
- Fragrance: Sweet, musky scent
- Special features: Designed to boost skin elasticity, giving it a more plump and healthy appearance.
This Brazilian brand is known for its scented body creams — and this brand new, collagen-rich body cream has a whole new fragrance. You'll find that almost all the comments and reviews are dedicated to the cream's scent — either loving or hating it. Test it out first to see which camp you fall under. Beyond the scent, this formula is intended for daily use to boost skin's elasticity, leaving it visibly plump, deeply replenished and velvety-soft. Cacay oil, a gentle retinol alternative, and plant-based collagen support cell turnover.
What reviewers say: "'As soon as I opened the jar so knew I was going to love this cream. The smells is so beautiful I feel like I don't even need perfume. It wasn't slimy or sticky and blended very well into my skin. I recommend this product — you won't be disappointed."
Augustinus Bader The Body Cream
Best Luxury Body Butter
- Size: 6.7 ounces
- Fragrance: Unscented
- Special features: Includes the brand's patented Trigger Factor Complex to target cellulite, fine lines, and stretch marks.
By now you've probably heard plenty of enthusiastic reviews for Augustinus Bader and the brand's patented TFC8. The Trigger Factor Complex helps support cellular renewal and guides key ingredients to the skin cells for quicker repair and recovery. TFC8 also works to improve skin tone and texture, as well as promote a healthier barrier function for plumper-looking skin. But most impressively, the brand has seen improvements in two traditionally stubborn categories: cellulite and stretch marks. In fact, 92 percent of users noted an improvement in the appearance of their cellulite.
What reviewers say: "I absolutely love this product. It's super enriching and my skin feels baby soft. Honestly, you only need a little bit, & actively rub it in your hands to stretch the product first before applying directly to skin."
Mutha Body Butter
Best Body Butter for Expecting Mothers
- Size: 5.5 ounces
- Fragrance: Uplifting, subtle notes of citrus
- Special features: Whipped texture with shea, cocoa, and mango butters.
This rich cream is the best body butter for pregnancy and it's salve-like texture is what inspired founder Hope Smith to start the brand. This whipped trifecta of shea, cocoa, and mango butters deliver intense hydration, but somehow still absorbs instantly. Smith says she specifically developed the body butter to feel lightweight versus traditional body butters, so you could massage it in as often as they'd like. In fact, the brand recommends that pregnant women apply the cream to stretch mark-prone areas several times a day, noting that the more hydrated skin is, the less prone to stretch marks it will be.
Tata Harper Redefining Body Balm
Best Organic Body Butter
- Size: 6 ounces
- Fragrance: Fresh, floral scent
- Special features: Made from 100 percent natural ingredients.
Formulated, manufactured, and packaged exclusively on her organic farm in Vermont, Tata Harper's line of skin and body care products features nature's most progressive ingredients. And this ultra-rich butter includes 27 high-performing botanical ingredients, including shea and cocoa butters, olive oil, rosehip oil, and garcinia indica seed butter (one of the most nutrient-dense butters in nature). It's also packed with clever moisturizing botanicals as well as rich antioxidants designed to firm and brighten, giving the appearance of youthful, glowing skin.
What reviewers say: "A little goes a long way. Works best on damp skin after a shower. Wonderful fragrance. I'm sensitive to fragrances, but this is very natural and refreshing and doesn't bother me at all. Hydration lasts a long time."
Asutra Melt Pain Away Magnesium Body Butter
Best Body Butter for Sore Muscles
- Size: 7 ounces
- Fragrance: Fresh lemongrass scent
- Special features: The trio of magnesium, MSM, and warming capsaicin help soothe pain.
Founded by Venus Williams and entrepreneur Stephanie Morimoto, Asutra is on a mission to democratize wellness and make it accessible for those who don't have lofty budgets or excessive leisure time. This unique body butter was specifically developed by Williams to treat her achy muscles. Its high-octane mix of magnesium, MSM and warming capsaicin will leave muscles nearly pain-free in mere minutes. Plus, the butter has shea and sweet almond oil for a healthy dose of antioxidants and moisture. The brand is also proudly women-owned and women-led, with 60 percent of the staff identifying as a POC.
What reviewers say: "I love this cream to treat my knee pain. I had a torn meniscus in my knee, had surgery on it but it has never been pain-free. This cream does the trick for me immediately. I apply in the morning and I am good for the day. I have purchased this several times. It is a wonderful treatment for my pain."
Dermadoctor Calm Cool + Corrected 1% Colloidal Oatmeal Eczema + Dermatitis Clinical Repair Balm
Best Body Butter for Eczema
- Size: 6 ounces
- Fragrance: Unscented
- Special features: Received the National Eczema Association Seal of Acceptance, meaning its clinically safe for sensitive skin
Dr. Kunin is an OG when it comes to resolving skincare concerns frequently overlooked in the beauty industry, like eczema, which triggered the development of this calming cream. What makes its ganache-like texture so effective is the formula's one percent colloidal oatmeal and enhanced beta-glucan, which is "an active ingredient to treat the itching, dryness, redness, and uncomfortable symptoms associated with eczema, dermatitis, and sensitive skin," says Dr. Kunin. "Its triple blend of evening primrose, black currant seed, and borage seed oils further help calm and soothe irritated skin, and can certainly be considered a therapeutic body butter."
What reviewers say: "Initially got this as something to help calm my shingles rashes. After having it for a month, I can honestly say I'm glad I got it. Worked great for the shingles rash and now I use it to calm and soothe my ridiculously sensitive/reactive face. It also works for dry patches and eczema on my 3 year old."
Weleda Skin Food Body Butter
Best Unscented Body Butter
- Size: 5 ounces
- Fragrance: Unscented
- Special features: Contains calendula, shea butter, and sunflower seed oil to strengthen skin
This intense body butter treatment features the same uber-nourishing botanical blend as the brand's beloved and cult-classic Skin Food. At over 100 years old, Weleda has also stood the test of time. Founded in Switzerland in 1921, Weleda was created to celebrate and tap into the power of plants. The body butter includes sunflower oil, pansy extract and calendula to soothe and hydrate sensitive skin.
What reviewers say: "Where has this been all my life? I have really dry skin and could always use the moisturizing ability of a body butter, but I usually end up using them only at night because their heavy, greasy consistencies take a while to absorb–I don't have time to wait on this in the morning before getting dressed and getting out the door. Skin Food Body Butter offers the outstanding moisturizing of a BB but it absorbs quickly like a lotion, even though it is a rich, thick cream. The fragrance is fresh and very light, not cloying, and it fades, so it won't clash if you wear a fragrance. Will definitely repurchase."
Vaseline Intensive Care Cocoa Body Butter
Best Drugstore Body Butter
- Size: 8 ounces
- Fragrance: Warm, cocoa scent
- Special features: A unique blend of micro-petroleum allows the butter to sink into skin effectively.
You know and love Vaseline for their all-purpose petroleum jelly, which editors and experts love for hydrating dry patches head-to-toe. Formulated with cocoa and shea butter, as well as a special "micro-droplet" blend of vaseline jelly, this Intensive Care Cocoa Body Butter penetrates the skin's surface layers to moisturize and heal dry skin. It is particularly game-changing for dry and dull skin.
What reviewers say: "I have been using this body butter for over 2 years and my skin has thanked me for it over time. As someone with a history of skin complications (i.e. eczema) I've never used drug-store products that have truly worked as described. My skin is soft, smooth, and truly radiant. I buy every single container on the shelf at Walgreens or CVS when it's time to restock my collection."
Melach 33 Silky Shea Body Butter
Best Whipped Body ...
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