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Body Butter Vs. Body Lotion

Body butter is a type of skin moisturizer, similar to body lotion. Let's find out some more facts about these two skin care products.
Chandramita Bora
Dry skin results when the skin loses its natural moisture due to factors, like harsh weather, cosmetics, poor nutrition, pollution, aging, and frequent washing. The natural oil or moisture on our skin acts as a protective barrier to prevent dry skin and irritation.
When the skin loses its moisture, it feels rough, besides getting easily irritated. To protect the skin and retain its moisture, we can use different types of skin moisturizers like, body lotion, cream, and body butter.
Out of these, body lotion has low to medium viscosity, while body butter and cream are much more viscous. Many people often get confused about body lotion or body butter being suitable for them. Many times, they simply assume that both the products are same, and thus end up with the one that is not suitable for their skin type.

Body Lotion and Cream

Body lotion is basically a moisturizer, prepared by combining water and oil. It is usually lighter and non-greasy. Therefore, our skin can readily absorb body lotions. Lotions can effectively moisturize the skin, and they are ideal for moisturizing all skin types, including even moderately dry skin.
They are non-greasy, and so, can effectively moisturize the skin during summers. Body creams are not so different from lotions, as they are also a combination of oil and water. The main difference between these two products is that, body cream has a thicker consistency than body lotion.
Like lotions, body cream can be absorbed by the skin easily and does not feel greasy. Some body creams can however contain greasy ingredients. Creams are generally good for moisturizing the skin during winters. The choice between the two depends on your skin type as well. Those with relatively drier skin can benefit more from body creams than lotions.

Body Butter

If your skin is extremely dry, you can try another product, known as a body butter. As compared to both body lotion and cream, body butter is a more intense skin moisturizer. It can moisturize the skin intensely and maximize skin hydration.
It contains natural ingredients, like, cocoa butter, shea butter, which are beneficial for the skin. For making body butter, the seeds and nuts are ground or cold pressed to extract oil from them.
The resultant product is much thicker or viscous than both, body lotions and creams. This is the reason why, body butter can form a protective layer over the skin to prevent the loss of moisture.

Which is Better?

As mentioned already, body lotion is a light moisturizing product, which is prepared by combining oil and water. Both are bound together with the help of an emulsifier. The skin readily absorbs body lotions, and provides much-needed hydration and moisture to the skin.
During summers, lotions are the best products for keeping your skin well-moisturized, as they do not make your skin feel greasy. But, those with excessively dry skin may like to try body butter, especially during the harsh winter days.
In summers, body butter can feel a bit too greasy, but in winters it is one of the best products to get long-lasting moisture. So, if your skin needs intense moisturizing, body butter is the best skin care product you should opt for.
Body butter usually contains butter extracted from shea nut, cocoa, mango seeds, and kukui nut. Shea butter is rich in vitamin A and E, which are known to be beneficial for the skin. These can simply rejuvenate your skin, and give a more younger look by reducing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines.
Even those with eczema and sun damaged skin can benefit by shea butter. Similarly, cocoa butter contains several nutrients including, antioxidants.
Kukui butter on the other hand, has a high concentration of vitamin A, C, E, and fatty acids, which can be attributed to its excellent emollient properties. The butter extracted from mango seeds is rich in vitamin A and E.
The choice between the two depends entirely on your skin type and the climatic conditions. Those with normal to moderately dry skin can try body lotion, while those with extremely dry skin can use body butter. During summers, body lotion can provide moisture without being greasy.
But in the dry winter days, you may like to give some additional moisture and hydration to your skin by using body butter, especially if your skin is very dry. Along with moisture, the various ingredients of body butter can also make your skin smoother, softer, and healthier.