How To Use Our Butters

BACURI BUTTER

Unrefined Bacuri Butter has a strong, unusual scent - kinda like the smell of forest soil - some people love it, a few don't care for it, the scent dissipates fast though. Bacuri's color varies from lighter to very dark brown and the texture can be very smooth (sometimes a little liquid-ish) to harder and crumbly. 

Bacuri gives your skin a beautiful natural glow, it makes the skin's appearance more even and, with long term use, it helps to diminish the appearance of hyper-pigmention and scars. You just need to melt the butter in your hands and spread it all over, remember: a little bit goes a long way and it will stain light fabrics before it is fully absorbed.

In Brazil this butter is widely used to help with skin conditions and as a massage butter for arthritis, rheumatism and muscle pain. It is also a wonderful Summer butter with sunblock and after sun care properties.

This butter can be used for hair care, I recommend it for darker hair, it is a great butter to protect your hair against external agents and for masks.

Due to its dark color and strong scent, it is not a very easy butter to incorporate into your body and skin formulations, but you definitely should try it, Bacuri has a very high absorption rate due to its high level of tripalmitine (50 to 55%), it also has a high level of palmitoleic fatty acid compared to the other butters which makes it a fantastic emollient.

CUPUACU BUTTER

Unrefined Cupuacu Butter has a very pleasant scent - similar to cocoa butter but fresher and fruitier - the color varies from light to darker yellow and the texture can be very smooth or a bit crumbly. 

Cupuacu is perfect to be used pure on skin as a daily moisturizer due to its capacity to absorb water -  240% superior of lanolin - just rub the butter in your hands until melted and spread it all over, remember: a little bit goes a long way and give it a little time to be absorbed. A great way to use it is right after the shower when your body is still a little wet.

This butter is also wonderful for hair care, it can be used as a pre-poo treatment, as conditioner and leave-in - since it ABSORBS water it works better for dry, thicker hair types- curls, kinks or straight. It is perfect for African American hair styles, helping to keep hair and scalp healthy. To be used as a conditioner or leave-in just melt a little bit in your hands, for masks or treatments melt a larger amount of it in the microwave or even in a closed container under hot water.

Cupuacu is perfect for soap making, lip, hair and skin formulations, due to its beautiful color and scent, it is very easy to use. For colder weather you can whip it to make it easier to apply.

MURUMURU BUTTER

Unrefined Murumuru Butter has a pleasant subtle nutty scent, the color varies from off white to yellow and the texture is waxy. 

Even though this is a harder butter, Murumuru is perfect to be used pure on skin since it is not greasy, absorbs super fast and has a subtle scent. It is a great butter for all skin types, even sensitive and oily skin. In Brazil this butter is prized by its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties being used to help relief skin conditions like acne and psoriasis.

This butter is also wonderful for hair care, the high levels of lauric fatty acid make this butter a vegetable replacement for mineral silicone, it forms a protective film on skin and hair without harming the lipid exchange or clogging pores. Murumuru is a perfect finishing touch for fine hair prone to frizz and flyaways, it can be used as a hair glossier, a leave-in, and to protect hair from heat damage. To be used as a conditioner or leave-in just melt a little bit in your hands, for masks or treatments melt a larger amount of it on the microwave or even in a closed container under hot water.

Murumuru is good for soap making, and perfect for lip, hair and skin formulations, due to its beautiful color and scent, it is very easy to use. For colder weather you can whip it to make it easier to apply.

TUCUMA BUTTER

Unrefined Tucuma Butter has a sweet caramel/coffee/nutty scent that depending on area and season of production can be more subtle or more prominent, the color varies from light yellow to yellow and the texture is soft.

Tucuma and Murumuru butters have very similar properties, Tucuma is softer therefore easier to be applied alone on skin and hair, the feeling is little greasier. Tucuma is also a great butter for all skin types, forming a protective film on skin without clogging the pores.

Just like Murumuru, this butter is also wonderful for hair care, with the same high levels of lauric fatty acid, it can be used just like murumuru, how to choose? Tucuma is softer which makes it easier to use on cold climates, but it is also greasier and has a stronger scent.

Tucuma is good for soap making, lip, hair and skin formulations, due to its light color and nice scent, it is easily incorporated in DIY, all natural formulations.

UCUUBA BUTTER

Unrefined Ucuuba Butter has a strong scent that could be described as a "smoky beeswax", the color varies from golden brown to brown, this butter is VERY hard and it can be used as a vegan substitute for beeswax in recipes that need to be firmer - lip products, salves and balms.

This butter is too hard to be applied straight on skin or hair, it needs to be used as a blend with oils or much softer butters, a super quick recipe for body would be whipping 50% ucuuba and 50% oil, for maximun results I recommend one of my amazing oils but whatever good quality, unrefined oil you have handy in the kitchen will work too - coconut, olive or grape seed. In Brazil this butter is prized by its antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and healing properties. 

For a simple and fast lip or cuticle protective balm melt 70% ucuuba with 30% oils.

This butter is also wonderful for hair and scalp care, but again, it needs to be blended.

Ucuuba is perfect for soap making for its properties and beautiful color, it is ideal for shampoo bars. In Brazil it is widely used in the production of artisanal candles. Soaps and creams made with ucuuba show a proven anti-inflammatory effect, and have healing and anti-

No Wax All Natural, Vegan Lip Balm

  Natural lip products are usually made of waxes, butters and oils. 

  Beeswax is the most commonly used, but Candelilla and Carnauba are becoming more and more popular with the increasing demand for vegan products.

  Waxes are mostly used to raise the melting point of lip products, they do offer some health/beauty benefits but they are not as beneficial as butters and oils. 

  I am not a huge fan of stick lip balms (they end up melted on the bottom of my purse or my Jeep's cup holder), so my lip products don't need to be super hard.

   Ucuuba butter is softer than all the waxes but still hard enough to make a perfect jar or tin lip product.

   Depending on the other products used, I use 1/2 to 2/3 of Ucuuba for my recipes.

   A balm made from Ucuuba can also be used on upper lip to help with those pesky little wrinkles, cuticles, dry patches, etc... 

Ucuuba Butter Benefits

Ucuuba Butter is said to have anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties and is ideal for treating acne, eczema and dry or irritated skin. Exceptionally rich in essential fatty acids, Ucuuba Butter is considered to have anti-aging properties and can be used to replenish tone and moisture to dry and mature skin. 

Anti-aging Lip Balm

Ucuuba Butter - about 1 oz

Muru Muru and Cupuacu Butters - 0.5 oz (0.25 oz. of each)

Pracaxi and Acai Oils- 10 drops of each

  

Put all the ingredients in a VERY clean and dry glass jar, make sure the lid is also clean and doesn't smell like food. Put jar in a pot with water, make sure it is not too much water, jar is not supposed to float. Use low to medium heat, water does not need to be boiling.  As soon as all the ingredients are melted, pick up the jar using a towel, *JAR WILL BE HOT, BE VERY CAREFUL* DRY the jar very well, if water gets in your balm it will shorten the shelf life of it. Pour in the container of your choice (I like the cute metal tins), put in the fridge for a few minutes and you will have the best lip and fix-everything balm ever!

  Ucuuba butter is dark brown and offers a nice gloss but natural coloring and scents can be added, they will limit the uses of your balm. I do add a couple drops of coconut unsweetened flavor oil, which still allows me to use it anywhere else I want.

  Unless they give you different directions, add coloring and scents AFTER the butters and oils are melted.

  This recipe can be modified easily with the uses of other oils (for a cheaper version coconut or olive oil can be used), if using different butter, melting points have to observed.

I sell these Butters and Oils at my shop Rainforest Chica.

I sell individual tin cans on my site, for more quantities take a look at Paper Mart and SKS sites.

Ucuuba Butter - Ecology and Popular Uses

Ucuuba Butter - Baboonwood - (Virola surinamensis, Myristicaceae)

POPULAR USES

Commonly, the oil is used as an ingredient of candles and to burn for light, which spreads an aromatic odor. In home medicine, it has been successful at treating  rheumatism, arthritis, colic, ulcers, and hemorrhoids. The butter of ucuuba, which is hard and yellow, can be used in combination with other ingredients for the production of candles and plant-based soaps, and is a substitute for paraffin, which is made with petroleum. Soaps and creams made with ucuuba show a proven anti-inflammatory effect, and have healing and anti-septic properties. A mature ucuuba tree can be sold for R$ 5.00, which is then transformed into broom handles that are sold for R$ 0.40 each in the fairs and ports of Belém. However the seeds, which are sold for R$ 0.50/kg, can generate an income of R$ 18.00 to R$ 25.00 per year, assuming a productivity of 30 to 50 kg of seeds per year. The fruits are collected along beaches and streams throughout the Amazon region, stored, and sold to make plant-based butter that replaces animal tallow when making soap.

ECOLOGY

Ucuuba is a native tree of the floodplains found throughout the Amazonian region, extending to the states of Maranhão and Pernambuco. The indigenous name of the tree means grease (ucu) and tree (yba). This species prefers flooded regions, and reaches a height of 25 to 35 m. A mature tree can produce between 30 to 50 kg of seeds per year. The seeds are rich in fats (60%–70%) and extracts of oil / tallow can reach 50% per kilo of seeds (dry weight). A plantation with 150 trees per hectare can yield up to 7 tons of seeds per year, which can be processed into 3500 kilos of fat per hectare. Trees can grow 3 m over the course of two years. The wood is of excellent quality and is used for particleboard and laminated wood. The extraction of trees for these uses is endangering the remaining forest resources.

For uses and benefits visit this page.

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