Physique lotion can maintain its personal on a median day, however as soon as we enter full arctic-tundra mode, the very best physique butters give your shins, elbows, and all the pieces in between the richer, creamier, extra satisfying moisture they’re begging for. What makes them completely different? Assume thick, whipped textures filled with shea butter, cocoa butter, squalane, ceramides—all the good things your pores and skin truly drinks up. An ideal one doesn’t simply sit on high; it hugs your pores and skin, retains it cozy, and, after all, sends dryness and flaky pores and skin packing.
Our High Physique Butters
Steadily Requested Questions
Forward, you’ll discover the picks our editors attain for when their pores and skin is cracking, irritated, or simply desperately in want of some critical TLC. Whether or not you need fragrance-free, ultra-luxe, drugstore, or dermatologist-loved formulation, there’s a butter right here for each pores and skin kind (and price range).
Greatest Total: OSEA Undaria Algae Physique Butter
Why we adore it: Regardless of the place you land on the skin-type spectrum, OSEA’s Undaria Algae Physique Butter has you lined. In case you’re noticing indicators of growing old, the combo of undaria seaweed extract and caffeine helps visibly agency, clean, and refine texture over time. Dry pores and skin? Shea butter and the model’s Pores and skin-Similar Moisturizing Complicated (a carbohydrate-derived humectant) step in with deep, lasting hydration that leaves your pores and skin ridiculously comfortable. Delicate or simply irritated? Oat-derived ceramides and aloe calm redness and replenish the moisture barrier. Even oilier pores and skin varieties can profit: This butter sinks in rapidly with no greasy really feel, serving to steadiness hydration so your pores and skin received’t overcompensate with extra sebum.
Tester suggestions from artistic producer Sydney Malone
“This physique butter smells completely divine—it is received a gentle sufficient scent as to not overwhelm, however quite to make you are feeling luxurious and moisturized. I respect how thick this cream is as a result of with only one utility, I really feel like I would not want to make use of physique lotion once more till tomorrow! Good for dry or winter climate, particularly for us dry pores and skin girlies.” —Sydney Malone, artistic producer
- Key elements: undaria seaweed, shea butter, ceramides
- Who it is for: folks with dry pores and skin or indicators of growing old (crepiness, lack of firmness)
- Perfume-free: no
Greatest for Glow: Mutha Physique Butter Glow
Why we adore it: Mutha Physique Butter Glow takes the model’s beloved authentic and provides a golden, glowing twist due to finely milled mica, supplying you with moisture and a refined bronzy sheen in a single scoop. The whipped base of shea, cocoa, and mango seed butters melts immediately, whereas a mix of coconut, avocado, rosehip, and grape seed oils floods pores and skin with nourishment and retains it hydrated for as much as 48 hours. This similar mix of oils can also be recognized for serving to enhance pores and skin tone, discoloration from stretch marks, and general firmness with continued use. The tint is common, blends in effortlessly, and retains that sun-kissed, trip vibe going even within the lifeless of winter.
“If I’ve to decide on between getting 60 extra seconds of sleep or making use of physique lotion post-shower…properly, let’s simply say I will be hitting the snooze button. Until, after all, I’ve received a bathtub of Mutha Physique Butter Glow readily available. In contrast to most physique merchandise, this one would not really feel like a chore to use: The whipped formulation melts into my pores and skin in mere seconds, forsaking solely a healthy-looking glow and lasting hydration.” —Dianna Singh, options director
- Key elements: shea butter, coconut oil, mango seed butter, cocoa seed butter, mica
- Who it’s for: folks with dry pores and skin, stretch marks, or discoloration
- Perfume-free: sure
Greatest Lengthy-Lasting: Kiehl’s Extremely Physique Mega Moisture Squalane Cream
Why we adore it: Identical to with all their delicate skin-friendly merchandise, Kiehl’s Extremely Physique Mega Moisture Squalane Cream retains issues refreshingly uncomplicated. Its formulation leans on a trio of extra-gentle, but hardworking elements: Squalane for light-weight emollience, ceramides to assist preserve a powerful, wholesome barrier, and ectoin to assist long-lasting moisture retention. Even higher: You don’t need to preserve reapplying all day to really feel hydrated. Anna Chacon, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in Miami, beforehand informed Attract that it’s “not too thick,” fast-absorbing, and has a lightweight, non-greasy texture that received’t set off sensitivity. And for itchy, reactive pores and skin varieties, it additionally helps with situations like eczema, rosacea, and psoriasis.
Tester suggestions from contributing commerce editor Deanna Pai
“Moisturizing from head to toe is non-negotiable—or else my pores and skin will get so itchy that it wakes me up in the course of the evening. I’ve used a variety of physique butters, some higher than others, however what units this aside is its whipped texture, which is nourishing sufficient to maintain me from scratching, however sinks in instantly. It’s been a godsend because the temperatures rise, since I don’t have to fret about ready for it to soak up. And slightly goes a great distance, so I’m hoping the bathtub lasts me by way of summer time.” —Deanna Pai, contributing commerce author
- Key elements: shea butter, squalane, glacial glycoproteins, pro-ceramides, ectoin
- Who it’s for: folks with dry, itchy pores and skin
- Perfume-free: no
Greatest Scent: Saltair Santal Bloom Multi-Lipid Physique Butter
Why we adore it: When you apply Saltair’s Santal Bloom Multi-Lipid Physique Butter, you’ll be double-checking your receipt. A 2025 Attract Better of Magnificence Award winner, this wealthy, whipped physique butter beneath $25 feels (and performs) like one thing with a a lot increased price ticket. The formulation is filled with barrier-loving ceramides, moisture-replenishing phospholipids, and nourishing coconut and sea buckthorn oils, all melting into pores and skin with a velvety, never-greasy end. The nice and cozy sandalwood-amber-musk scent is downright dreamy, the minimalist packaging is stylish sufficient to depart out on show, and the beneficiant 10-ounce jar feels prefer it lasts perpetually. It’s an elevated expertise from the very first scoop.
“I like a giant ol’ tub of physique butter—particularly when it prices 20 bucks. With its notes of rose, jasmine, and sandalwood, these items smells far more costly than it ought to; the scent is mild and chic, not sickly candy like many different drugstore-priced choices. The formulation is nice too: It is a mid-weight cream that makes your pores and skin really feel hydrated, not sticky. I prefer it greatest for the spring and fall.” —Kara McGrath, content material director
- Key elements: ceramides, sea buckthorn oil, glycerin, phospholipids
- Who it’s for: all pores and skin varieties
- Perfume-free: no
Greatest Drugstore: Aveeno Each day Moisturizing Cream
Why we adore it: You realize what they are saying: If it ain’t broke, don’t repair it—and Aveeno has been proving that for almost 70 years with its trusty oat-filled formulation. Their Each day Moisturizing Cream delivers 48 hours of velvety, cushiony hydration, serving to dry, tight pores and skin really feel like itself once more. Oat Butter (a comfortable mix of prebiotic oat and shea butter) is the plain star, however the supporting lineup pulls its weight too with glycerin that attracts moisture in and isopropyl myristate that helps seal it in with out ever feeling heavy. Nonetheless, even with all that richness, it’s nonetheless mild sufficient to make use of in your face and fingers.
“I grew up with delicate pores and skin that might welt after I scratched it flippantly—particularly throughout the winter when it was dry. Aveeno’s many lotions and lotions have at all times been what I search for to appease it. This jiggly formulation moisturizes my pores and skin with out feeling greasy or sticky and retains it that means all day.” —Jesa Marie Calaor, senior editor
- Key elements: shea butter, prebiotic oat, glycerin
- Who it’s for: folks with dry, delicate pores and skin
- Perfume-free: sure
Greatest Light-weight: Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Physique Butter
Why we adore it: “Whipped,” “churned,” and “cold-pressed” may learn like a dessert menu, however they’re additionally the right technique to describe Josie Maran’s luxe Whipped Argan Oil Physique Butter—which, if we’re trustworthy, is mainly dessert to your pores and skin. The star is her cold-pressed argan oil, which may be very wealthy in vitamin E, which helps preserve pores and skin comfortable and supple and guards the pores and skin towards free radicals, says Dr. Gold. Regardless of how decadent it feels, the formulation stays delightfully light-weight, due to important fatty acids that assist enhance elasticity and counter lack of firmness. It’s blended with avocado oil for much more firmness, shea butter to maintain pores and skin soothed and supple, and white and inexperienced tea extracts for an antioxidant hit. Plus, it is available in seven enjoyable scents (and a fragrance-free choice), so there’s really one for everybody.
“I slather Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Physique Butter in Topless Tangerine throughout my limbs (additionally my butt) each morning. Besides after I attain for the Bohemian Fig. It is at all times one or the opposite—except it is the Vanilla Bean. Each scent of this luscious cream is extra irresistible than the subsequent—not shocking since they had been dreamed up by perfumer Jerome Epinette, who additionally created a few of my (and possibly your) favourite scents from Byredo, Phlur, Victoria Beckham, and plenty of extra.” —Jenny Bailly, govt magnificence director
- Key elements: argan oil, white tea extract, aloe vera, avocado oil
- Who it’s for: dry and mature pores and skin
- Perfume-free: no
Extra physique butters we love
Greatest Multipurpose: L’Occitane Licensed Natural Pure Shea Butter
L’Occitane
Licensed Natural Pure Shea Butter
Why we adore it: We love enjoying scientist and dissecting each ingredient in our skin-care lineup, however L’Occitane Licensed Natural Pure Shea Butter retains issues blissfully easy: It’s 100% pure shea butter, and that’s all it wants. “In case you have delicate and dry pores and skin, on the lookout for a product with the fewest elements attainable will be essential to minimizing irritation. Shea butter goes on silky and might considerably hydrate and soothe the pores and skin,” says Peter Bittar, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in Miami. You should use it just about all over the place, however because the texture is thicker and the tin is smaller, it’s not the type of cream you scoop and slather. Consider it as a concentrated, go-anywhere remedy balm for lips, cuticles, elbows, heels, and even dry hair ends.
- Key elements: shea butter
- Who it’s for: anybody with dry pores and skin, cuticles, or lips
- Perfume-free: sure
Greatest Firming: Murad Retinal ReSculpt Firming Physique Therapy Cream
Murad
Retinal ReSculpt Firming Physique Therapy Cream
Why we adore it: It’s uncommon to see a retinoid in a physique butter—retinol normally isn’t steady sufficient for the traditional jar format of most physique butters—however Murad’s Retinal ReSculpt Firming Physique Therapy Cream pulls it off. The key is encapsulated retinal, which “is a stronger model of retinol that may assist combat wrinkles, clean fantastic traces, and even out texture,” says Dr. Bittar. As a result of it’s encapsulated, it delivers potent vitamin A deeper into the pores and skin with far much less irritation. The whipped, shea-butter base additionally will get a high-performance improve with milk thistle to agency, bentonite clay-encapsulated shea butter to tighten and refine crepiness, plus avocado extract and squalane for silky, all-day moisture. Better of all, as Dr. Bittar factors out, it “goes on wealthy and easily,” the type of texture dry and mature pores and skin completely drinks up.
- Key elements: encapsulated retinol, milk thistle, bentonite clay-encapsulated shea butter, avocado extract, squalane
- Who it’s for: individuals who have saggy or crepey pores and skin
- Perfume-free: no
Greatest for Barrier Restore: Sol De Janeiro Delicia Drench Physique Butter
Sol de Janeiro
Delicia Drench Physique Butter
Why we adore it: Go away it to Sol de Janeiro to take the mundane activity of making use of physique lotion and switch it right into a full-on ritual of self-confidence, lush tropical scents, and pores and skin that feels ridiculously pampered. Delícia Drench is their most indulgent physique butter but, whipped to a fluffy, cloud-like texture that sinks in quick whereas locking in moisture and restoring your pores and skin barrier. It’s loaded with a Brazilian Soothing Complicated (copaiba resin and passionflower seed oil) to calm cranky, stressed-out pores and skin, plus prebiotic hibiscus to assist a contented, balanced microbiome. The scent is impressed by their Cheirosa ‘59 fragrance, a heat, cozy mix of velvet plum, sugared violet, vanilla orchid, and sheer sandalwood. One dollop and also you’re mainly on trip.
- Key elements: bacuri butter, shea butter, hibiscus, copaiba resin, passionflower seed oil
- Who it’s for: all pores and skin varieties, particularly very dry pores and skin
- Perfume-free: no
Steadily Requested Questions
How does moisture loss have an effect on the pores and skin barrier?
“The operate of the pores and skin is to be a protecting barrier of the underlying tissues, defending the inner organs from infections and irritation,” Birmingham, Atlanta-based board-certified dermatologist Corey L. Hartman, MD, explains. “Desiccation and stress disruption of the protecting barrier can result in the rise of transepidermal water loss, and due to this fact situations which might be related to pores and skin, dryness, and irritations.” So basically, the extra you skip out on moisturizing your face and physique, the extra inclined you may be to flaking, itching, and different irritation to the pores and skin barrier.
Who ought to use physique butter?
Most dermatologists agree that very dry pores and skin would profit greatest from physique butter, which Dr. Hartman describes as “a waterless, thicker model of a physique lotion.” Nevertheless, particularly throughout the drier, winter months, anybody may benefit from a heavier formulation. Normally, it is nice for anybody to make use of a physique butter, however particularly in case your physique wash is extra drying, which is likely to be the case for those who’re utilizing one formulated with exfoliating elements like AHAs, retinol, and salicylic acid.
What elements ought to I search for in physique butter?
Look out for acquainted, hydrating powerhouses, Dr. Hartman notes, “comparable to shea butter, cocoa butter, and oils like coconut and avocado, in addition to vitamin E, which softens pores and skin and protects the pores and skin’s moisture barrier.” (Spoiler: You may discover that a lot of the picks listed under will boast shea butter, a wealthy emollient that heals cracked pores and skin, due to a composition that features nutritional vitamins A, E, and F.) Dr. Hartman additionally provides that it is best to keep away from any elements that may dry out the pores and skin, like alcohol or witch hazel.
How do I take advantage of physique butter in my skin-care routine?
Since there’s little or no to no water in physique butters, New York Metropolis-based board-certified dermatologist Julie E. Russak, MD, says the very best time to make use of one is while you’ve simply stepped out of the bathe—when your pores and skin is damp. “Pat the pores and skin dry, and whereas the pores and skin continues to be moist, apply physique butter to all of the areas which might be tough and dry, together with toes, fingers, ankles, and elbows,” Dr. Russak says. “This locks within the moisture obtained from the bathe, decreases trans-epidermal water loss, and helps restore the barrier.”
Meet the specialists
- Peter Bittar, MD, a board-certified dermatologist at Miami Dermatology & Laser Institute, primarily based in Miami
- Anna Chacon, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in Miami
- Michael H. Gold, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in Nashville
- Corey L. Hartman, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and founding father of Pores and skin Wellness Dermatology primarily based in Birmingham, AL
- Julie E. Russak, MD, a board-certified dermatologist primarily based in New York Metropolis
How we check and overview merchandise
When Attract exams a product, our editors take a look at it from each angle in an effort to greatest serve you. We overview elements, scrutinize model claims, and, when vital, study peer-reviewed scientific and medical research. Along with testing each product that’s included in each overview, we depend on specialists who form their fields, together with dermatology, beauty chemistry, and medication, to assist us vet the elements and formulation.
For our listing of the very best physique butters, we thought of every product’s efficiency throughout 5 major classes: product elements and efficacy, packaging, perfume, texture, and product put on. Each product was decided to have excelled in every class by our editorial crew, which consists of in-house writers and editors in addition to contributors—together with particular consideration from dermatologists. To study extra data on our reporting and testing processes, learn our full opinions course of and methodology web page.
Our workers and testers
A magnificence product is a private buy. You is likely to be looking for a face cream to deal with persistent dryness or a brand new nail product so as to add to your Sunday self-care routine; it’s possible you’ll merely be shopping round for the newest launches to hit the hair market. It doesn’t matter what you search or your particular person wants and considerations, Attract needs to make sure that you like something we advocate in our tales. We imagine that having a various crew of writers and editors—along with the wide selection of out of doors testers and trade specialists we frequently name upon — is important to reaching that purpose.
In spite of everything, can we actually say a skin-care product is the “greatest” for folks over 50 if the one testers we’ve solicited opinions from people who’ve but to hit 30? Can we actually deem a high-end diffuser worthy of your hard-earned money if it’s by no means been examined on curls? We’re proud that our workers spans a variety of ages, pores and skin tones, hair textures, genders, and backgrounds, which implies that we’re in a position to pretty assess any magnificence product that comes into the wonder closet.
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