Best Body Butter: What to Look For
If you have dry skin, using the right moisturizer is a crucial step in your daily skin care routine. Many people with dry or mature skin prefer what are often called body butters, as these products tend to be richer and thicker. While there isn’t a true difference between body butter and body lotion or cream, these terms can have different implications.
This guide will help you sift through all of these terms to find the best body butter or moisturizer for your skin type.
Body lotion, cream, and butter are all the same thing: a moisturizing product that hydrates the skin.
Look for body butters that have a 1:1:1 lipid ratio and display a Maltese cross pattern under a microscope.
Zerafite Ultra Rich Barrier Repair Body Cream is one of the best body creams or butters.
What Is Body Butter?
Like many marketing terms in skin care, there is no uniform definition for “body butter.” In fact, there is no technical difference between a body butter and a body cream . That said, using the term “body butter” tends to imply a high hydrating fat content. This higher fat content can make body butters more hydrating than some lighter body lotion or cream formulas that contain more water. This is because fatty acids and other lipids are key components of your skin’s natural protective barrier. This barrier helps to seal water inside the skin while simultaneously keeping irritants out.
Some of the most common hydrating ingredients found in this product category include:
Mango butter
Body Butter vs. Body Lotion
“Body butter” and “body lotion” are two terms that mean the same thing: a hydrating product designed to add moisture to the skin. While there is no standardized difference between these two terms, however, it is implied that a body butter is a richer, thicker formula with a higher fat content (like butter) than body lotion.
Body Butter vs. Body Cream
Similarly, the terms “body butter” and “body cream” can be used interchangeably, but “body butter” still implies a richer formula than body cream.
What's the Best Body Butter?
If you are looking for a richer, thicker formulation for optimal skin hydration, the best products will have a high fatty acid content, as well as the Maltese cross pattern under a microscope. These are the best barrier repair moisturizers, which most closely mimic the lipid structure of your skin’s natural barrier. This is the best way to find the best body butter, lotion, or cream that will provide the most hydration for your skin.
One of the best body butters for this reason is Zerafite Ultra Rich Body Cream. It contains ingredients like caprylic/capric triglyceride, cetearyl alcohol, squalane, sunflower seed oil, stearic acid, ceramides, cholesterol, shea butter, argan oil, and many more hydrating ingredients to strengthen your skin’s barrier and prevent water loss. Additionally, Zerafite is unique in that it shows the Maltese cross pattern under a microscope, which has been shown to most closely mimic your skin’s natural barrier structure and therefore maximize the effectiveness of the moisturizer, cream, or body butter (3).
For Eczema
Eczema is a type of inflammatory skin condition characterized by itchy, dry, and flaky patches of skin. Thus, you need a barrier repair product or moisturizer to most effectively manage eczema. The best body butter for eczema will contain the proper 1:1:1 ratio of fatty acids, ceramides, and cholesterol, as well as the Maltese cross pattern, to most closely match your skin’s natural barrier structure. Zerafite Ultra Rich Body Cream is a great choice for those with eczema and is approved for all 16 skin types, including sensitive skin types.
For Pregnancy
Women have long used shea butter or cocoa butter to help prevent or improve stretch marks during pregnancy. However, there are few studies published on the effectiveness of these ingredients on stretch marks (4). Using a barrier repair body butter or cream may help by allowing the skin to be hydrated and flexible enough to stretch without tearing, which is what causes stretch marks.
Some products that contain advanced peptides, such as Alastin TransFORM Body Treatment, may help to prevent or improve stretch marks as well, although there are very few formal studies on the best ingredients for stretch marks.
For Aging Skin
Similarly, keeping your skin hydrated can help with lines, wrinkles, and crepey skin by “plumping” it from the inside out. Dry, dehydrated skin can appear older and more wrinkled because it lacks this hydration. Body butters and creams that are specifically formulated to help with wrinkles and other signs of aging can be a good choice. Zerafite Wrinkle Defense Barrier Cream, for example, contains a combination of hydrating ingredients and anti-aging ingredients like niacinamide, vitamin E, Saururus Chinensis extract, and Ulmus Davidiana root extract.
For Men
How to Use Body Butter
Use body butter the same way as you would use body cream or lotion. It is best to apply to damp skin directly after a shower to help seal in moisture. You can apply body butter as frequently as needed until your skin begins to look and feel less dry, itchy, or cracked.
Bottom Line
The best body butter for dry skin should contain equal parts fatty acids, ceramides, and cholesterol. This will allow the cream to most effectively strengthen your skin’s natural protective barrier, relieving dryness, itching, flaking, and cracking. While body butters tend to have a higher fat content than lotions or creams, all of these terms can be used interchangeably, as there is no formal difference among them.
Dr. Leslie Baumann MD, FAAD
Do you use body butter in the shower or out?
Apply body butter after showering, not during. After patting your skin dry, apply the body butter to lock in moisture and provide lasting hydration
Do you use body butter before or after lotion?
If you are layering a thicker moisturizer like body butter with a thinner formulation like body lotion, it’s generally best to apply the lighter product first.
Can you put body butter on your face?
I recommend using a dedicated facial cream or moisturizer on your face, since the skin on your body and face are different and therefore have different needs. Some body butters can be pore-clogging, especially for acne-prone skin types.
Does body butter need to be washed off?
No, body butter and other moisturizers are designed to stay on your skin so they can add hydration and help to reinforce the skin barrier.
Do I apply oil before or after a body butter?
Apply the body butter first followed by the oil.
Best References and Scientific Publications on Body Butter and Body Creams:
- Baumann L. Moisturizers in Ch. 43 of Baumann's Cosmetic Dermatology Ed 3. (McGraw Hill 2022)
- Baumann, L. Chapters 7-30 in Cosmeceuticals and Cosmetic Ingredients (McGraw Hill 2015)
- Baumann, L. S. Moisturizers and skin barrier repair. (2021) Dermatology News.
- Zhu, P., Fung, A., & Woo, B. K. (2020). Consumer preference of products for the prevention and treatment of stretch marks: systematic product search. jmir dermatology, 3(1), e18295.
- Fowler, J. (2012). Understanding the role of natural moisturizing factor in skin hydration. Pract. Dermatol, 9, 36-40.
- Lodén, M. (1992). The increase in skin hydration after application of emollients with different amounts of lipids. Acta dermato-venereologica, 72(5), 327-330.
