What's in the Jar? The Oils and Butters We Love at Sunday Self.

The oils and butters behind some of your Sunday Self favorites.

Take a peek at the ingredient list on a Sunday Self product and chances are you'll spot an oil or butter, or a few of them.

They're some of our favorite ingredients to work with, and not simply because they sound good on a label. Different oils and butters bring their own feel, texture and characteristics to a formula. Some are rich and substantial. Others are lighter and silkier. Some help give a product structure, while others contribute the kind of glide and softness that makes you want to keep applying it.

Here are some of the oils and butters you'll find us reaching for again and again.

Olive Oil

There's a reason olive oil has been used in skincare and soapmaking for generations. Rich in oleic acid, it's especially beloved in handcrafted soap, where it contributes to a gentle, conditioning bar with a creamy lather.

It's one of those classic ingredients that doesn't need to be flashy to earn a permanent place on our shelf.

Find it in: Everyday Indulgence Handcrafted Soaps and Rise & Grind Sugar Coffee Scrub

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is a workhorse around here. In handcrafted soap, our 76° coconut oil helps create a firm bar and contributes to the bubbly, cleansing lather we love.

It's versatile, dependable and one of those ingredients we're rarely without.

Find it in: Everyday Indulgence Handcrafted Soaps, Lip Balms and The Garden Party Collection

Castor Oil

Castor oil is thick, rich and especially useful in handcrafted soap. It's prized for helping support a creamy, stable lather and works alongside the other oils in a balanced soap recipe to create the finished bar.

Sometimes a relatively small part of a formula can make a pretty important contribution.

Find it in: Everyday Indulgence Handcrafted Soaps

Sweet Almond Oil

Sweet almond oil gives us a lovely middle ground: nourishing and emollient without feeling exceptionally heavy. It spreads beautifully over the skin, which makes it useful in a variety of body-care formulations.https://www.yoursundayself.com/category/everyday-indulgence-soaps

It's one of those easy-to-love oils that plays very nicely with others.

Find it in: Everyday Indulgence Handcrafted Soaps and Rise & Grind Sugar Coffee Scrub

Avocado Oil

Avocado oil is one of our richer choices. Its substantial feel makes it especially nice when we're creating something intended to feel nourishing and comforting on the skin.

When a formula needs a little more richness, avocado oil is often invited to the party.

Find it in: Rise & Grind Sugar Coffee Scrub and Glow Motion Scrubs

Sunflower Oil

Sunflower oil brings a lighter touch. It's rich in linoleic acid and works beautifully when we want the benefits of an emollient oil without making a product feel unnecessarily heavy.

Because not every moisturizing ingredient needs to announce itself with a grease slick.

Find it in: Cream Come True

Fractionated Coconut Oil

   

Yes, this is different from the coconut oil above.

Fractionated coconut oil stays liquid at room temperature and has a much lighter, silkier feel than traditional coconut oil. That makes it particularly useful when we want slip and spreadability without adding a lot of heaviness.

It's one of our favorites when the feel of the finished product matters just as much as what's in it.

Find it in: Cream Come True and Roll With It - Perfume Oil Rollers

From lightweight and silky to rich and nourishing, every oil brings something different to the formula.

Shea Butter

If you've been around Sunday Self for a while, you probably aren't surprised to see shea butter on this list.

Shea butter is one of our true workhorses. Rich, creamy and wonderfully emollient, it helps soften the skin and reduce moisture loss while also bringing body and richness to a formulation. That's why you'll see it pop up again and again across Sunday Self.

And in a pinch? A little plain shea butter is one of our favorite simple ways to give dry skin some extra love.

Find it in: Everyday Indulgence Handcrafted Soaps, Cream Come True, Glow Motion Scrubs, Soft Spoken Creamy Body Wash, Main Character Moisture Hydrating Body Lotion and Solar Powered Collection

Cocoa Butter

Cocoa butter is firmer than shea and brings its own personality to a formula. Along with its rich skin feel, that firmness can help add structure to products such as balms and bars.

And yes, unrefined cocoa butter naturally has that lovely cocoa aroma—which certainly isn't a hardship.

Find it in: Sunday Lip Balms, Glow Motion Scrubs and Don't Rush Dust - Soft Skin Powder

Mango Butter

Mango butter is smooth, creamy and emollient, giving us another way to add richness and softness without exactly duplicating the feel of shea or cocoa butter.

And this one is about to get a little more attention around here.

Coming soon: We're bringing mango butter into our lip balm formula as we prepare a fresh batch for the season.

Shea, cocoa and mango each bring their own texture, richness and personality to the mix.

Why So Many?

Because formulation isn't about finding one “best” oil or butter.

It's about choosing ingredients that work together to create the experience we're after—the right texture, glide, firmness, lather, richness and after-feel for that particular product.

That's part of what we love about making products by hand. We get to be intentional about what goes into each formula instead of simply adding an ingredient because its name looks pretty on the front of a jar.

You won't find every one of these ingredients in every Sunday Self product, but they're some of the staples you'll see us reach for again and again.

Because good self-care starts long before you open the jar. It starts with what we put inside it.

Make EVERY day a little more Sunday. 🤎