5 Days of 3 Ingredient Recipes October 04 2026, 0 Comments
For five days I shared a series of simple DIY recipes made with just three ingredients each, all using Rainforest Chica oils and butters.
The idea was to keep things easy, useful and realistic. No complicated formulas, no giant ingredient lists, just a few good ingredients put together in a way that makes sense.
I ended up with recipes for skin, lips, hair, dry spots and feet, plus one bonus recipe because apparently five wasn’t enough.
Here they all are in one place so you can save them, come back to them later, and make whichever one fits what you need most.
Winter Fixer Whipped Butter
This formula brings together three very different Amazonian ingredients for dry, winter-stressed skin. Cupuaçu is known for its strong water-binding capacity, Bacuri is a rich, deeply emollient butter with a distinctive fatty-acid profile, and Brazil Nut Oil brings oleic and linoleic acids plus naturally occurring tocopherols.
1. Melt the Cupuaçu and Bacuri butters in a double boiler.
2. Add the Brazil Nut Oil while still heating.
3. Refrigerate until firm but still soft.
4. Whip until light and fluffy. If it is still too soft, chill again and re-whip.
5. Spoon into a clean, dry jar.
When you first start whipping, the mixture will still look dark and dense. After a few minutes, it becomes much lighter and fluffier.
Why these 3?
Cupuaçu Butter Helps soften skin and has a high water-binding capacity.
Bacuri Butter Rich in palmitic and oleic fatty acids and gives the blend a rich feel.
Brazil Nut Oil Rich in oleic and linoleic acids with naturally occurring tocopherols.
Together they make a rich whipped butter for dry winter skin.
How to use
Best used on slightly damp skin. Massage well. A little goes a long way. If the butter firms up after sitting, it is still perfectly fine to use.
Lip Butter Bar
This one is all about using naturally rich Brazilian ingredients in a very simple format. Cocoa Butter gives the bar its protective, slow-melting base, Cupuaçu brings its water-binding and emollient properties, and Pequi Oil adds a different fatty-acid profile along with its naturally occurring carotenoids and that beautiful golden color.
2. Melt the Cocoa and Cupuaçu butters in a double boiler.
3. Add the Pequi Oil and let everything heat together briefly.
4. Pour into molds.
5. Refrigerate until completely solid.
6. Remove from the fridge, unmold, and let the bars sit at room temperature overnight before using.
A little bar with many jobs
Glide it over your lips, rub it into dry cuticles, or use it on any little dry spots that need some love.
Keep one in a small tin and take it with you.
Just remember: it’s all butter and oil, so don’t leave the little guy baking in a hot car.
Damaged Hair Treatment
This one is for hair that feels dry, rough or overworked and needs something richer than a regular conditioner. Cupuaçu gives the treatment its creamy base, while Pequi and Ojon bring two very different Amazonian oils traditionally used in hair care.
2. Add the Pequi and Ojon oils and heat together briefly.
3. Pour into your container.
4. Refrigerate until set.
5. Let it return to room temperature before using.
This one should set very soft, almost like a thick treatment rather than a solid butter.
Why these 3?
Cupuaçu Butter Rich in oleic and stearic acids, giving this treatment its creamy, conditioning base.
Pequi Oil Rich in oleic and palmitic acids and naturally contains carotenoids. A rich emollient oil for dry hair.
Ojon Oil Traditionally used for hair care and naturally rich in oleic acid, along with linoleic and lauric acids.
How to use
Apply to damp hair, adjusting the amount depending on your hair’s length, thickness and dryness.
Leave on for 20 to 30 minutes, then shampoo thoroughly. For a deeper treatment, cover your hair and add gentle heat.
For outdoor protection, apply a small amount to damp hair before exposure to wind, salt water or chlorine.
Hair Leave-In Butter
This one is for smoothing, softening and controlling hair without turning it into a heavy oil treatment. Murumuru and Babassu are both naturally rich in lauric acid, while Patauá brings a very different, oleic-rich profile. The finished butter is quite firm, so you naturally end up using very little at a time, which is exactly what you want with a leave-in.
2. Add the Babassu and Patauá oils and heat together briefly.
3. Pour into a clean, dry jar.
4. Refrigerate until completely solid.
5. Let it return to room temperature before using.
Why these 3?
Murumuru Butter Often called a “vegetable silicone” in hair care because of the smooth, silky feel it gives the hair. It is also naturally rich in lauric acid.
Babassu Oil Also rich in lauric acid and melts easily, making it a natural partner for Murumuru.
Patauá Oil Rich in oleic acid and brings a softer, more fluid oil into the formula.
How to use
This is a firm leave-in, so start with a very small amount.
Rub it well between your palms until it melts, then smooth through damp hair, focusing on the lengths and ends.
Add a little more only if your hair needs it. Do not rinse.
Use a tiny amount on dry hair to smooth flyaways, or adjust the amount for curls, thicker hair or very dry ends.
Dry Skin Rescue Balm
This one is for the areas that always seem to need more help than regular body butter can give them. Tucumã, Andiroba and Beeswax make a rich balm that works especially well on cuticles, knuckles, elbows, heels and other stubborn dry spots.
Recipe
Tucumã Butter - 4 parts Andiroba Oil - 1 part Beeswax - 1 part
How to make it
1. Melt the Beeswax in a double boiler.
2. Add the Tucumã Butter and melt completely.
3. Add the Andiroba Oil and heat briefly.
4. Pour into a clean, dry jar or tin.
5. Refrigerate until completely set, then let it return to room temperature before using.
Why these ingredients?
Tucumã Butter Gives the balm a smooth, more translucent finish and leaves a light protective coating on the skin. It’s sometimes described in cosmetic formulation as a “vegetable silicone” because of its silky feel.
Andiroba Oil A traditional Amazonian skin oil naturally rich in fatty acids and distinctive compounds called limonoids. It has been widely used in Brazil in topical preparations for dry, stressed skin.
Beeswax Gives the balm structure and forms an occlusive layer that helps slow moisture loss.
Overnight Foot Butter
This bonus recipe is for the parts of your feet that really need something substantial. Ucuuba is one of the most unusual butters in the Rainforest Chica lineup, with a fatty-acid profile very different from the better-known body butters, and it makes a great base for a rich overnight treatment. Cupuaçu and Pracaxi bring their own very different skin-care profiles, so this is not just a heavy butter for the sake of being heavy.
Ucuuba Butter A very unusual Amazonian butter, naturally rich in myristic and lauric acids. Its distinctive fatty-acid profile gives it a dense, protective feel that makes it especially suited to rough, very dry areas.
Cupuaçu Butter Known for its exceptional ability to bind water, Cupuaçu helps keep dry skin feeling softer and more comfortable.
Pracaxi Oil Rich in oleic acid and unusually high in behenic acid, Pracaxi has a rich, substantial feel and has a long history of topical use in Amazonia.
How to use
Use a small spatula or spoon to scoop out a little, then massage it between your hands until it softens.
Apply generously to clean, dry feet, focusing on heels, rough areas and cuticles.
Put on socks and leave it on overnight.
If you make one of these, tag us so I can see what you made. I’d love to see which recipe you picked, how it turned out, and what little tweaks you made to make it your own.
Making one? Save 15% when you buy any 3 ingredients from the recipe collection. Use code MAKE3 through 10/7.
