Shea butter helps to smooth the skin
Shea butter helps to smooth the skin

Shea Butter (INCI: Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter))

For thousands of years, shea butter has been used by the people of Africa as an edible fat. The vegetable fat is extracted from the fatty nuts of the shea tree, also known as the shea tree¹. This precious raw material is also contained in many cosmetic products as a skin-smoothing and moisture-binding basic substance. As a skin care product, it protects the skin from cold winds, has an anti-inflammatory effect due to its allantoin content, and can therefore be used to treat rheumatism or muscle and joint complaints² ,³.


Shea butter has also regained importance in Germany in recent years. It is added to many products in the food industry and is popular in the cosmetics industry because of its skin-caring and smoothing properties. Especially for dry and brittle skin, this cosmetic ingredient is very suitable due to its refatting and moisture-binding effect.

What is in the shea butter

Shea butter consists of 50 percent fat, including a high percentage of unsaponifiable fats, which is why shea butter remains on the skin for a long time, protecting and softening it. In addition, native shea butter has a high content of phytosterols, wax esters, tocopherols, catechins and gallic acid.


Specifically, it has been proven by different studies that shea butter has a skin smoothing effect and protects the skin well from dehydration. In addition, it strengthens the lipid barrier of the horny layer and is therefore very well suited for the treatment of dry and barrier-disturbed skin ⁴. In addition, it is considered very compatible even with irritated or stressed skin.

  1. Alander, J (2009): Shea butter with improved moisturisation properties. Personal Care
  2. Honfo, FG, Akissoe, N, Linnemann, AR, Soumanou, M, Van Boekel, MA (2014): Nutritional composition of shea products and chemical properties of shea butter: a review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 54 (5): 673-86.
  3. Verma, N, Chakrabarti, R, Das, Rh, Gautam, HK (2012): Anti-inflammatory effects of shea butter through inhibition of iNOS, COX-2, and cytokines via the NF-KB pathway in LPS activated J774 macrophage cells. J Complement Intergr Med. 10.1515, 1553-3840. 1574
  4. Lodén, M, Andersson AC (1996): Effect of topically applied lipids on surfactant-irritated skin. Br J Dermatol. 134 (2), 215-20.

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