Shea butter
A plant butter rich in oleic and stearic acids.
How common
1,128 of 14,784 products with a full ingredient list in Open Beauty Facts; No. 34 of all the names found on their labels.
What it is
A vegetable butter from the shea tree (Butyrospermum parkii). Its fatty acids are mostly oleic (40 to 60%) and stearic (30 to 45%), and 3 to 10% of it is unsaponifiable matter.
3 sourcesHide
Lauric acid (%) Myristic acid (%) Palmitic acid (%) Stearic acid (%) Palmitoleic acid (%) Oleic acid (%) Erucic acid (%) Linoleic acid (%)
[1] Study · 2022 · open sourceUnsaponifiable matter (%)
[1] Study · 2022 · open sourceShea (Butyrospermum pparkii) butter (Akihisa et al., 2010; Fontanel, 2013; Janeš and Kočevar Glavač, 2018) — — 3–5 30–45 — 40–60 — 4–16 <0.2 42 49 5 3–10
[1] Study · 2022 · open source
Why it is in products
Plant oils and butters like it condition, soften and moisturise the skin, partly by forming a layer that keeps water in (occlusive).
SourceHide
Oils are used in a wide variety of cosmetic products for their skin conditioning, occlusive, emollient, and moisturizing properties.
[2] US Cosmetic Ingredient Review expert panel · 2017 · open source
What it does
For eczema the evidence is thin: in one small study of 34 children, a cream with shea butter extract did no better or worse than a ceramide cream tested earlier.
Some evidenceskin2 sourcesHide
A total of 34 patients with atopic dermatitis were recruited
[3] Review · 2015 · open sourceThe cream containing shea butter extract did not differ in acceptability or efficacy from a ceramide-precursor product.
[3] Review · 2015 · open source
Downsides and safety
A lab study found no soluble proteins in shea butter that bind IgE, the antibodies behind allergic reactions.
Some evidenceSourceHide
Shea butter contains no IgE-binding soluble proteins.
[4] Study · 2011 · open source
Where it works
On the skin’s surface, where it softens and keeps water in.
SourceHide
Oils are used in a wide variety of cosmetic products for their skin conditioning, occlusive, emollient, and moisturizing properties.[2] US Cosmetic Ingredient Review expert panel · 2017 · open source
Rules
European Union
No EU limit: it is not on the regulation’s lists of banned or restricted substances, preservatives or UV filters.
How we checkedHide
We searched Annexes II to VI of the EU regulation (consolidated text of 18 May 2026): no entry.open the list
United States
Not on the FDA’s list of prohibited or restricted cosmetic ingredients. In the US, cosmetics and their ingredients (other than colour additives) don’t need FDA approval before sale.
SourceHide
Under U.S. law, cosmetic products and ingredients, other than color additives, do not need FDA approval before they go on the market
[5] US Food and Drug Administration · open sourceWe searched the FDA’s list of prohibited and restricted cosmetic ingredients: no entry.open the list
Sources
- Vegetable Butters and Oils as Therapeutically and Cosmetically Active Ingredients for Dermal Use: A Review of Clinical Studies Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2022Study
- Safety Assessment of Plant-Derived Fatty Acid Oils International journal of toxicology, 2017US Cosmetic Ingredient Review expert panel
- Patient acceptability, efficacy, and skin biophysiology of a cream and cleanser containing lipid complex with shea butter extract versus a ceramide product for eczema Hon KL et al., Hong Kong medical journal = Xianggang yi xue za zhi, 2015Review
- Shea butter contains no IgE-binding soluble proteins Chawla KK et al., The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology, 2011Study
- Prohibited & Restricted Ingredients in Cosmetics | FDA US Food and Drug Administration
Checked against these sources on 4 November 2026. Spot a mistake? Tell us.