Ingredient · emollient

Shea Butter

Shea Butter is an emollient: it fills the gaps between skin cells so skin feels softer and smoother. Pori's ingredient rules rate it a good fit for dry and combination skin types.

Shea Butter at a glance

FunctionEmollient
Comedogenic rating0/5
Irritation potentialLow
Also listed asButyrospermum Parkii Butter, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)
How commonOn 1,674 of 21,918 product labels in Pori's copy of Open Beauty Facts

What does Shea Butter help with?

In Pori's database it's linked to dehydration. How much it helps depends on how high it sits on the label: ingredients are listed from most to least, and anything past roughly the tenth spot is usually present at 1% or less.

Is Shea Butter good for my skin type?

These ratings come from the same fixed rules Pori's ingredient scanner uses, applied to a typical profile for each skin type. Your own result in the app also weighs your scan results and concerns.

Skin typeRatingWhy
NormalNeutralEmollient
DryGood fitEmollient
OilyNeutralEmollient
CombinationGood fitEmollient
SensitiveNeutralEmollient

Is Shea Butter comedogenic?

It has a comedogenic rating of 0 out of 5 in Pori's ingredient database, so it's unlikely to clog pores. Ratings like this come from older tests on single ingredients, and a finished product with it isn't necessarily pore-clogging. A 2006 study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that finished products made with comedogenic ingredients were not necessarily comedogenic, so treat the number as a hint, not a verdict.

Which products contain Shea Butter?

Products in Pori's curated catalogue that list it as a key ingredient:

  • Acure Ultra Hydrating Green Juice Cleanser (cleanser)
  • Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm (cleanser)
  • Klairs Gentle Black Deep Cleansing Oil (cleanser)
  • The Body Shop Vitamin E Gentle Facial Wash (cleanser)
  • UpCircle Cleansing Face Balm With Apricot Powder (cleanser)
  • First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream (moisturizer)
  • CeraVe Skin Renewing Night Cream (moisturizer)
  • Clarins Extra-Firming Emulsion (moisturizer)

How do I check a product with Shea Butter?

Scan the barcode or photograph the ingredient list with Pori's ingredient scanner (a Pro feature). It rates every ingredient for your skin type, flags fragrance, pore-clogging and irritating ingredients, and gives the product an overall match score. It's a guide to ingredients, not a diagnosis, so see a dermatologist about any reaction.

Keep reading

Ingredient data from Pori's ingredient database; product counts from Open Beauty Facts (ODbL). General information, not medical advice.