Hi there!

Shea butter is one of the most popular cosmetic ingredients nowadays. According to Shea Butter Market Global Research Report, the total collectable production of Shea butter in 2015 was 600,000 tons!

What is even more interesting, while the application of shea butter as food accounts for the largest share by usage, cosmetics is expected to drive the fastest growth in the next five years.

And I must admit that shea butter’s positive reputation and popularity are very well deserved, as it has numerous benefits for hair and skin.

That is why the answer to the question is that shea butter comedogenic is essential for all (future) shea butter users.

If you want the answer straight away, jump to the last section of this text.

But before we talk about the comedogenicity level of shea butter, let’s mention one of the main reasons that place this butter among the cosmetic “champions.”

Why shea butter?

First, it’s rich in five excellent components: oleic acid, stearic acid, palmitic acid, and linoleic acid.

• Oleic acid fights bad cholesterol and high blood pressure. It also protects your cells from free radicals;
• Stearic acid has cleansing properties, removing sweat, dirt and excess sebum from the hair and skin;
• Palmitic acid is an excellent skin moisturizer, soothing and softening your skin;
• Linoleic acid is a substance our body needs to function correctly but cannot produce organically. We have to find it from external resources, such as shea butter.
• Vitamin A and vitamin E keep our skin healthy. They are handy for curing damage from sun skin. They have an anti-wrinkle effect and soften and whiten the skin.

If this is not enough to convince you how powerful shea butter is for your health, let’s see which are the most important

Shea butter benefits for skin and hair

1. Men can use it for aftershave if their skin is irritated;

2. It has a sunscreen effect on the skin;

3. Your cracked lips and hands may need its soothing properties;

4. It nourishes dry and damaged hair;

5. It is a great anti-cellulite agent, tightening and improving the elasticity of your skin;

6. As shea butter melts at body temperature, it is great for massaging your body;

7. If your skin is sunburned or you have cuts and wounds, shea butter could be your relieving solution;

8. It beautifies your skin, as it whitens it, helping with scars and blemishes;

9. In case of skin conditions like eczema or dermatitis, shea butter can take care;

10. You can massage your muscles with shea butter in case of physical effort and fatigue. It will relax your muscles and banish the tension from your body;

11. Do you remember the anti-oxidant power of shea butter? Well, this leads to its anti-ageing and anti-inflammatory properties;

12. Shea butter has a beautiful effect on your baby’s skin, gently massaging it and relieving the baby’s rash.

Okay! We have enough evidence why we should use shea butter in one way or another. I could mention three possible types of usage:

• When you use shea butter as a stand-alone ingredient, without mixing it with other compounds;
• When you blend shea butter with other components, like carrier oils, essential oils, beeswax, etc. If you want to experiment at home, you can prepare either shea butter recipes for your skin or shea butter masks for your hair growth;
• You can go one step further and find cosmetic and sanitary products which include shea butter as an ingredient in their formulas.

A stable version of this approach is finding natural cosmetics that professionally blend different components. It is a matter of market search to find those products that will work well for your skin and hair.

While finding high-quality products might appear as not a very easy task is not challenging if you follow some basic rules for natural hair care and natural skin care.

But let’s get back to our initial topic.

Where is shea butter on the comedogenic list?

What is comedogenicity? If we have to put it simply, it is all about does shea butter clog pores. If we open the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, we will see that the word “comedo” means

“a small bump or blemish on the skin (as of the face or back) usually containing a plug of sebum in a skin pore: such as open comedo (blackhead) or closed comedo (whitehead)”.

Following this definition, we can conclude that the more comedogenic a substance is, the more it will clog pores – these tiny holes in our skin.

In an adverse scenario, our skin will produce more sebum than needed, which can clog the pores combined with the dead cells on the skin’s surface.

Here comes the comedogenicity index, which shows how comedogenic is a component.

It is, in fact, a 6-point scale, where the lower the index, the lower the probability that oil is comedogenic. Here is the meaning of the range:

0 – Not likely to clog pores 

1 – Low 

2 – Moderately Low 

3 – Moderate 

4 – Fairly High 

5 – High

And here comes the good news for shea butter, as it is classified with a 0 rating, which means “not likely to clog pores.” It very quickly penetrates the skin, allowing it to breathe.

The verdict

Is shea butter comedogenic? No, it is not, and you can freely use it for your needs, irrespective of which way you choose.

What is your next step? Search and test products with shea butter, which works well for your skin. Now you are familiar with one more instrument to treat yourself in the best possible way!

I would love to hear from you! Do you (plan to) use shea butter? Leave me a message, and I will answer you!

Take action and take care:)

Valeria