BUTTER
Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter
- butter
A rich, solid plant butter used for heavy conditioning on coarse or dry hair. High in the list it makes a product decidedly heavy.
- products in our library
- 875
- of researched products
- 13%
- on the label, in our conditioners
- usually #9
- most common in
- Conditioner
- in water
- Oil-soluble
At a glance
Four things worth knowing about how this ingredient behaves on hair.
How much of it is left on hair between washes.
What it takes to get it off the hair again.
Where the class sits between an ester and a butter.
How much it slows water leaving the strand.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Needs a cleanser | 4 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Rinses with a cleanser | 2 of 5 |
| Weight | Heavy | 5 of 5 |
| Sealing | Strongest | 5 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
The heaviest emollient. Welcome on coarse hair, obvious on fine hair.
Solid at room temperature, so it stays where it is put.
Smooths the feel of the strand without adding hold or cleaning.
Slows evaporation from the strand more than any other lipid class.
Charge
Charge is not recorded for this ingredient.
Solubility
Needs a surfactant to remove. On a low-detergent routine it can build up over time.
Where it appears
Where it appears
One row per product category in our library: how many products list it, what share of that category that is, and where it typically sits on the label.
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Conditioner
250 products
|
secondary · #9 | |
Mask / treatment
155 products
|
supporting · #8 | |
Leave-in
125 products
|
supporting · #7 | |
Shampoo
96 products
|
secondary · #11 | |
Styler: curl cream
71 products
|
supporting · #7 | |
Styler: gel
23 products
|
supporting · #8 | |
Styler: paste
21 products
|
secondary · #10 | |
Co-wash
20 products
|
secondary · #10 | |
Finisher: oil
20 products
|
secondary · #9 | |
Scalp treatment
20 products
|
secondary · #9 |
14 more product types
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Styler: smoothing cream
14 products
|
supporting · #9 | |
Styler: mousse
13 products
|
supporting · #7 | |
Heat protectant
11 products
|
secondary · #9 | |
Finisher: serum
9 products
|
supporting · #7 | |
Finisher: shine spray
5 products
|
supporting · #5 | |
Styler: edge control
5 products
|
supporting · #8 | |
Finisher: anti frizz finish
3 products
|
supporting · #8 | |
Styler: hairspray
3 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Styler: refresh spray
3 products
|
supporting · #6 | |
Styler: lotion
2 products
|
supporting · #5 | |
Styler: texture spray
2 products
|
secondary · #10 | |
Styler: volumizer
2 products
|
supporting · #9 | |
Dry shampoo
1 product
|
secondary · #9 | |
Finisher: end oil
1 product
|
supporting · #5 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conditioner | 250 | 22% | 9 | 3 | secondary |
| Mask / treatment | 155 | 26% | 8 | 1 | supporting |
| Leave-in | 125 | 18% | 7 | 2 | supporting |
| Shampoo | 96 | 6% | 11 | 3 | secondary |
| Styler: curl cream | 71 | 31% | 7 | 1 | supporting |
| Styler: gel | 23 | 9% | 8 | 2 | supporting |
| Styler: paste | 21 | 11% | 10 | 2 | secondary |
| Co-wash | 20 | 20% | 10 | 4 | secondary |
| Finisher: oil | 20 | 7% | 9 | 3 | secondary |
| Scalp treatment | 20 | 7% | 9 | 3 | secondary |
| Styler: smoothing cream | 14 | 17% | 9 | 2 | supporting |
| Styler: mousse | 13 | 6% | 7 | 3 | supporting |
| Heat protectant | 11 | 5% | 9 | 5 | secondary |
| Finisher: serum | 9 | 7% | 7 | 4 | supporting |
| Finisher: shine spray | 5 | 5% | 5 | 4 | supporting |
| Styler: edge control | 5 | 13% | 8 | 6 | supporting |
| Finisher: anti frizz finish | 3 | 9% | 8 | 1 | supporting |
| Styler: hairspray | 3 | 1% | 14 | 8 | secondary |
| Styler: refresh spray | 3 | 9% | 6 | 4 | supporting |
| Styler: lotion | 2 | 6% | 5 | 3 | supporting |
| Styler: texture spray | 2 | 2% | 10 | 8 | secondary |
| Styler: volumizer | 2 | 1% | 9 | 6 | supporting |
| Dry shampoo | 1 | 1% | 9 | 9 | secondary |
| Finisher: end oil | 1 | 13% | 5 | 5 | supporting |
We have not researched differences by product type yet. The reading below comes from where it sits on the labels in our library.
Position footprint
Every listing in our library, by position on the label.
| Positions | Zone | Listings |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | Leading | 61 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 376 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 302 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 111 |
| 26+ | Trace | 25 |
How to read this
US labelling rules put ingredients above 1% in descending order of amount; below 1% they may be listed in any order.
So position tells you about relative amount only above that line, and we never convert a position into a percentage.
Who should pay attention
Formulation guidance for specific hair conditions, limited to the label positions where it applies. It is not a conclusion about any finished product, or about you.
Coarse, porous hair loses water quickly and can carry the weight; a butter slows that loss more than a thin oil does.
Emollients fill and smooth the surface of the strand, which lowers the friction that lifts the cuticle and reads as roughness.
A solid fat melts onto the strand at body temperature and stays there, which is the heaviest surface moisture-holding a formula can offer.
Butters do not disperse in water; a routine without a detergent wash gives them no way off the hair.
Read where it is listed in the first three ingredients, positions 4–8 or the lower half of the ordered list.High on a list, a solid fat is the heaviest thing in most formulas, and fine hair loses volume to it quickly.
Read where it is listed in the first three ingredients or positions 4–8.Read from this ingredient’s chemical class. Where we have researched the ingredient itself, that reading replaces the class one.
Why it matters to shoppers
What seeing this ingredient tells you, what it does not, and the limits of our own method.
- rich moisture for coarse or dry hair
- rich moisture
- a softer feel
- a barrier that slows water loss
- an exact safety score (we do not publish one for any ingredient)
- how a finished product performs, which depends on the whole formula, not one line of it
- the exact percentage in a bottle, because label position never converts into a number
- a secondary butter, listed below the main ingredients in our conditioners
- it was on the printed ingredient list of every product we counted (we read labels, not marketing copy)
- that it suits every hair type (weight is the trade-off)
- that a product is right or wrong for you
We do not publish safety scores or hazard grades. Where a regulator has published a restriction or a use condition, we state it and cite it; otherwise we describe what the ingredient does and stop.
Commonly paired with
The ingredients that most often appear alongside this one in our library. We leave out the near-universal ones, because they pair with everything and tell you nothing.
- Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil · 399
- Ethylhexylglycerin · 312
- Cetyl Alcohol · 307
- Behentrimonium Chloride · 305
- Tocopherol · 278
- Cetrimonium Chloride · 251
- Caprylyl Glycol · 221
- Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride · 219
- Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice · 215
- Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil · 211
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to soften the strand, improve feel after rinsing, and deliver a stated effect.
Found in these products
The most prominent placements first. The badge is the position on that product’s own ingredient list.
Camille Rose · Finisher
Pure Batana Oil Honduran Miracle Balm
#1 on the label · $4.00/oz
Kreyòl Essence · Mask / treatment
Pre-Shampoo + Moisture Booster Treatment Mask
#1 on the label · $5.50/oz
Luster's Pink · Styler
SCURL FREE FLOW NATURAL WAVE BUTTER
#1 on the label · $2.85/oz
SheaMoisture · Mask / treatment
Raw Shea Butter Moisturizing Hair Mask
#1 on the label · $3.28/oz
Adwoa Beauty · Mask / treatment
Blue Tansy Reparative Mask
#2 on the label
African Pride · Styler
Moisture Miracle Aloe & Coconut Water Hydrate & Define Smoothie Curl Enhancer
#2 on the label · $0.54/oz
African Pride · Leave-in
Moisture Miracle Hydrate & Strengthen Leave-In Cream
#2 on the label · $0.67/oz
As I Am · Styler
Doublebutter Cream
#2 on the label · $1.24/oz
Aunt Jackie's · Mask / treatment
Fix My Hair Intensive Repair Conditioning Masque
#2 on the label
Aunt Jackie's · Styler
Seal It Up Hydrating Sealing Butter
#2 on the label · $1.04/oz
Creme of Nature · Leave-in
Argan Oil from Morocco Moisture Recovery Leave-In Curl Milk
#2 on the label · $0.80/oz
Creme of Nature · Styler
Double Duty Curl Stretch & Define Pudding
#2 on the label · $0.48/oz
See all 875 products in the library that list Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
No public-domain structure depiction is available for this entry.
Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter
- emollient
- sealant
- butyropermum parkii (shea butter) fruit
- butyrosepermum parkii (shea butter)
- butyrosperm parkii (shea butter)
- butyrospermum parkii
- butyrospermum parkii (african shea butter)
- butyrospermum parkii (shea butter)
- butyrospermum parkii (shea butter) fruit
- butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter
- butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter (butyrospermum parkii butter)
- butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter (certified organic, fair trade)
- butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter (certified organic)
- butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter unsaponifiables
- butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter*♥
- butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter/beurre
- butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter^
- butyrospermum parkii (shea) nut extract (shea butter)
- butyrospermum parkii (shea/karite) butter
- butyrospermum parkii (shea/karité) butter
- butyrospermum parkii butter
- butyrospermum parkii butter (butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter)
- butyrospermum parkii butter / butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter
- butyrospermum parkii glycerides (shea butter)
- shea butter
- shea butter (butyrospermum parkii)
- shea butter (certified organic)
- shea butter (fair trade certified organic)
- shea butter (fair trade, organic)
- shea butter (fair trade)
- unrefined butyrospermum parkii (shea butter) fruit
For your hair?
Whether Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter matters for your hair depends on your hair.
the 5th most-listed oil, butter or emollient in our libraryWhat this ingredient does, and where it sits on the labels we have researched.
A verdict on any product that contains it, and never a safety grade.
We do not physically test your hair. Everything above comes from the ingredient lists in our library and from published references. The consultation is what turns it into a plan.
References
Seed entry, sourcing in progress Written from our reference work; primary sourcing is still being attached.
No published source is attached to this entry yet.
How this page was made
- Every number above is counted from the ingredient lists in our own product library: 875 of 6816 researched products list this ingredient. Nothing on this page is written per ingredient.
- The dots are levels, not scores. Each one comes from what kind of ingredient it is (its chemical class, charge and solubility) or from where it sits on the labels we have.
- US labelling rules put ingredients above 1% in descending order of amount; below 1% they may be listed in any order. Position tells you about relative amount only above that line, and we never convert a position into a percentage.
- The prominence bands (leading, supporting, secondary) are the same ones the product pages use to read a single label, applied here to the median position across a category.
- We do not publish safety scores or hazard grades. Where a regulator has published a restriction or a use condition, we state it and cite it; otherwise we describe what the ingredient does and stop.
- Identifiers and references appear only when a published source is attached to this entry. Without one, we leave the row out rather than fill it in.
- This is cosmetic information, not medical advice, and nothing here diagnoses or treats a health condition.
- Entry last updated 2026-09-22. Product-page methodology: the product library.
