Oil INCI names / Shea butter
Shea butter INCI name
Shea butter has two INCI names depending on what you make with it: it keeps its botanical name in a lotion or balm, and takes a saponified name in cold-process soap, where the oil reacts with lye and the oil itself is no longer in the finished bar.
| In lotions, balms, leave-on and rinse-off products | Butyrospermum Parkii Butter |
|---|---|
| In cold-process soap (saponified with NaOH) | Sodium Shea Butterate |
| Superfat share in soap (unreacted) | Butyrospermum Parkii Butter |
| Also entered as | shea, shea nut butter, karite butter, karite |
Glossary citation: Sodium Shea Butterate #23465; Butyrospermum Parkii Butter #3765 (Commission Decision (EU) 2019/701 on EUR-Lex).
Transcribed from the EU glossary of common ingredient names (Decision (EU) 2019/701) and source-audited against it. A labelling reference, not safety advice.