Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.
EWG Home EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning EWG’s Food Scores Healthy Living App Open menu

EWG's Skin Deep®
Find products and ingredients Learn how Skin Deep® works Meet our experts Discover EWG VERIFIED™
GET UPDATES DONATE
Score legend
HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Limited

Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter

SEARCH PRODUCTS

Other Concerns

Use restrictions (low)

SYNONYMS

BUTTER, BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII, BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII, BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA BUTTER), BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA BUTTER) FRUIT, BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA) BUTTER, BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII BUTTER, BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII FRUIT, KARITE BUTTER, SHEA BUTTER, SHEA BUTTER FRUIT, SHEA BUTTER- FROM THE KARITE TREE, VITELLARIA NILOTICA (SHEA) FRUIT BUTTER, and VITELLARIA PARADOXA (SHEA BUTTER)

This ingredient is not currently on EWG's Restricted or Unacceptable Lists.

Shea butter is a vegetable fat obtained from the fruit of a tree native to Africa, Butyrospermum parkii. Shea butter is primarily composed of fatty acids such as stearic and oleic acids.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

  • LOW
    Cancer
  • LOW
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • LOW
    Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
  • LOW
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
moisturizer1254 products
lipstick560 products
lip balm546 products
facial moisturizer/treatment467 products
bar soap466 products
conditioner457 products
antiperspirant/deodorant342 products
lip gloss313 products
exfoliant/scrub297 products
hand cream268 products
shampoo232 products
recreational sunscreen230 products
foundation228 products
hair treatment/serum219 products
mask214 products
body wash/cleanser212 products
concealer203 products
hair styling aide167 products
around-eye cream126 products
daily use with SPF120 products
facial cleanser110 products
bath oil/salts/soak105 products
baby lotion101 products
beard care101 products
blush94 products
body firming lotion89 products
liquid hand soap87 products
lip balm with SPF84 products
styling gel/lotion67 products
bronzer/highlighter65 products
serums & essences62 products
baby sunscreen57 products
lip liner53 products
foot moisturizer48 products
shaving cream46 products
eye shadow41 products
41 products
makeup primer37 products
anti-aging31 products
baby soap31 products
eye liner29 products
diaper cream28 products
mascara28 products
brow liner25 products
detangler24 products
hair color and bleaching24 products
damaged skin treatment24 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)24 products
fragrance for women21 products
baby shampoo21 products
bubble bath20 products
shaving cream (men's)19 products
sunless tanning19 products
lip plumper18 products
after shave17 products
after sun product17 products
muscle/joint soreness17 products
beard oil13 products
makeup remover12 products
body oil12 products
CC cream12 products
hand sanitizer11 products
baby bubble bath10 products
cuticle treatment8 products
foot cleansing7 products
hair spray7 products
skin fading/lightener6 products
styling mousse/foam6 products
nail treatment6 products
hair relaxer6 products
toners/astringents5 products
setting powder/spray5 products
baby oil4 products
glitter4 products
beard cleanser4 products
fragrance for men4 products
BB cream3 products
foot odor control3 products
depilatory2 products
nail polish2 products
baby wipes1 products
mouthwash1 products
facial powder1 products
tanning oil1 products
toothpaste1 products

Use restrictions

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualificationsCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Data gaps

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Risk assessment method deficiencies and data gaps - Maximum reported "as used" concentration is basis of safety assessment by industry safety panel (Cosmetic Ingredient Review, CIR) - implicit safe concentration limit in productCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
54 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Informational

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - anyCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Ecotoxicology

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
  • CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.

Understanding scores

Cosmetics and personal care products are not required to be tested for safety before being allowed on the market. The Skin Deep® scoring system was designed to help the public understand whether a product is safe to use or whether it contains ingredients of concern.

Every product and ingredient in Skin Deep gets a two-part score – one for hazard and one for data availability. The safest products score well by both measures, with a low hazard rating and a fair or better data availability rating.

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES

Hazard score

The Skin Deep ingredient hazard score, from 1 to 10, reflects known and suspected hazards linked to the ingredients. The EWG VERIFIED™ mark means a product meets EWG’s strictest criteria for transparency and health.

Score legend
WEIGHT-OF-EVIDENCE APPROACH

A product’s hazard score is not an average of the ingredients’ hazard scores. It is calculated using a weight-of-evidence approach that factors in all of the hazards or health impacts associated with the ingredients.

Data availability

The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.

NONE LIMITED FAIR GOOD ROBUST
Low Availability
Moderate Availability
High Availability
NONE

Ingredients have not been assessed.

LIMITED-FAIR

There is only a modest volume of research.

GOOD-ROBUST

Ingredients have been studied extensively.

Can’t find your product?

Enter the ingredients in EWG’s Build Your Own Report tool to get an approximate score for that product.

BUILD YOUR OWN REPORT

News & updates

Big Market for Black Cosmetics, but Less-Hazardous Choices Limited
RESEARCH
Big Market for Black Cosmetics, but Less-Hazardous Choices Limited
K-Beauty Trends: Serums, Essences and EWG’s Best Bets
RESEARCH
K-Beauty Trends: Serums, Essences and EWG’s Best Bets
FDA Asks Women To Protect Themselves From Products The Agency Refused To Ban
NEWS RELEASE
FDA Asks Women To Protect Themselves From Products The Agency Refused To Ban
Study Highlights Importance of Cosmetics Ingredient Safety Tests
NEWS RELEASE
Study Highlights Importance of Cosmetics Ingredient Safety Tests
READ ALL ARTICLES

EWG VERIFIED™
Holiday Gift Set

Get Yours with a Donation of $125

ORDER NOW