EWG Skin Deep® | What is BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA) BUTTER

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Limited

Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter

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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

● VITELLARIA PARADOXA (SHEA BUTTER)

This ingredient is not currently on EWG's Skin Deep 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

moisturizer	1299 products
lip balm	574 products
lipstick	546 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	528 products
bar soap	500 products
conditioner	485 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	354 products
exfoliant/scrub	344 products
lip gloss	319 products
hand cream	280 products
shampoo	265 products
foundation	257 products
hair treatment/serum	242 products
mask	234 products
body wash/cleanser	229 products
recreational sunscreen	225 products
concealer	206 products
hair styling aide	165 products
around-eye cream	147 products
facial cleanser	122 products
bath oil/salts/soak	114 products
baby lotion	107 products
body firming lotion	106 products
beard care	99 products
blush	91 products
liquid hand soap	90 products
daily use with SPF	82 products
serums & essences	66 products
styling gel/lotion	63 products
bronzer/highlighter	61 products
lip balm with SPF	60 products
shaving cream	57 products
lip liner	55 products
foot moisturizer	49 products
baby sunscreen	47 products
	43 products
anti-aging	41 products
eye shadow	41 products
brow liner	41 products
eye liner	39 products
makeup primer	36 products
baby soap	29 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)	29 products
diaper cream	28 products
lip plumper	27 products
mascara	27 products
shaving cream (men's)	24 products
detangler	23 products
fragrance for women	23 products
sunless tanning	23 products
damaged skin treatment	22 products
baby shampoo	21 products
hair color and bleaching	20 products
after sun product	19 products
after shave	18 products
muscle/joint soreness	15 products
bubble bath	13 products
body oil	13 products
makeup remover	12 products
hand sanitizer	12 products
hair spray	9 products
baby bubble bath	9 products
styling mousse/foam	9 products
cuticle treatment	8 products
nail treatment	7 products
CC cream	7 products
beard oil	7 products
foot cleansing	6 products
skin fading/lightener	6 products
hair relaxer	6 products
baby oil	5 products
toners/astringents	5 products
setting powder/spray	5 products
beard cleanser	4 products
facial powder	3 products
BB cream	3 products
glitter	3 products
foot odor control	3 products
depilatory	2 products
nail polish	2 products
tanning oil	2 products
baby wipes	1 products
mouthwash	1 products
body spray	1 products
toothpaste	1 products
facial cleansing wipes	1 products

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Data gaps

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 product	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
54 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

Informational

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - any	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxin	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful	Environment 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.

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