Database/Cleansing/Sodium Shea Butterate
100% natural origin · ISO 16128

Is Sodium Shea Butterate natural?

Yes. Shea butter fatty acids are saponified to their sodium salt; both the fatty acid and mineral sodium are natural feedstocks.

INCI nameSodium Shea Butterate
FunctionCleansing · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockMade by saponifying Butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter fatty…

How we scored it

Sodium salt of shea butter fatty acids (saponification); fatty acid and mineral sodium, both natural = 1.0.
What counts. ISO 16128-2 scores the atoms that remain in the final ingredient. Reagents, solvents, catalysts and protecting groups used during manufacture leave no mass behind and are not counted.

Where it comes from

Made by saponifying Butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter fatty acids with sodium hydroxide. No synthetic alternative route is used commercially for this soap-type surfactant.

In plain English

A cleansing ingredient made by turning shea butter's fatty acids into a soap-like sodium salt. It comes from the nuts of the shea tree, grown mainly in West Africa.

CosIng definition: Sodium Shea Butterate is the sodium salt of the fatty acids derived from Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter.

References

  1. 1ISO 16128-1:2016 and ISO 16128-2:2017 — Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products. ISO, Geneva.
  2. 2SODIUM SHEA BUTTERATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3SODIUM SHEA BUTTERATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=SODIUM%20SHEA%20BUTTERATE