Have you ever used Shea oil before? If not, you might have seen it for sale online or in the store. Though not as popular as Shea butter, it still has benefits for your skin despite the difference in texture and chemistry. But the question is, is one better than the other? If given the option, is there one that would be overall more beneficial to your skin? And what about if you make your own skincare—are there some products you should use Shea oil in instead of Shea butter? These are the questions we tackle in today’s blog; hopefully by the end you will feel more confident and clear when deciding between Shea butter and Shea oil.
The most obvious difference between Shea butter and oil is the texture; one is a butter and one is an oil. This makes it ideal to use Shea oil if you are wanting to create your own body oil blend since Shea butter is solid unless the temperature is high enough to melt it. However, if you are looking to make a body butter then Shea butter would be your best bet since Shea oil is too thin and viscous to maintain the kind of texture you’d want in a body butter or thick crème.
Shea butter and Shea oil also have a difference in their chemical composition, most notably their Stearic Acid content, which also happens to be one of the essential fatty acids responsible for Shea butter’s thick texture. Naturally, Shea butter is higher in Stearic Acid than Shea oil, while their other essential fatty acid percentages are much more similar.
Because Shea oil is a byproduct of the Shea butter making process, it is harder to come by than Shea butter and is more labor intensive. Both Shea products are good for the skin and offer very similar benefits to the skin. Just like Shea butter, Shea oil moisturizes, heals and softens the skin. However, because it is much thinner in consistency than Shea butter it does not provide the same kind of protection against the elements as Shea butter, so if you are someone who is outside a lot, especially in the cold, Shea butter would be a better option for you.
Both Shea oil and Shea butter, when minimally processed and rightly extracted, can offer the skin a host of rejuvenating benefits. Whether you want a body oil, thick butter, or protection from the biting wind and cold when you go ski, try our raw Shea butter to experience wonderful properties of Shea for yourself.