Shea butter
Vitellaria paradoxa
Seeds & Grains. African.
Also called Shea, Karite, Shea nut butter
Shea butter is a fat pressed or boiled out of the nuts of the shea tree, which grows across the African savanna. It is used in cooking and as a butter for skin and hair.
Did you know? Refined shea fat is used in some chocolate and candy as a partial stand-in for cocoa butter.
What it may help, and how strong the proof is
- Skin. One small randomized trial in older adults found shea butter improved dry skin more than petroleum jelly over four weeks. Larger, longer trials are needed.See the research: 7 studies in peoplePromising proof
- Wounds, burns & bites. Used on cuts, burns and skin irritation in traditional medicine. No good human trials exist.See the research: 2 studies in peopleTraditional proof
- Joint pain & arthritis. Rubbed on aching joints and muscles in folk massage. It has not been tested well in people.See the research: 2 studies in peopleTraditional proof
Parts of the body
Traditional use
Across West Africa, women have gathered the nuts and made the butter by hand for generations. It is used for cooking, to protect skin and hair from sun and dry air, and rubbed on sore joints and muscles.
How it is classified
- Herbal actions
- Nutritive, Vulnerary, Anti-inflammatory. Energy: neutral.
How people take it
Usually rubbed on skin or hair as a thick butter. In West Africa it is also a common cooking fat. Products are sold as raw (unrefined) or refined butter.
Food, topical and oil.
Where to get it
Comes from the nuts of the shea tree, which grows wild across the savanna belt from West Africa east to Uganda. Most butter is made in West Africa. It is sold as raw butter, in lotions, soaps and lip balms, and as refined food fat.
Be careful
Shea is not a true tree nut, but people with nut allergies should test a small patch of skin first. Rare skin reactions are reported. Food amounts are fine for most people, including in pregnancy, but studies on larger amounts during pregnancy are lacking.
Avoid if: tree nut allergy.
Mixing with other things
- Works well together
Both are plant fats used on dry skin and hair, and they are often blended in home balms.
- Works well together
Often blended with calendula in salves for dry, cracked skin.
The honest take
Shea butter is a real moisturizer. One small trial found it softened dry skin better than petroleum jelly, and that is about as much human evidence as exists so far. Its other uses, such as for wounds and sore joints, rest on tradition and a limited amount of lab work. Check the ingredient list to see how much shea a product really contains.
Sources
Each “See the research” link opens PubMed, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's index of medical studies, showing only trials and reviews done in people. The number tells you how much a use has been tested, not whether it worked. The proof rating tells you that.
Study counts checked October 2026.