Botanical butter
Botanical butter is a rich, plant-derived emollient used in creams, balms and hair products to nourish and soften skin and hair. Popular examples include shea, cocoa, mango and cupuaçu butters. It gives a luxurious, creamy texture while delivering natural moisture and a protective feel.
How it works in skincare
In cosmetics and skincare, botanical butters function as occlusive agents and emollients that melt at body temperature, allowing them to spread easily and form a breathable film on the skin or hair. This helps lock in moisture, smooth rough texture and improve the overall feel and appearance of formulations such as body butters, lip balms, face creams and hair masks.
Key benefits
- Deeply moisturises dry or dehydrated skin
- Softens and conditions rough patches on elbows, knees and heels
- Helps improve skin suppleness and elasticity
- Provides a protective barrier against environmental dryness
- Adds shine and manageability to dry or frizzy hair
- Gives a rich, luxurious texture to cosmetic formulas
Best for
dry skin, very dry skin, mature skin, sensitive skin
Where it comes from
Botanical butters are obtained from the fatty portions of various plant seeds, nuts and kernels through pressing or extraction. Common sources include the nuts of the shea tree, cocoa beans, mango seeds and cupuaçu fruit kernels.
Products with Botanical butter
Not every product on UK Lips lists a full ingredient breakdown — so there may be many more formulas that contain Botanical butter than we can show here. These are the comparisons where we’ve confirmed it in the listed ingredients.