For many years, cocoa butter has played a major role in the ethnic skin care market. Derived from cocoa beans in tropical regions, it has been used in topicals for moisturization, stretch marks, scars, fade creams, and more. In recent years, shea butter has also become prominent in emollient creams and lotions. Cocoa butter, shea butter, mango seed butter, and cupuacu butter are all found as ingredients in many products.

So which butter is better for your patients? The answer is not a simple one, but here are some fun facts and the latest research about each option.

Cocoa butter

Cocoa butter – also called theobroma oil – is a pale yellow, pure, edible vegetable fat extracted from the cocoa bean. It is used to make chocolate and baked goods, and it is also used in topical preparations, including moisturizers and striae creams.

Cocoa butter is currently available in many skin care brands, but Palmer's is one of the most well-known brands of topical cocoa butter preparations on the market. The brand has been family-owned since the mid-19th century and under current ownership since 1971.

Ex vivo studies demonstrate that cocoa polyphenols improve skin elasticity and skin tone, namely, glycosaminoglycans and collagen I, III, and IV (Int. J. Cosmet. Sci. 2008;30:339-45).

However, one study that examined comedogenicity of ingredients and vehicles in cosmetics, found cocoa butter to be comedogenic in external rabbit ear canals (Cutan. Ocul. Toxicol. 2007;26:287-92).

A randomized, double-blind placebo controlled trial of 300 pregnant Afro-Caribbean women in Jamaica found that cocoa butter cream did not prevent striae gravidarum. This study found that development of striae was related to the young age of the mother and large neonates (Int. J. Gynaecol. Obstet. 2010;108:65-8).

And another randomized placebo controlled trial of 210 nulliparous women in Lebanon also found that topical application of cocoa butter cream did not decrease the likelihood of striae gravidarum, compared with placebo (BJOG 2008;115:1138-42).

Ingestion of cocoa butter in the forms of baked goods or chocolate has some antioxidant value because of the high levels of polyphenols. Oral consumption of cocoa also has anecdotal antimalarial effects through increased availability of antioxidants in plasma, membrane effects in general and erythrocyte membrane in particular, increased plasma levels of nitric oxide, antimalarial activity of cocoa flavanoids and their derivatives, and boosted immune system mediated by components of cocoa, including cocoa butter, polyphenols, magnesium, and zinc.

Shea butter

Shea butter is a slightly yellowish or ivory-colored fat extracted from the nut of the African shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa). It has been used traditionally throughout Africa as a moisturizer; it has also been used in combination with coconut oil, palm oil, and gobi oil as a natural mosquito repellant (one that also protects against onchocerciasis).

In Africa, shea butter is used as cooking oil, as a waterproofing wax, for hairdressing, for candle-making, and as an ingredient in medicinal ointments. It is also used by makers of traditional African percussion instruments to increase the durability of wood.

Shea butter has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects in studies through inhibition of iNOS, COX-2, and cytokines via the Nf-κB pathway in LPS-activated J774 macrophage cells (J. Complement. Integr. Med. 2012;9:Article 4).

Like cocoa butter, shea butter contains polyphenols. It also contains exceptionally high levels of triterpenes, indicating that shea nuts and shea fat constitute a significant source of anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor promoting compounds (J. Oleo. Sci. 2010;59:273-80).

Shea butter also contains no IgE-binding soluble proteins, making it of low allergenic potential (J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 2011;127:680-2).

Mango seed butter

Mango seed butter's solid content profile is very similar to that of cocoa butterexcept it is softer (Bioresour. Technol. 2004;92:71-8). It is rich in beta carotene, essential fatty acids, and vitamins A and E. It is also used in skin creams, but not much has been published about mango seed butter in peer-reviewed journals.

Cupuacu butter

Cupuaçu (Theobroma grandiflorum) is a tropical rainforest tree related to cacao. Common throughout the Amazon basin, it is widely cultivated in the jungles of Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, and in northern Brazil. Some skin care brands, particularly in Brazil, use cupuaçu butter in topical emollient creams.

It has been shown to contain high concentrations of polyphenolic antioxidants, but less caffeine than its cocoa counterpart.

Activity-guided fractionation of cupuacu seeds in one study resulted in the identification of new sulfated flavonoid glycosides, theograndins I and II. In addition, nine flavonoid antioxidants were identified (J. Nat. Prod. 2003;66:1501-4). The theograndins had antioxidant effects and were weakly cytotoxic against human colon cancer cells.

No head-to-head comparative studies have been performed on these butters. Given the research to date, shea butter has a slight edge due to the sheer number of studies that show positive properties.

- Naissan Wesley, M.D.

Do you have questions about treating patients with darker skin? If so, send them to sknews@elsevier.com.

Skin of Color: Which Butter Is Better?