The key difference between cocoa butter and shea butter is that cocoa butter is made from cocoa beans, while shea butter is made from the nuts of a shea tree.
Cocoa butter and shea butter are plant-based fats used to moisturize dry skin. They are ingredients of popular skin care products. These butters provide long-lasting moisture to the skin.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Cocoa Butter
3. What is Shea Butter
4. Similarities – Cocoa Butter and Shea Butter
5. Cocoa Butter vs. Shea Butter in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Cocoa Butter vs. Shea Butter
What is Cocoa Butter?
Cocoa butter comes from a tree called Theobroma cacao L. This tree is usually found in the tropical regions of Central and South America. Cocoa butter is the remaining part when cocoa powder is separated from the cocoa bean. Cocoa butter primarily consists of high saturated fat content. The fats in cocoa butter are oleic acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid. Cocoa butter normally has a distinct smell similar to chocolate. Cocoa butter is also firm in texture and does not melt at room temperature.
Figure 01: Cocoa Butter
The fats in the cocoa butter provide an excellent moisturizing effect to the skin. These fats also help replenish the lipids of skin stratum corneum. Furthermore, cocoa butter contains a compound called cocoa mass polyphenol (CMP), which may help protect the skin from premature damage and aging.
What is Shea Butter?
Shea butter comes from an African shea tree called Vitellaria paradoxa. The texture of shea butter is soft and has a spreadable consistency. It has a mild scent, often described as a nutty scent. Shea butter is also high in saturated fatty acids. The fats in the shea tree are oleic acid, stearic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid, and arachidic acid. Moreover, shea butter has significant levels of vitamins E and A. These vitamins add antioxidant properties to shea butter.
Figure 02: Shea Butter
Furthermore, shea butter has properties such as moisturizing the skin, reducing inflammation, acting as an antioxidant, alleviating skin redness caused by sunburn, promoting collagen production, and minimizing collagen loss.
What are the Similarities Between Cocoa Butter and Shea Butter?
- Cocoa butter and shea butter are plant-based fats used to moisturize dry skin.
- They can be used against conditions such as atopic dermatitis.
- They blend nicely into skin care products.
- These butters have a high saturated fatty acid content.
- Both butters are better than mineral oil.
What is the Difference Between Cocoa Butter and Shea Butter?
Cocoa butter is made from cocoa beans, while shea butter is made from shea nuts. Thus, this is the key difference between cocoa butter and shea butter. Furthermore, cocoa butter is less preferred in skin care products, whereas shea butter is more preferred in skin care products.
Below is a summary of the difference between cocoa butter and shea butter in tabular form for a side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Cocoa Butter vs. Shea Butter
Cocoa butter and shea butter are plant-based fats used to moisturize dry skin. Both these butters can soften and heal dry or damaged skin. They are used in various products, such as skin care products, body creams, massage creams, lip balms, soap, body washes, and hair products. However, cocoa butter comes from a Central and South American tree called Theobroma cacao L. Meanwhile, shea butter comes from an African tree called Vitellaria paradoxa. Moreover, cocoa butter is less preferred compared to shea butter when it comes to skin products. So, this summarizes the difference between cocoa butter and shea butter.
Reference:
1. Watson, Stephanie. “Cocoa Butter: Benefits, Uses, and More.” Healthline, Healthline Media.
2. “Shea Butter: Overview, Uses, Side Effects, Precautions, Interactions, Dosing and Reviews.” WebMD.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Cocoa Butter (8612673294)” By Veganbaking.net from USA – Cocoa Butter (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “100% Natural African Shea Butter” By daveynin (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr