Unrefined Mafura Butter - Natural Moisturiser for Hair and Skin

Mafura butter is luxuriously creamy with a gorgeous caramel hue and subtle nutty undertones that make it a pleasure to use.

Sourced from the mafura tree (locally known as miti-mai), a large evergreen native to Tanzania, this remarkable butter comes from wild-harvested seeds. The tree, which belongs to the meliaceae family and can grow up to 30 metres high, has been valued for generations for its nourishing properties.

Why Mafura Butter?

• Highly nourishing for skin and scalp
• Contains 1% myristic acid to soothe and calm
• Easily absorbed without greasiness
• Wonderful for face, body and lip care
• Melts at 20°C for effortless application

Blends beautifully with unrefined cocoa butter for enhanced richness.

How to use

For hair: Warm a small amount between your palms and work through damp hair, focusing on the ends. Leave for 20-30 minutes before washing, or use as an overnight treatment.

For skin: Apply directly to dry areas - elbows, knees, heels - or blend into your favourite body butter recipe.

For formulations: Perfect for lip balms, handcrafted soaps, rich creams, and luxurious body butters. Its creamy texture melts at body temperature.

Ingredient information

INCI: Trichilia Emetica (Mafura) Seed Butter

Fatty Acid Profile

• Oleic acid (Omega-9): 40-50%
• Linoleic acid (Omega-6): 30-40%
• Palmitic acid: 10-15%
• Stearic acid: 5-10%
• Other fatty acids: trace amounts

Key Properties

• Melting point: 20°C (melts easily for effortless application)
• Texture: Creamy, soft butter that absorbs readily
• Colour: Natural golden to pale yellow (unrefined)
• Shelf life: 12-24 months when stored properly
• Comedogenic rating: 2-3 (low to moderate, generally non-pore-clogging)
• Saponification value: 180-200 (for soap making)
• Naturally contains: Vitamins A, E, and F; antioxidants; phytosterols

Traditional Uses

• Moisturising dry skin and hair
• Soothing inflammation and minor skin irritations
• Supporting skin elasticity and repair
• Traditional antimicrobial applications in African medicine

Origin and sourcing

Our unrefined mafura butter is sustainably sourced from small-scale producers in Tanzania who harvest the seeds of the cape mahogany tree. We partner with trusted suppliers who work directly with these communities to ensure fair pay and support traditional harvesting methods that protect the trees and the land. Each batch is cold-pressed to retain its natural golden colour and nutrient profile - nothing added, nothing taken away.

Your purchase directly supports the women in Tanzania who collect and process these wild seeds, generating vital income for their communities whilst preserving traditional knowledge.

Common questions

Does mafura butter have a scent?
Yes, unrefined mafura has a mild, earthy, nutty aroma that fades once applied.

Will it clog pores?
Mafura butter is considered non-comedogenic and absorbs well, making it suitable for most skin types.

How should I store it?
Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. It will soften in warm temperatures and firm up when cool.

Unless otherwise stated, our exotic butters are natural and unrefined.

NATURAL + UNREFINED:  We work directly with cooperatives and artisanal producers who process our range of pure natural raw butters without the use of chemicals.  Some of these are organic in nature and filtered for use retaining the natural characteristic scent and quality. 

We sell our range of exotic butters by weight. Since most of these butters are not re-melted for sale, we use slightly bigger jars.

UNDERSTANDING BUTTERS: Most butters and oils are made up of two components - olein (liquid) and stearin (stearic). This is why some butters easily melt depending on the amount of olein and some solidify under colder temperatures depending on the amount of stearin. This does not affect the product in anyway.

Butters are mainly naturally occurring. However, there are new butters emerging within the cosmetic industry due to market trends. These butters are vegetable oils which are hydrogenated. Hydrogenation yields a saturated butter and these include but not limited to Almond butter, Avocado butter, Coffee butter, Hemp butter, Macadamia butter, Olive butter, Ricebran butter, ..... the list goes on

Naturally occurring butter on the other hand are normally pressed from seeds and do not go through any hydrogenation:
Cocoa, Cupuaçu, Kombo, Mango, Murumuru, Shea, etc.
These are all solid at room temperature depending on both the palmitic and stearic acid content and need heat to melt.

Cocoa butter has 33% stearic and 25% palmitic acid compared to shea butter with 40% stearic and 4% palmitic acid. Looking at these two profiles, cocoa butter is more of a solid butter than shea which makes the latter more easy to apply.  However, due to the high stearic content of shea, the butter becomes quite solid in very cold temperatures.

Unlike most butters, the texture of shea changes during the year.  Much softer in summer and much harder in winter. This does not affect the natural properties of the butter.

INCI : Trichilia Emetica
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN : TANZANIA

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