Allanblackia : Organic Unrefined Butter

Allanblackia butter is a solid edible vegetable butter extracted from the seeds of the Allanblackia tree, which grows in the rainforest belt of East and West Africa. The seeds yield approximately 50% oil which, due to its high stearic acid content, quickly solidifies into butter with a melting point of 42°C.

Low in protein, it is an excellent substitute for cocoa butter or kokum butter. It has a high percentage of stearic acid making it one of the most stable and hardest exotic butters available. With an oleic acid content of around 40%, it moisturises the skin and conditions the hair without a greasy feel, and works well in soaps, lip balms and hair products.

Key Properties

• Organic
• Low in protein
• Food grade
• Plant based
• Conditioning
• Non-greasy
• No artificial colours
• No additives

INCI Name: Allanblackia floribunda 

Country of Origin: Tanzania

How to Use

Warm a small amount between your palms until it softens, then apply directly to the skin or hair as needed. Use it as a targeted moisturiser on dry areas such as elbows, knees, heels and lips, or blend it into your existing body butter or lotion recipe. For hair, apply a small amount to the lengths and ends as a sealant or conditioning treatment. For formulation use, melt gently using a bain-marie and incorporate into balms, body butters, hair pomades or solid bars.

Common Questions

Is Allanblackia butter suitable for sensitive skin? Yes. It is low in protein and generally well-tolerated by sensitive skin. As with any new ingredient, we recommend doing a patch test before applying it to a larger area.

Can I use it on my hair? Yes. It works well as a sealant or conditioning treatment, particularly on natural, coily and textured hair. Apply a small amount to the lengths and ends to help lock in moisture and add softness.

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.

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