Can You Use Shea Butter on Your Face? A Guide by Skin Type (Including Oily)

Yes, you can use shea butter on your face, including oily and acne-prone skin, if you use the right amount. Shea is rated 0 to 2 on the comedogenic scale, which puts it among the least pore-clogging plant fats; the breakouts people blame on it usually come from using too much, or from cocoa butter and coconut oil, which are rated around 4. Here is how to use it by skin type, and when to use a cream instead of the pure butter.

The rule: a rice grain, on damp skin, at night

Pure shea is a rich occlusive. On the face it should be the last, thinnest step: a rice-grain amount warmed between two fingertips and pressed into damp skin after cleansing or after a serum. Applied that way it seals in water without a film. Applied like a body butter, it sits on the surface, and that is the version people describe as greasy.

By skin type

• Dry or mature: nightly, and a smaller amount in the morning under sunscreen. Shea's stearic acid slows overnight water loss; its oleic acid softens. The unrefined butter's sterols and vitamin E are the reason it appears in face creams for the appearance of fine lines.
• Normal or combination: nightly on the cheeks and around the eyes; skip the T-zone or use a face cream instead of the pure butter.
• Oily or acne-prone: a rice grain at night, three nights a week to start, on cheeks only. Many oily-skinned customers find shea calms the tightness that comes from over-cleansing without adding shine. If you break out, stop and switch to a lighter shea face cream.
• Sensitive or eczema-prone: unscented, unrefined shea; patch-test behind the ear for three nights first. The reasoning is in shea butter for eczema-prone skin.

Pure butter or face cream?

Pure Whipped Shea Just Shea is one ingredient, unscented, and the most economical. A face cream such as our Face & Under Eye Cream blends shea with lighter oils and essential oils for a faster-absorbing daytime feel. Rule of thumb: pure butter at night, cream by day.

With serums

Serums first, on damp skin; shea last to seal them in. This is how a hyaluronic serum works in a dry climate: it draws water in, and the shea keeps it there. A vitamin C serum goes on in the morning, then a small amount of cream, then sunscreen.

What shea does not do on the face

It is not a sunscreen and gives no meaningful sun protection. It does not treat acne, rosacea or any condition. It improves the look and feel of dry skin and the appearance of fine lines, which is what a cosmetic can honestly claim.

Frequently asked

Does shea butter clog pores on the face?

It is rated 0 to 2 on the comedogenic scale, among the lowest of the plant butters. Used in a rice-grain amount on damp skin it rarely causes breakouts; used thickly, any occlusive can.

Can I use shea butter on my face every night?

Dry and normal skin, yes. Oily skin, start three nights a week on the cheeks and adjust.

Should I use shea butter before or after moisturizer?

After serums and water-based moisturizers, as the last step, because it is an occlusive that seals in what is underneath.