Illipe butter: characteristics, uses and benefits

Illipe butter has wide functions in the cosmetic field. It is also used in medicine to treat skin conditions.

Last update: 08 October, 2022

Illipe butter may not be as popular as cocoa or shea butter, but it also contains skin-renewing properties. Its use in cosmetics is due to its advantages as an ingredient, so it would not be bad to integrate it into your beauty routine.

To this vegetable fat —abundant in stearic, oleic and linoleic acids— they attribute emollient and nourishing particularities to it. It is common to find it as a component of sunscreens and as a long-lasting moisturizer. In addition, it is recommended for mature skin and damaged hair. Do you dare to try it?

What is illipe butter and what are its characteristics?

Illipe butter comes from the seeds that sprout from the species shorea stenoptera, described in the “Useful Tropical Plants” database as a tree with a dense crown, ranging from conical to hemispherical in shape, with hanging branches and a height of around 30 meters. The specimen is native to the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia.

The tree nuts provide a fat known as “Borneo tallow”, “tangkawang» or “illipe”. When this fruit falls from the branches, it is washed in streams and dried in the sun; in this way, they ready it to extract the butter.

In general, the seeds become brittle in high temperatures, which helps to crack the shell to extract and crush the content. The process continues in a press, in which the paste is obtained for later recipes.

the butter of shore —as they are also often called—it is greenish in tone when it is not refined; after this phase it is light brown or white, depending on the subject to bleaching. Its smell is mild and the consistency is creamy. It emulsifies easily, which simplifies its use in formulas for facial and hair care.

Illipe butter is abundant in fatty acids and antioxidants. Hence its benefits for skin care.


Benefits of illipe butter

The International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (Inci Beauty) details that the functions of illipe include acting as an emollient, softener and conditioning agent. Let’s look at other benefits.

  • It is considered the most nutritious butter among their peers.
  • Adds properties for skin elasticity and flexibility.
  • It is a moisturizing par excellence. so it is recommended to restore dry skin and dull hair.
  • Protects hair from static and the mistreatment caused by external agents. In the case of curly hair, it favors waves and malleability.

More than 95% of illipe butter is a fusion of lipids.

Illipe Fat Uses

The illipe has edible, medicinal and cosmetic uses. As a vegetable fat, it can be incorporated into the manufacture of chocolate, it replaces cocoa butter up to a maximum of 5%.

Its medical and cosmetic use is based on the quality it has to be absorbed by the skin. In addition, it is suitable for the preparation of oils, polishes, candles and other substances with multiple benefits.

capillary improvement

Illipe’s effects on hair are probably its most notable goodness. To be more precise, offers intensive hydration to damaged hair for the Sun, by knots, by chemicals and in brittle hair.

This vegetable is abundant in fatty acids and antioxidants that penetrate the hair fiber and improve the shaft and the health of the scalp. In addition, its continued use restores the elasticity of the hair due to the content of linoleic acid, recommended for healthy and resistant hair.

Mix a little of the butter with a mask or with the conditioner and you will see how it improves the appearance of the hair. Apply the preparation once a week, leave it to act for at least 5 minutes and rinse with water.

lip treatment

Illipe butter works on its own as a lip balm and as a remedy for healing ulcers and mouth sores. Similarly, the additive is found in the composition of lipsticks and glosses with or without color. In lip cosmetics, walnuts Shorea They have a moisturizing quality.

soap making

In concentrations ranging between 4% and 8%, illipe is used to create soaps. The bars of this plant material are listed as suggestions for cases of dry skin; If there is any extra skin condition, it is appropriate to consult a dermatologist before using these products.

Illipe butter is used to prepare moisturizing soaps. It is recommended for dry and sensitive skin.

lotions ingredient

The density of illipe for creams and lotions ranges from 3% to 5% of the total formula. This class of cosmetics favors the restoration and elasticity of skin cells. The seed additive Shorea remarkably enriches body substances, since reinforces the lipid barrier and locks in moisture.



Illipe butter versus other vegetable fats

Vegetable shortenings have qualities that make them unique and special depending on the purpose for which you need them. Among other merits, shea butter is good for exfoliating, preventing stretch marks and protecting from the sun; cocoa represents a direct transport of active ingredients into the skin, as it reduces irritation and dryness.

As for the illipe —although it is not as famous—stars in the composition of numerous cosmetics for sensitive skin and for hair care. Do not miss the opportunity to try this generous product.

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