shea butter

noun \ ˈshē- , ˈshā- \

|Updated on: 23 Jul 2018

Definition of shea butter

: a pale solid fat from the seeds of the shea tree used in food, soap, and candles

Recent Examples of shea butter from the Web

From there, Omari started massaging shea butter into my face with long, careful strokes.

— rachel nussbaum, Glamour, "I Tried the Weird Mouth Massage Meghan Markle Swears By," 18 May 2018
For example, the Lush Sheer Lip Crayon, a creamy lip chubby made with coconut oil and shea butter, now comes in two additional barely there shades (Sherbet and Bordeaux), while Fig and Blossom were added to the Lip Crayon Demi Matte range.

— sarah kinonen, Allure, "Jessica Alba: Why I'm Relaunching Honest Beauty," 27 June 2018
The combinations of coconut oil, beeswax, shea butter, baking soda and arrowroot powder are mixed with essential oils and poured into plastic deodorant tubes.

— sarah hauer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "This natural deodorant made on a Wisconsin family farm sells for $7 a stick at Whole Foods," 19 June 2018
The fund is looking at other crops too, from cocoa to coconut, rice, palm oil and shea butter.

— aryn baker/sahabevava, Time, "Vanilla Is Nearly as Expensive as Silver. That Spells Trouble for Madagascar," 13 June 2018
It's packed with shea butter, agave nectar, and Madagascar vanilla extract, which, while fancy, also seem to create a super-thin seal over my lips that won't wear away after an hour or two.

— deanna pai, Glamour, "This $18 Lip Balm Is Worth Every Single Penny," 27 Apr. 2018
While shea butter mixture is melting, combine jojoba or rosehip, rose water, and aloe gel in a large glass measuring cup.

— allison young, Good Housekeeping, "How To Make A DIY Face Cream With Skin-Protecting Essential Oils," 15 Nov. 2017
This all-natural body scrub is made of sugar, softening coconut oil, shea butter, rose clay, and Moroccan rose oil, and gently reveals smoother skin while adding an intoxicating rosy coconut scent to your bath routine.

— shannon barbour, The Cut, "10 Products to Shop During Sephora’s Annual Sale," 16 Apr. 2018
Also good news: Because of Halsey’s tweet, Beekman 1802—one of the top 10 largest hotel amenity brands—just announced it's started to develop a shampoo with ingredients such as shea butter and coconut oil, specifically formulated for textured hair.

— andrea arterbery, Glamour, "For Women of Color, Hotel Shampoo Isn't Just Meh—It's Literally Unusable," 16 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shea butter.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.