Résumé : |
It is important in the first instance to understand that the focus of this article is on what we classify as ‘true’, ‘authentic’ or ‘unadulterated’ butters in the personal care market.
Such a butter may simply be defined as “the fat obtained from the fruit, nut or seed from a specific botanical source”. Further to this, it is recognised that a butter will be of a waxy solid or semisolid state at a temperature range of 20°C – 30°C. While butters are significant to the food industry, cocoa and shea being two key raw materials for confectionary, we can equally identify with both as having major importance within the personal care market. That said, butter demand continues to grow but more-so outside of these two historic core materials. What were historically recognised as the base ingredient, or an important component, in many personal care products on which a formulation was focused, butters in the personal care evolution have taken an exotic route through authenticity. Listing Cocoa, Mango or Shea, for example, on the product portfolio, when presented to formulators, now extends to such product names as Cupuaçu, Murumuru and Ucuuba. Multi-functional as they are, the everdeveloping world and increasingly consumer-led demand means formulators are keen to explore the growing number of commercially available butters now present in the market for a variety of skin, lip and hair care applications. |