Kpangnan Butter is a soft, bright, clear yellow powdery type of butter that melts into the skin and gives it a dry, silky feeling. It is derived from a tree from the Clusiaceae family with a height of 20 meters and with a distribution area reaching from Sierra Leone to Congo.
ICSC produces a number of exotic butters, natural oils, natural antioxidants and waxes to the cosmetics industry, and has added the Kpangnan butter to its range of products for skin and hair care applications due to its softening, lubricating and healing qualities.
Healing properties
“Kpangnan butter is obtained from the seeds of the Pentadesma butyraceae tree. Unrefined butter is light yellow in color. If the butter is carefully refined, bleached and deodorized we get a product which is off white in color and has a pleasant odor which meets the stringent requirements for cosmetic applications,” claims ICSC.
Kpangnan butter contains high proportion of stigmasterol, (59-69 percent) a plant sterol that has an anti-inflammatory effect and assists in healing skin irritations, including eczema.
It rejuvenates and protects the skin, has been used in stretch mark products, speeds the healing of minor burns, and protects from wind and sun damage to the skin.
Whilst being headquartered in Denmark, ICSC has a vast distribution network in the US, its primary target, given that the US has been exposed to Kpangnan butter for some time.
Confusion
It can often be confused with Shea butter, though the two come from a completely different tree and are grown in very different regions, as well as climates.
Kpangnan Butter is easier to find than Shea Butter and is often reproduced quicker. Because of Shea Butter’s rarity Kpangnan Butter is sold at a lower cost.
Kpangnan Butter’s non saponifiable value is also not as high as unrefined Shea Butter. Both are good for the skin, however, Shea Butter is better for the hair.
The consistency of the two are different too, as Shea is a bit harder than Kpangnan and upon application leaves a bit of shine while absorbing into the skin.