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PEG-50 Shea Butter consists primarily of the glycerides of the fatty acids linoleic, oleic, stearic and palmitic.
PEG-50 Shea Butter which is a polyethylene glycol derivative with an average of 50 moles of Ethylene Oxide.
PEG-50 Shea Butter is water soluble whole Shea butter made by a special patented process.
CAS Number: 194043-92-0
Synonyms: BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA BUTTER), Fats and Glyceridic oils, shea butter, BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA BUTTER LIQUID), SHEA BUTTER BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII, Shea Butter Organic Certified, Shea Butter Powder, Shea Butter SB-I, Shea Liquid, Shea Liquid - Lo Freeze
PEG-50 Shea Butter is a polyethylene glycol-modified derivative of natural shea butter, where the shea butter fatty acids and triglycerides have been chemically reacted with approximately 50 units of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to produce a water-dispersible, hydrophilic, and emulsifiable ingredient suitable for use in a wide range of cosmetic and personal care formulations.
Unlike unmodified shea butter, which is lipophilic and primarily soluble in oils, PEG-50 Shea Butter exhibits amphiphilic properties, allowing it to interact with both aqueous and lipid phases.
This modification not only enhances its solubility in water-based systems but also improves its spreadability, emollience, and ability to form stable emulsions, which is particularly valuable in creams, lotions, and other topical formulations.
PEG-50 Shea Butter is a polyethylene glycol derivative of shea butter that combines the nourishing benefits of natural shea butter with the solubility and emulsifying properties of polyethylene glycol (PEG), making it highly versatile in formulations.
PEG-50 Shea Butter offers moisturizing, emollient, and conditioning effects while being easier to formulate into water-based products compared to raw shea butter.
Its ability to mix with both oil and water enhances the stability and texture of cosmetic products.
In its raw form, PEG-50 Shea Butter appears as a white to off-white paste or semi-solid with a creamy, smooth texture.
PEG-50 Shea Butter has a gentle nature that makes it suitable for a wide range of skin types.
PEG-50 Shea Butter is a glycerol ethoxylated mono, diglyceride of Shea butter taken from the nut of the Shea tree (Butyrospermum parkii).
PEG-50 Shea Butter is a water dispersible, non-ionic surfactant.
It contributes shea functionality to a wide variety of formulations.
PEG-50 Shea Butter has an HLB of 16 – 18 when used as an emulsifier.
Extractives and their physically modified derivatives.
This process maintains the well-known attributes of Shea Butter.
PEG-50 Shea Butter can be easily formulated into water-based products, such as shampoos, conditioners, creams, lotions and other products.
PEG-50 Shea Butter 50% is a complete mix of ethoxylated shea glycerides which enables mild formulations andreduces the potential for irritation typically associated with surfactant based products.
PEG-50 Shea Butter The Herbarie acts as an emollient.
PEG-50 Shea Butter is derived from vegetables and offers conditioning benefits.
PEG-50 Shea Butter finds application in formulating water-based products such as shampoos, conditioners, body washes, facial cleansers, creams and lotions.
PEG-50 Shea Butter is widely used in the cosmetic and personal care industries as a moisturizer, emollient, surfactant, and emulsifying agent, enabling formulators to create homogeneous oil-in-water emulsions with improved sensory properties, ease of application, and long-term stability.
Its chemical structure also allows it to function as a carrier for active ingredients, facilitating the delivery of vitamins, botanical extracts, and other bioactive compounds into the skin.
Additionally, PEG-50 Shea Butter is considered non-irritating and generally well-tolerated, making it suitable for a wide range of skin types, including sensitive and dry skin.
In summary, PEG-50 shea butter is a water-dispersible, polyethylene glycol-modified form of natural shea butter that combines the nourishing and emollient benefits of shea butter with the enhanced solubility, emulsifying capacity, and formulation versatility provided by PEG modification, making it a highly valuable ingredient in modern cosmetic and personal care products, particularly those requiring stable oil-in-water emulsions, improved skin feel, and enhanced delivery of active compounds.
PEG-50 Shea Butter is a chemically modified derivative of natural shea butter in which the triglycerides and fatty acids from shea butter are reacted with approximately 50 units of polyethylene glycol (PEG), producing an ingredient that retains the moisturizing, emollient, and skin-conditioning properties of shea butter while gaining enhanced hydrophilicity and water-dispersibility, which makes it exceptionally versatile in formulations that contain both water and oil phases.
This modification allows the ingredient to act as an emulsifier, co-emulsifier, and solubilizer, enabling formulators to create stable oil-in-water creams, lotions, gels, serums, and other personal care products that combine the nourishing benefits of lipids with the smooth, lightweight texture desired by consumers.
PEG-50 Shea Butter maintains the rich fatty acid profile of natural shea butter, including stearic, oleic, and linoleic acids, which contribute to softening the skin, enhancing barrier function, and maintaining long-lasting hydration, while the PEG chains improve miscibility with water-soluble ingredients, enhance formulation stability, and prevent separation of oil and water phases.
This dual functionality makes PEG-50 shea butter particularly valuable in cosmetic formulations that require both moisturizing activity and aesthetic appeal, as it imparts a non-greasy, smooth, and easily spreadable texture to creams and lotions while still delivering the nutritional and protective benefits of shea butter.
In addition to its moisturizing and emollient roles, PEG-50 shea butter can serve as a carrier for active ingredients such as vitamins, botanical extracts, antioxidants, and peptides, facilitating their even dispersion, penetration, and stability within formulations.
Its chemical stability under a wide range of temperatures and pH conditions, along with its low irritation potential, makes it suitable for sensitive skin, baby products, and high-performance skincare treatments. Moreover, PEG-50 shea butter is frequently incorporated in hair care products, such as conditioners and styling creams, where it provides smoothness, softness, and improved manageability by coating hair fibers with a thin, moisturizing layer that reduces friction and breakage.
Uses Of PEG-50 Shea Butter:
PEG-50 Shea Butter is widely used in the cosmetic, personal care, and dermatological industries due to its unique combination of moisturizing, emollient, and emulsifying properties, which make it exceptionally versatile in formulations that contain both aqueous and lipid components.
In skincare products, it is commonly incorporated as a primary emollient and skin-conditioning agent, where its amphiphilic nature allows it to penetrate the outer layers of the skin while forming a protective, hydrating barrier, improving skin softness, elasticity, and moisture retention.
PEG-50 Shea Butter is especially valuable in oil-in-water creams, lotions, serums, and gels, where it acts as an emulsifier or co-emulsifier, maintaining the homogeneity, stability, and texture of the product over time, preventing separation of oil and water phases, and enhancing spreadability and sensory appeal.
Beyond its emollient and moisturizing roles, PEG-50 Shea Butter serves as a carrier for active ingredients such as vitamins, botanical extracts, peptides, and antioxidants, facilitating their even dispersion and improved delivery into the skin.
This makes it particularly useful in anti-aging creams, brightening serums, and therapeutic skin formulations, where uniform distribution of active compounds is essential for efficacy.
In addition, its stability across a range of pH and temperature conditions allows it to be incorporated into products for sensitive skin, baby care, or high-performance dermatological treatments, without compromising either skin compatibility or product shelf life.
In hair care formulations, PEG-50 Shea Butter acts as a conditioning agent, where it coats hair fibers, providing softness, smoothness, and improved manageability while reducing frizz, static, and breakage.
Its emollient properties also help restore moisture to dry or damaged hair, making it a key ingredient in conditioners, leave-in treatments, styling creams, and hair masks.
Furthermore, PEG-50 Shea Butter can improve the aesthetic quality of personal care products, imparting a silky, non-greasy texture that enhances user experience while still delivering the functional benefits of natural shea butter.
PEG-50 Shea Butter is a highly versatile ingredient that functions as a moisturizer, emollient, emulsifier, co-emulsifier, and carrier for active compounds, making it ideal for a broad range of skin care, hair care, cosmetic, and dermatological formulations, particularly those requiring stable emulsions, improved texture, enhanced delivery of bioactive ingredients, and superior skin or hair conditioning performance.
PEG-50 Shea Butter is a multi-functional ingredient that is extensively employed in modern cosmetic and personal care formulations because it combines the nourishing and protective qualities of natural shea butter with the water-dispersible, emulsifying, and texture-enhancing properties conferred by polyethylene glycol modification, which allows formulators to design products with both high performance and consumer appeal.
In skincare, it is widely used as a primary moisturizer and emollient, where it helps to restore skin hydration, reinforce the skin barrier, and maintain long-lasting softness, making it suitable for dry, sensitive, or mature skin types.
Its ability to form stable oil-in-water emulsions also allows it to improve the viscosity, consistency, and overall texture of creams, lotions, and gels, ensuring that the product spreads evenly on the skin without leaving a greasy residue, which is particularly important in lightweight facial serums, body lotions, and anti-aging formulations.
PEG-50 Shea Butter is also employed as a functional carrier for active ingredients such as vitamins (A, E, and D), botanical extracts, peptides, antioxidants, and other bioactive compounds, helping to disperse them uniformly within formulations and enhance their delivery to the skin or hair, which increases the effectiveness and stability of the product over time.
In hair care, it functions as a conditioning and protective agent, coating hair fibers to improve manageability, reduce frizz and static, increase shine, and enhance softness, making it a key ingredient in conditioners, leave-in treatments, styling products, and hair masks.
Its amphiphilic structure allows it to blend seamlessly with both water- and oil-soluble ingredients, enabling the formulation of complex, high-performance personal care products that maintain stability, texture, and efficacy during storage and use.
Additionally, PEG-50 Shea Butter is valued for its compatibility with sensitive or delicate skin, as it is generally non-irritating and mild, making it suitable for baby care products, post-procedure dermatological creams, and hypoallergenic formulations, while still delivering emollience, hydration, and protection.
Its chemical stability under varying temperatures and pH levels ensures that formulations remain uniform and functional over extended periods, which is crucial for retail products, spa treatments, and clinical skin care lines.
PEG-50 Shea Butter is also increasingly used in cosmetic products designed for enhanced sensory experience, as it imparts a silky, smooth feel, improves spreadability, and reduces tackiness or greasiness, contributing to consumer satisfaction and perceived product quality.
Safety Profile Of PEG-50 Shea Butter:
PEG-50 Shea Butter is non-irritating, non-sensitizing, and generally well-tolerated by all skin types, including sensitive skin.
However, in industrial or laboratory settings, direct contact with the concentrated ingredient may cause mild skin or eye irritation, particularly in individuals with pre-existing skin conditions or sensitivities.
Inhalation of powder during manufacturing or handling of PEG-50 Shea Butter in its powdered form (if not pre-dispersed in liquid) could potentially cause respiratory irritation, although this is uncommon because the ingredient is typically supplied as a liquid or semi-solid suitable for direct incorporation into formulations.
Overall, the systemic toxicity of PEG-50 Shea Butter is extremely low, as it is derived from naturally occurring fatty acids and polyethylene glycol, both of which have long histories of safe use in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
PEG-50 Shea Butter is biodegradable and considered environmentally friendly, posing minimal risk to aquatic life or soil ecosystems under normal usage conditions.
Large-scale industrial disposal of concentrated material should still follow standard waste management protocols to prevent localized environmental impact, such as minor oxygen depletion in water due to the biodegradation process.
