Have you heard of murumuru butter? I recently heard of it this past winter when searching for rich, hydrating ingredients for skin creams, but outside of that personal quest, I was surprised to see how many products it’s actually in! Despite not having heard of it, murumuru butter can be found in more everyday products than you may realize, including:

• Shampoos
• Conditioners
• Creams
• Soaps
• Lipsticks
• Deodorants

Now that you’re aware of how common it is, you may be asking yourself, “ok fine, but Julia, what is murumuru butter?” Well, I’m happy you asked! I’ve rounded up all the information you need to know about murumuru butter; so, read on to discover the beauty of this exotic ingredient.

What is murumuru butter & why is it used?

Murumuru butter is derived from the murumuru nuts that fall from tall palms, native to the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest. The butter itself is made from the fruit fat found within the murumuru nut.

As you can imagine, the murumuru butter is rich in fatty acids: Omega-3, Omega-6, and Lauric acid (another fatty acid). Why is this important? Fatty acids do wonders for our skin, hair, and nails – hence why you’re seeing this ingredient in more places than you expected 🙂

There are quite a few benefits to using murumuru butter:

• Natural anti-inflammatory properties – this means it is great for soothing sensitive or irritated skin, hello after-shave skin soother!
• Helps to seal in moisture without leaving a greasy residue – this is largely due to its waxy consistency. It’s often used in skincare products such as lotions, body butters and lip balms for this exact reason.
• A perfect choice when treating dry or damaged hair – this is thanks to its ability to seal in your hair’s natural moisture and add a natural shine. Try a pea-sized amount on damp hair. If that’s too heavy for your texture, try an even smaller amount, rub between your hands and apply it just to the ends of dry / towel-dried hair
• Contains rich fatty acids and antioxidants – it also has a high quantity of Vitamin A, so it’s often used to help restore elasticity for aging or damaged skin.
• Has natural anti-bacterial, anti-viral and antiseptic properties – this means it’s an effective healing ingredient for conditions such as eczema and psoriasis or minor skin injuries such as superficial cuts.

Do I use products containing murumuru butter?

Looking around my bathroom, there are a number of products I currently use that contain murumuru butter, and I didn’t even realize it. Although these may not be products I’ve actively sought out for their murumuru butter content, it is there, amongst many things I use every day. From body butters to hand soaps and body scrubs, murumuru butter appears to be something that my husband and I use regularly, without even realizing it.

In the news lately…

No news is good news, right? With how often the media is quick to jump to discuss pitfalls and negatives of products and their ingredients, I’m happy to share that I didn’t see any mention of negativity around murumuru butter – only chatter of the benefits 🙂

If you look around though you will find a number of high-end brands who have started using murumuru butter within the ingredients of their products. Most notably: Tom Ford and Becca. Hello moisturizing lipsticks and cheek highlights! I can’t wait to see which other brands will be next.

The takeaway

Knowing the many fabulous qualities that make murumuru butter ideal for use all over the body, combined with nothing but positive press, I’m game to start using products with this exotic star ingredient more. No joke, I’m going to be on the hunt for it in my next body butter – my shins get crazy scale-y and I think this will be the perfect fix to smooth that nonsense lol. Plus, it’s such a versatile ingredient with a growing number of both hair and skincare products using it – I’m excited to see what comes next!