(Shorea stenoptera · INCI: Shorea Stenoptera Seed Butter)
Biomimetic lipid · High in stearic and oleic acids · Firm, long-lasting butter · Rainforest-harvested
5 min read · A butter in the Resilience Balm
Illipe butter for menopausal skin is the second of the two butters that structure our Resilience Balm, and the firmer of the pair. Pressed from the nuts of the illipe tree in the rainforests of Borneo, it is one of the most stable, long-lasting butters in nature, closely related in character to cocoa butter but higher-melting. It is what gives the balm its firm, lasting hold.
The lipid gap, and giving a balm its backbone
A solid balm is a wonderful way to deliver concentrated lipids to skin depleted by the lipid gap, but a balm is only as good as its structure. If mango butter is the soft, cushioning melt, illipe is the backbone, the butter that lets the balm hold its shape, glide firmly, and release its lipids gradually as it warms. The two together give the Resilience Balm its distinctive solid-to-serum feel. Read more in The Lipid Gap.
The fatty-acid profile
Illipe butter is high in stearic acid (a saturated fatty acid) and oleic acid (omega-9), a composition that gives it a higher melting point and remarkable stability, hence its long tradition as a natural alternative to cocoa butter. The stearic acid provides firmness and a protective, conditioning quality; the oleic acid softens. This makes illipe both a structural ingredient and a genuinely nourishing one.
What illipe butter does for skin
- Conditions and protects: a rich, stable butter that helps replenish and shield dry skin.
- Long-lasting comfort: its stability means it conditions the surface for longer.
- Gives the balm structure: provides the firm hold and gradual melt that define the format.
- Comfortable on very dry, mature skin: among the richest, most protective plant butters.
Where it comes from
Illipe carries one of the most meaningful sourcing stories in the range. The illipe tree, Shorea stenoptera, grows in the rainforests of Borneo, and its nuts are gathered from the forest floor by local communities. Because a productive illipe tree is worth more standing than felled, harvesting the nuts gives forest communities an economic reason to protect the rainforest rather than clear it, a rare case where an ingredient's supply chain actively supports conservation. That is precisely the kind of sourcing we seek out.
What the research shows
As with the other butters, the science concerns fatty acids and the skin surface. Reviews of vegetable butters describe how stearic and oleic acids condition and soften skin and help form a protective, moisture-retaining layer, with more saturated butters offering greater occlusive protection (vegetable butters and oils review, 2022). We present illipe on the basis of that fatty-acid chemistry and its structural, conditioning role in the balm.
Ingredient profile
- INCI: Shorea Stenoptera Seed Butter
- Common name: Illipe butter
- Key fatty acids: stearic (saturated) and oleic (omega-9)
- Character: firm, high-melting, exceptionally stable, protective
- Sourcing: rainforest-harvested, conservation-supporting
- In Philogeni: in the Resilience Balm
Featured in
Illipe is one of the two butters in the Resilience Balm, our most-loved formula, where it provides the firm structure and lasting conditioning alongside mango butter and the M-Veil active complex.
Common questions
Is illipe butter good for menopausal skin?
Yes. It is among the richest, most protective plant butters, well suited to very dry, depleted skin, and it conditions for longer thanks to its stability.
How is illipe different from mango butter?
Illipe is firmer and higher-melting, giving the balm structure; mango butter is softer and more cushioning. Together they create the balm's solid-to-serum feel.
Is it sustainable?
Yes, and unusually so. Harvesting illipe nuts gives Borneo forest communities a reason to keep the rainforest standing.
References and further reading
- Vegetable butters and oils as cosmetically active ingredients: a review of clinical studies (2022). PubMed Central
At a glance
- Common name: Illipe butter
- INCI: Shorea Stenoptera Seed Butter
- Key fatty acids: stearic and oleic
- Cosmetic function: structural, protective, conditioning butter
- Sourcing: rainforest-harvested, conservation-supporting
- Found in: Resilience Balm
- Status: vegan, plant-derived
A firm, protective butter whose harvest helps keep a rainforest standing, illipe gives the Resilience Balm its backbone. Shop the Resilience Balm.