Shea Butter and Coconut Oil & Alkanes

Shea Butter and Coconut derivatives seem to have become a staple in the skincare industry, the bread and literal butter of the all-natural trend. We looked to these ingredients not for their trendiness, but because they, well, work really well.

Alone and in concert, Shea Butter and Coconut Oil & Alkanes provide great texture, adding to the Vital Morning Face Cream and Repairing Night Cream thick, luxurious spread without leaving a heavy or greasy feel. 

Luxuriousness aside, it’s the utility of these ingredients that we’re most excited about. Both shea and coconut are comprised of some of the same oils naturally present in your sebum. Read: if your skin is dry from too little sebum, these natural thickeners and emollients will help supplement until your skin is back to normal oil production. If your skin is oily from an overproduction of sebum, these natural oils will help attract and remove excess surface oils. It's a win-win no matter what.

Shea Butter (Butyrospermum Parkii for the latin-inclined) is a grey-yellow solid. By itself, it looks a little bit like butter left out on the kitchen counter all day. It’s primarily a triglyceride (a type of fat) made of stearic acid and oleic acid units. These are some of the same fatty acids present in your sebum. Shea Butter also often contains some of these as free fatty acids, ready to supplement and boost your sebum. Coconut Oil is high in Lauric and Myristic fatty acids; Coconut Alkanes are a lighter-weight source of these same fatty acids. Together, the shea triglycerides and coconut-derived free fatty acids are naturally analogous to your natural sebum. We use shea and coconut because at Geologie we believe in using skin-friendly ingredients in our skincare products. It just makes sense.

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