Raw shea butter is unrefined shea butter, and the American Shea Butter Institute grade that matches it is Grade A: ivory to pale yellow, with an earthy, slightly nutty smell. Pure white and odorless shea butter has been refined, whatever the label says. Check color and smell first, then ask for the grade.
Below you get the grades, what each one looks like, and the buyer checks that catch refined butter sold as raw.
What do the shea butter grades mean?
The grade describes processing, not origin. Every grade comes from the nuts of the same tree, which our guide to the shea butter tree covers.
Baraka, a Ghana-sourced supplier, summarizes the American Shea Butter Institute system as A through F. Vermont Soap describes a USAID-style scale with five grades instead, so sources do not agree on every letter. Grades A and C are the ones you will actually meet.
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| Grade | Processing | Color | Smell | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Unrefined, hand processed: cracked, roasted, ground, kneaded with water, boiled | Off-white to ivory, sometimes pale yellow or grey-ivory | Earthy, faintly smoky, nutty | Skin, hair, soap with unrefined claims |
| B | Unrefined, mechanically pressed | Varies | Varies | Rarely sold under its own grade |
| C | Refined, bleached, deodorized | Pure white | None | Volume cosmetics, fragranced products |
| F | Industrial | Not applicable | Not applicable | Chocolate and margarine, not cosmetics |
Source: Baraka Shea Butter, "Shea Butter Grades Explained" (2023); Vermont Soap, "What grade is your shea butter?"
Is raw shea butter the same as Grade A?
Not exactly. Raw is a marketing word, not a grade. It usually means unrefined, which can be Grade A or Grade B, and it does not promise hand processing.
So ask for the grade by letter. A seller who answers "100 percent raw" and nothing else has told you very little.
How can you tell refined shea butter sold as raw?
Three checks do most of the work.
- Color: a perfectly white tub is Grade C territory. Unrefined butter carries natural color variation.
- Smell: "odorless raw" is a contradiction. Baraka states that an odorless Grade A claim means refining happened at some stage.
- Paperwork: a certificate of analysis and the name of the processing cooperative show the seller can verify the grade.
One caution in the other direction. A strong nutty smell and a yellow tint help, but color and scent can be faked with additives, so they confirm nothing on their own.
Which grade should you buy for your skin?
For direct skin and hair use, Grade A keeps the plant compounds that refining strips out, according to Baraka. Refined butter has a similar fatty acid profile, so it still softens, but it loses the unrefined story.
Raw butter can feel heavy on some skin types, so read shea butter for face before putting it on your cheeks. For bar soap, see what raw shea does in a soap bar.
My view: skip any tub that cannot name its grade or its source. A few dollars saved on refined butter priced as raw is not a saving.