Sal Butter - Pure Velvet

Five months ago, the first test batch in my self-appointed quest for 'the ideal butter for lotion bars' was created. There have been many batches and much note-taking since.  The formula has been identical for each batch – except for the butter.

Today, we're going to have a closer look at Sal Tree Seed (INCI: Shorea Robusta) butter.

Contrary to 'almond' and 'aloe' butters (which turned out to be a mix of oils and shea or cocoa butter), sal butter is the real deal.

Not only is it proving to be a wonderful addition to a lotion bar, sal has qualities that have made me a serious fan.

From India

Native to the Indian subcontinent and covering about 13% of the total forest area there, the Sal (or Shala) tree thrives across an expansive area that covers 3 central states.

Collection of seeds, leaves, and resin alone is a predominant means of survival for nearly 30 million (!) native Indian people.

The Whole Tree in Use

Leaf plate

Sal trees provide raw material for multiple industries. The wood is one of India's major sources of construction timber. The resin is used as an Ayurvedic medicine and also burned as incense. The leaves are used to produce the widely used (and eco-friendly) patravali (leaf plates).

The tree seeds are equally versatile, providing oil that is used from foodstuffs and soapmaking to pigments and paints.

The oil has even been spotlighted and is under consideration for use as a possible bio diesel product.

The sal tree really does have a lot to offer. But my favorite use of sal (so far) is as butter and on the skin. 

Sal Solo

Each butter throughout this quest has gone through a little a 'solo test' before being used in a formula, just to get an idea of the properties and feel of the raw material.

My first impressions of sal:

• creamy
• neutral smelling 
• melts into skin in a jiffy 

My favorite impression has been experiencing the argan-like quality of this butter – it leaves my skin feeling the same kind of velvety smooth as argan oil does.

It's an undeniably luxurious, enjoy-the-moment, spa-treatment kind of feeling.

Love That Profile

No wonder sal butter feels fabulous. It brings all kinds of skin- and hair-loving goodness to the party.

Here's a quick breakdown of the fatty acid composition of the Sal Seed butter I am using

• Linoleic acid (omega-6) – 3.70%
• Oleic acid (omega-9)  – 39.50%
• Stearic acid  – 39.30%
• Palmitic acid  – 14.10%

Other active components include

• Phytostérols  – improve skins barrier function and microcirculation
• Terpene alcohols – anti-inflammatory, antioxidant
• Squalane – helps regenerate the lipid 'cement' of the stratum corneum 

In short, sal butter is made to love both skin and hair.

Next Project

Sal seed butter is said to be ideal as a cleanser. My next project will be to incorporate it into one of my clay and butter cleansers to see if what 'they say' has any truth to it.

Meantime, my lotion bars with sal have all seemed to disappear a bit faster than the others. I feel a new batch coming up!

 Do Tell

Have you ever worked with sal butter? What do you use it for?

References

wikipedia
Himalayan Health Care
Aroma Zone (fatty acid profile)

Photo of leaf plate courtesy of Wikipedia