Madhuca longifolia
Pressed from the seed of India's oldest cosmetic tree — a species that has fed and oiled forest communities across the Deccan for centuries. The butter is softer than kokum or sal, with a balanced stearic–oleic profile and a gentle, faintly sweet aroma. It carries the quiet authority of an ingredient that has simply always been used.
Mahua is the heritage lipid of India. The tree flowers in late summer, drops its golden corolla onto the forest floor, and yields a seed whose oil has been a staple of tribal kitchens, cosmetic practice, and Ayurvedic medicine for longer than any written record survives. We source from named co-operatives across Mandla and Dindori districts of Madhya Pradesh — communities for whom the mahua tree is not a crop but a relative.
The butter itself is chemically distinct from the Konkan set. Palmitic acid sits at 15 to 18 percent, unusually high for a natural butter, giving the lipid a softer melt and a more emollient feel. Stearic acid lands between 25 and 35 percent. Oleic climbs to 37 to 46 percent. The result is a butter that melts across a wide range — 28 to 35°C — rather than snapping at a single temperature.
Formulators reach for mahua when they want body without structure, and skin-feel without tack. It slots naturally into soaps, massage bases, low-cost body creams, and traditional Ayurvedic salves. For industrial users it lends itself to candle wax blends, leather conditioners, and bio-lubricants — a legitimate second market that helps us offer fair prices to the forest co-operatives.
The lipid India has always used. We simply ship it cleaner.
| Fatty acid | Notation | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Oleic | C18:1 | 37–46% |
| Stearic | C18:0 | 25–35% |
| Palmitic | C16:0 | 15–18% |
| Linoleic | C18:2 | 12–17% |
| Other | — | <5% |
Recommended applications by our technical desk. For co-development, we dispatch a formulator onto site for the first production batch.
Balanced hardness and lather. A workhorse saponified lipid.
Traditional carrier; warms on skin; tolerates essential oil loading.
Cost-effective emollient at 5 to 12 percent inclusion.
Industrial grade extends soy wax without paraffin.
Heritage application; conditioning without residue.
We refine to cosmetic grade for contract manufacturers.
Mahua substitutes shea at 1:1 in soap formulas for lower cost and faster cure. In creams, pair with 10 to 15 percent kokum or mango stearin to restore body. Not a direct replacement for cocoa butter — the polymorphism is wrong for confectionery.
Cosmetic grade, refined, or green grade — tell us which. Dispatched with CoA and saponification guidance.
Anchor
Garcinia indica
The hardest natural butter we press. β-prime stable, near-zero comedogenicity.
Read dossier →
Green grade
Shorea robusta
Firm, structured, unexpectedly elegant. The backbone of our non-palm CBE.
Read dossier →
Upcycled
Mangifera indica
Balanced oleic–stearic. Pressed from kernels that would otherwise be burned.
Read dossier →The heritage lipid of the Deccan forest.
From Konkan with love.