Discover Murumuru: The New Shea Butter
A rainforest shield for your skin and hair
Hi Terrain família, I’m Jenniffer, Amazon rainforest native, master chemist, and Terrain’s head formulator. Welcome back to our series where we unveil the soul and science behind our products.
Today’s spotlight is murumuru (pron. moo-roo-MOO-roo)—one of the butters in your ABRAÇO Lotion Bar, known for benefits that extend beyond the skin.
Murumuru grows on low, sturdy trees with spiny trunks, spread across the Amazon’s floodplains, almost secretly, blending into water and land.
From its hard fruits, with kernels protected by a tough shell, comes a cream-colored, dense butter extracted by cold-pressing. As a child, I would see the fruits scattered on the ground during my trips to the islands of Pará, and was fascinated by their teardrop shape.
Back then, I didn’t yet understand the science behind this ingredient, but I could see its effects.
For generations, it has been part of the daily care of riverside communities.
The older women would collect the seeds and crack them open, one by one, to extract the thick butter they applied to their hair and skin after bathing in the river. Their skin and hair would emerge smooth, nourished, and strong.
Still, for a long time, murumuru remained anonymous, until it was studied for its cosmetic potential. Science, once again, confirmed ancestral knowledge: this was an extraordinary ingredient.
As a chemical engineer and researcher of Amazonian plant oils, I re-encountered murumuru in the laboratory, where it revealed itself as a high-performance active. Murumuru butter has a remarkable affinity with the skin’s natural lipids and the hair fiber, thanks to its richness in fatty acids such as myristic and oleic.
It forms a thin protective film on the skin, reduces water loss, restores the skin barrier, and delivers intense nourishment, without heaviness. Essentially, it is a powered-up shea butter.
The good news? You don’t need to live along the Amazon rivers to enjoy its benefits.
Here are the many ways to indulge in your ABRAÇO Lotion Bar, rich in murumuru butter:
SKIN
Body Lotion: Apply directly to clean, slightly damp skin, massaging until fully absorbed for silky-soft skin.
Nail Treatment: Apply any excess oil to the nail cuticles to nourish and soften.
Lip Oil: Apply to the lips in the evening as an overnight mask.
HAIR
Pre-shampoo treatment: For softer, more sealed hair, apply from mid-length to ends, leaving it on for a few minutes—or ideally overnight—before washing.
Styling butter: Apply to the roots to smooth and set the hair back for a naturally slicked-back look.
Until we meet again, stay nourished and well.
– Jenniffer, Terrain Formulator
