Pumpkin seed butter is made from the oil of Cucurbita pepo seeds, a member of the Cucurbitaceae family that includes squash, gourds, and cucumbers. The seeds are cold-pressed to extract a rich, linoleic-acid-dominant oil, which is then hydrogenated into a stable semi-solid butter. The result is off-white to pale yellow, nearly odourless, and noticeably lighter in feel than most plant butters.
Why it behaves differently from other butters
Most plant butters (shea, cocoa, mango) are naturally solid at room temperature because of their high saturated fat content, particularly stearic acid. Pumpkin seed butter is different. The base oil is predominantly linoleic acid (an omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid), which means it has a much lighter skin feel than stearic-dominant butters. Hydrogenation converts it to a workable solid consistency without fundamentally changing its skin-feel properties.
In practice this means pumpkin seed butter absorbs faster and feels less heavy than shea or cocoa, making it a useful counterpoint in formulas where you want nourishment without density. It also brings a meaningful concentration of Vitamin E (tocopherol), which is added both for its skin-conditioning properties and as a natural preservative that extends shelf life.
Why we use it
In our body butter formula, pumpkin seed butter works alongside shea and cocoa butter to fine-tune the texture. It lightens the overall feel of the blend without compromising richness. Shea provides the base softness, cocoa provides the structure and density, and pumpkin seed butter provides a fast-absorbing quality that stops the formula from feeling too heavy on application.
In our lip balms, it plays a similar role. Lip balm formulas can easily tip into feeling thick or waxy. Pumpkin seed butter keeps the texture smooth and gliding, and its mild linoleic acid profile is particularly well-suited to the delicate skin of the lips.
A note on the formulation
Pumpkin seed butter is a formulated ingredient rather than a raw pressed oil. The base pumpkin seed oil is hydrogenated (a controlled process that solidifies liquid unsaturated fats) to create a stable, workable butter texture that can be used in solid formulas like body butters and balms. Tocopherol (Vitamin E) is included in the formulation. This is worth understanding because it means pumpkin seed butter behaves differently from a raw pumpkin seed oil and is specifically designed for use in skincare formulations rather than being a single-ingredient extract.
In our products
You'll find pumpkin seed butter in our body butter line and some of our lip balms, where it contributes a lightness of feel that the heavier butters alone can't provide. It occasionally appears in our soaps as well, where it adds a conditioning quality to the lather.
