🧈 BUTTER ON THE AFRO: Genius Moisture Move or Grease Trap?

Farrah Evans
22 hours ago
4 min read

Old School Hair Treatments EXAMINED — Episode 2

Welcome back to the Kemetri Old School Hair Care Breakdown Series, where our founder Farrah lovingly puts classic kitchen-cabinet hair remedies under the Afro-respect + real-science spotlight.

Today’s legendary tradition…

🥁🥁🥁RAW BUTTER ON THE HAIR.

We’re talking:

Butter from the kitchen
Cocoa butter bars
Cooking butter on dry ends
“Grease your scalp with butter, baby” energy

Let’s see how this one really performs.

🧠 Why Did People Start Using Butter on Hair?

Butter was used because it was:

Available
Thick
Long-lasting
Able to coat the hair for days

Back then, people noticed:

Less immediate dryness
Added shine
Reduced visible frizz
Softer feeling ends (at first)

And honestly? In extremely dry environments with limited access to formulated hair care—butter DID help reduce friction and moisture loss temporarily.

So the tradition made sense for the time.

🔬 What Is “Butter” in Hair Terms?

Kitchen butter is made of:

Milk fat
Water
Salt
Milk proteins
Preservatives (sometimes)

Cocoa butter bars may contain:

Cocoa fat
Fragrance
Additives not designed for scalp skin

Here’s the key truth:

👉 None of these are formulated for scalp biology.

Hair butter and food butter are not the same thing, even if they look similar.

🌿 What Butter ACTUALLY Does on an Afro

✅ What It Does Well

Coats the hair
Reduces friction between strands
Slows moisture evaporation
Adds shine
Temporarily softens dry ends

These are all sealing effects, not hydration or repair.

Butter:

❌ Does not hydrate

❌ Does not strengthen

❌ Does not feed follicles

It simply locks in whatever is already on your hair—good or bad.

🚨 The Real Risks of Using Kitchen Butter on the Afro

Here’s where the tradition gets tricky:

❗ 1. Butter Contains Water

Water + fat + warmth =👉 Bacterial growth risk on the scalp

This can quietly lead to:

Itching
Flaking
Tenderness
Inflammation
Shed cycles triggered by irritated follicles

❗ 2. Butter Contains Proteins & Sugars

Milk proteins can:

Sit on the hair and cause stiffness
Build up over time
Trigger sensitivity on some scalps

Sugars can:

Attract microbes
Create odor issues
Increase scalp imbalance

❗ 3. Heavy Occlusion Without Hydration

Butter is extremely occlusive. If applied to:

Dry hair
Dehydrated strands
Inflamed scalp

It can seal dryness IN instead of sealing moisture in.

This leads to:

Brittle hair under the coating
Hard, waxy buildup on the scalp
Ends that snap under pressure

❗ 4. Hard to Clean Out

Food-grade butter:

Melts deep into the hair
Mixes poorly with water
Requires harsh shampoos to remove

Those shampoos then:

Strip natural oils
Increase dryness
Create a vicious moisture cycle

💛 Why It Sometimes “Worked” Anyway

Let’s be fair again—many people saw:

Softer hair for a day or two
Less white dryness on the scalp
More shine

That happened because:

Butter reduces surface friction
Butter reflects light
Butter slows evaporation

But like mayonnaise, this is a surface illusion of health, not a true improvement in the internal condition of the strand.

🌿 What Kemetri Uses Instead of Kitchen Butter

Instead of food butter, Kemetri believes in using cosmetically refined, shelf-stable plant butters that are:

Clean
Preserved properly
Free of water
Designed for skin & hair

Examples include:

Shea butter
Mango butter
Cocoa butter (cosmetic grade, not food grade)
Cupuaçu butter

These:

✅ Seal without feeding bacteria

✅ Support elasticity

✅ Protect ends without clogging follicles

✅ Are safe for long-term Afro routines

🥁🥁🥁

FINAL KEMETRI RATING FOR KITCHEN BUTTER

🖤🖤 (2 out of 5 AFROS)

Why it earned 2 Afros:

Reduces friction
Adds temporary shine
Slows moisture loss briefly

Why it didn’t score higher:

Contains water (spoilage risk)
Not formulated for scalp biology
Can trap dryness inside the hair
Promotes buildup
Requires harsh cleansing to remove

Kemetri Verdict:

Kitchen butter is a temporary sealant at best, but a long-term scalp risk. The Afro deserves plant butters designed specifically for hair and skin.

💬 Farrah’s Founder Note

“Our elders used what they had—and that wisdom matters. But our responsibility now is to keep the spirit of care while upgrading the science. The Afro doesn’t need food anymore. It needs formulated nourishment.”