Shea Butter is only found in the tropics of Africa. It is extracted from the nuts of the Shea-Karite tree which begins to bear fruit after about 15 years; and can take up to 30 years to bear a quality crop of nuts with a high content of irremovable fatty acid. It is this irremovable fatty acid that gives Shea Butter its unique healing properties and makes it far superior to cocoa butter and other vegetable butters. Traditionally, Shea Butter was extracted by people who picked the nuts, cracked them, grilled them and pounded them. They were boiled in water for hours until the Shea Butter rose to the surface. It was then scooped into gourds and left to cool and set. Shea Butter is solid at room temperature although it quickly liquefies right around body temperature. This Shea Butter is called unrefined Shea Butter or raw Shea Butter. Since Shea Butter is an all natural product, it can vary widely in quality, appearance and smell depending on where it is produced from and how it is refined or extracted.
Most Shea Butter comes from West Africa. Although a more soft and smoother variety from East Africa is beginning to appear on the market.
Pure Shea Butter can be found in three types of extractions. Also, recently, Shea Butter has begun to be graded.
Raw or unrefined- extracted using water.
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The color ranges from like cream (similar to whipped butter) to grayish yellow. This is the original form of Shea Butter.
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Refined- is more highly processed. Has many of its natural components still intact.
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Highly refined or processed- solvents are used to increase the yield (hexane is an example). The color is pure white.
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Shea Butter does not need to be refrigerated. However, over a period of two or three years, the Shea Butter will begin to lose some of its effectiveness. As the natural ingredients begin to break down, some of the healing benefits will be reduced, but the Shea Butter will continue to be an effective moisturizer. Store Shea Butter is a cool (not necessarily cold) place. If you're going to use it within a couple of years, you should have no problems.
One of the great things about Shea Butter is its low melting point. When you apply it to your skin, it literally liquefies. However, one of the bad things about Shea Butter is its low melting point. It's quite possible it will melt in a hot room. It may even be melted when it's delivered to you in the summer months. If this happens, don't worry. The Shea Butter is good. Just take the lid off of the container and set it in the refrigerator until it gets hard again. As it begins to cool, you might want to give it a stir to bring the olein (liquid parts) back into contact with the stearin (solid parts) so that the Shea Butter is uniform throughout.
Shea Butter can provide relief from everything from just dry skin to many minor dermatological diseases (if you have a serious skin condition, you should see a doctor). It has been clinically shown to provide benefits. Here are some of the benefits of Shea Butter for the skin:
- Daily skin moisturizer (face and body)
- Dry skin relief
- Dry scalp
Skin rash- including diaper rash
- Skin peeling, after tanning
- Blemishes and wrinkles
- Itching skin due to dryness
- Sunburn
- Shaving cream to reduce razor irritation
- Small skin wounds
- Skin cracks
- Soften tough skin on feet (especially heels)
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- Stretch mark prevention during pregnancy
- Minor burns
- Eczema
- Sun and wind protection
- Even skin tone
- Reduce blemishes and scarring
- Eliminating scalp irritation from dryness or chemical processing
- Preventing bumps after shaving
- Reducing acne (especially in combination with African Black Soap)
- Absorbs quickly without leaving a greasy residue
- Helps restore elasticity to skin
- Restores luster to hair
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