What is Shea Butter?

Shea Butter is a natural, oil-rich substance that has remarkable moisturising and healing properties when applied to skin or hair.

Where does Shea Butter come from?

Shea Butter is extracted from the nut-like seeds of the Shea tree, which is also known as the Karite tree and by many other local names in the African countries where it is found. The scientific name of the Shea tree is Vitellaria paradoxa and there is also an important subspecies called Vitellaria nilotica. The tree is adapted to growing in the dry Savannah regions of Africa that stretch right across the continent from Senegal in the West to Sudan in the East.  

Why is Shea Butter so good for the skin?

Modern scientific analysis has been able to explain what African women have always known – that Shea Butter is excellent for protecting, nourishing, soothing and healing the skin. Along with high levels of moisturising oils, its many natural ingredients include antioxidants such as vitamin A, vitamin E and catechins, anti-inflammatory agents, and lupeol, which can slow the effects of skin aging by inhibiting enzymes that damage skin proteins. Shea butter has been proven to stimulate skin cell regeneration, and improve the skin’s elasticity. It even has its own built-in sunscreen in the form of cinnamic acid, which can absorb some ultraviolet radiation.

How is Shea Butter used?

Shea Butter can be used for all the family’s skincare needs. It is mild enough to be used on newborn babies, can improve the appearance of a teenager’s acne, and works wonders on dry, mature skin. Heat softens Shea Butter, so warming it by rubbing a little in the hands before applying makes it more easily absorbed into the skin.

Shea Butter can be used:

• as an everyday moisturiser to keep skin soft and supple.
• to soothe and encourage healing of bruises, minor cuts and rashes.
• to intensively treat dry, rough skin on hands, elbows, knees or feet.
• to prevent stretch marks and help scars to fade.
• to strengthen cuticles and nails.
• when massaging aching joints and muscles.
• to reduce irritation after shaving.
• as a moisturising hair treatment.
• to smooth out wrinkles and promote even skin tone.
• for adding to your bath so you can enjoy its benefits all over – while relaxing!  

Can Shea Butter help my skin problem?

If you have a serious skin disorder you should seek medical advice to have it properly diagnosed and treated. Shea Butter cannot cure dermatitis, eczema, acne or psoriasis but many people find it useful in controlling these conditions. It can reduce itching and inflammation and its moisturising properties help to heal dry, cracked skin.

Pure, unrefined Shea Butter is recommended for sensitive skin that shows allergic reactions to other skincare products. It also soothes chapped skin, grazes and minor burns, including sunburn.

What is the difference between Refined and Unrefined Shea Butter?

Refined Shea Butter is extracted with the use of chemical solvents and high temperatures. The end product is white and odourless and mostly used in the food industry. It can contain chemical residues and has much reduced levels of beneficial ingredients.

Unrefined Shea Butter is produced using traditional methods. After being removed from the fruit, the Shea nuts are boiled, sun-dried, milled using simple machinery and then kneaded to produce a smooth, beige coloured butter with a nutty scent. This process is labour intensive and time-consuming but it preserves as much as possible of the Shea Butter’s therapeutic qualities.

What are the differences between East African and West African Shea Butter?

All pure, unrefined Shea Butter is good for the skin, but that produced in East Africa is usually softer at room temperature and more easily absorbed into the skin. It also has a lighter scent, and its unique fatty acid profile helps the skin to retain its elasticity more efficiently.

Far less Shea Butter is produced in the East, so it is not always easy to obtain, but different marketing and distribution methods mean that the women farmers who produce East African Shea Butter receive a larger share of the profits than those working in West Africa.  

Can Shea Butter be Mixed with Other Ingredients?

Yes. Shea Butter can be used on its own or combined with other ingredients, such as essential oils, to add different but complementary qualities. 

Is Shea Butter Production Environmentally Friendly?

Yes – if the end product has not been industrially refined. The Shea trees are not cultivated in large plantations. They grow wild and the seedlings germinate naturally. They can live for 300 years, but do not start producing fruit until they are 15 to 20 years old. The trees are not only valued for their highly nutritious fruits and Shea Butter, but also as a source of high quality charcoal. When clearing land for agriculture some trees are cut down, but villagers have always tried to protect those that yield the best fruit. In areas where Shea Butter production has been encouraged as a source of income, the trees have become an even more valuable asset and more are being conserved.

Traditional methods of processing Shea Butter have little environmental impact and the waste products are used as fertiliser, to waterproof mud walls and are burnt as fuel.

Can Vegans use Shea Butter?

Shea Butter is a natural plant product so it is suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Shea Butter is not tested on animals.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/skin-care-articles/commonly-asked-questions-about-shea-butter-1609513.html

Eileen Mngumi is the founder of Tausi Signature; a UK-based cottage industry producer of Shea Butter skin care products which promotes fair trade values. Shea Butter has amazing natural protective and skin healing properties which take it realms beyond any other moisturising product. Tausi Signature products use pure, unrefined East African Shea Butter; much softer and more delicately scented than its West African counterpart. For more information on Tausi Signature products visit http://www.tausisignature.com.