Shea Nut Butter
Shea Butter, also known as African Karite butter, comes from the fruit kernels of the Karite Nut tree found in the savannahs of central Africa and has been used across the African continent for centuries. Its scientific name, Butyrospermum parkii, is derived from the Greek words boutyron, which means "butter" and sperma, which means "seed."
Each summer, the tree bears a fruit the size of a plum, which contains a nut. Shea butter is the fat extracted from the seed that is removed from the shea nut. The Shea kernels look similar to a horse chestnut and are comprised of about 50 percent fat, 10 percent protein, and 30 percent carbohydrates. The pits of the pulpy plum size fruit are picked by hand, allowed to sun dry, and then roasted in order to dehydrate the nut. The dried fruit is hand crushed in order to remove the skin and then smoothed between two stones into a brown paste. The women of this region transform the brown paste into a soft white butter. Pure unrefined virgin shea butter undergoes no chemical processing and is free from bleaching agents, preservatives, and additives. It is still harvested and prepared using the same method practiced for thousands of years. This method of preparing the virgin shea retains the natural goodness, vitamins and minerals, and allows the nutty, smoky scent to be naturally preserved. The color of the butter ranges from off white to gray to golden brown, to green, depending upon the maturity of the nut.
All shea butters are not created equal!
High quality, naturally extracted, unrefined shea butter can be twice as expensive as the processed refined shea. Shea butter is available in various forms; virgin, unrefined, refined, and highly refined. How the shea butter is extracted from the nut and how it is subsequently processed determines its final form. At one end of the spectrum you have a natural manual extraction process which leaves more of the wonderful raw ingredients in the Shea Butter. This shea butter can vary in color from yellow to gray to even a slight green, and has a slight smoky scent. On the other end, the highly refined Shea Butter is extracted using chemicals. It is pure white, has a smoother texture, and no smell, which is why it appeals to the cosmetic industry. Unfortunately the refining process also removes a lot of the healing properties as well.
The less refined, the more natural raw ingredients remain in the Shea Butter. A good analogy is bread. At one end you have a less refined natural whole wheat bread loaded with natural fiber, vitamins, and wheat protein. At the other end, you have white bread!
Virgin Shea Butter is a great emollient and easily penetrate the skin to moisturize. Virgin Shea Butter has a high amount of Vitamin A and Vitamin E, as well as phytosterols, triterpenes, fatty esters and phenolic acids. Vitamins A and E are important in helping to repair skin damage; phytosterols, and triterpenes aid in skin allergies; phenolic acids are good for cellular protection.
Virgin Shea Butter is widely used to protect skin from the sun’s UV rays, as well as soften and heal cracked and aged skin.
Some of the possible benefits of shea butter include:
* Evens skin tone
* Absorbs quickly without leaving greasy residue like mineral oil based products
* Penetrates deep into the epidermal layer of your skin to help restore elasticity to maturing skin and prevent the cellular breakdown that leads to dry, cracking skin, and stretch marks
* Stimulates cellular activity, fights the effects of aging and repairs rough, damaged skin
* Returns natural luster to skin and hair
* Does not clog pores
* Revitalizes, softens and maintains skin moisture
* Aids in the healing of wounds and may improve scars due to its anti-inflammatory properties
* Used to heal eczema, burns, rashes, severely dry skin, and to lessen the irritation of psoriasis
* Moisturizes after shaving to prevent irritation
* Has natural sun blocking powers and may protect skin from sun damage and environmental elements
* Nourishes the hair shaft
* Moisturizes dry, dull over-processed and heat-treated hair resulting in improved brilliance and manageability
* Helps prevent weak hair from breaking, fading, or thinning out and may promote hair growth
