This creamy Ivory Grade A Shea Butter is fairly traded and handmade by women's cooperatives and certified by the Shea Butter Alliance. It is 100% natural & unrefined, neither dyed nor bleached. The butter is extracted from ripe karite tree nuts by crushing, boiling, then kneading with water, not hexane or other solvents. The butter is purified at low heat using clays, not chemicals or high heat, resulting in a smooth, buttery, natural moisturizer, skin healer and sunscreen that's perfect to use as is.
Correct scientific name: Vitellaria paradoxa
Old INCI name: Butyrospermum parkii
100g minimum. Bring or buy a bag or jar.
$5/100g
10% off 500g+
20% off 1000g+
Aroma: Characteristic nutty, with citrus notes. Traditionally prepared & fermented varieties smell stronger.
Shea butters are especially good at healing cracked slow to heal skin, such as heels, elbows and where circulation is low, such as with elderly, rheumatic, arthritic or diabetic persons.
Common Uses
• Lip balms
• Body & massage butters
• As an oil in body and hand Lotions
• Shaving preparations
• Facial moisturizers
• Bath products...
Used in skin care, shea butter is hailed for its protecting and emollient properties. Rich in cinnamon acid, it also protects the skin from UV rays and therefore can be included in skin care products for the sun. It can also be used as a massage butter, as a moisturizing agent in soaps and shaving creams, and as a treatment for minor skin wounds and irritations. Its richness and skin healing and nourishing properties make it perfect for healing dry, cracked heels.
HISTORY
Shea butter has been a precious commodity on record since Ancient Egypt, where shea butter was and continues to be used to protect the hair and skin against the fierce sun and the hot dry winds of African deserts and savannah. I believe that shea butter was exported from the ancient Ethiopian empires of Punt (the Sudan) and Sheeba (Ethiopia). Trade across the African continent from the East African civilizations to West Africa has been continuous for thousands of years. Thus the West African shea butters (Burkina Faso, Togo, Ghana etc) continue the tradition of Ancient Ethiopia.
HOW SHEA BUTTER IS MADE
Shea butter is crafted through a painstaking laborious process, even when machines are used for some steps.
Remove the outer pulp. Sometimes shea nuts are fermented first.
Separate the dry nut from its outer shell.
Crush the shea nuts.
Roast the shea nuts.
Grind the shea nuts into a paste.
Extract the butter by kneading and adding water.
Squeeze the water out of the butter curds.
Melt the shea curds over a slow fire, evaporating out any remaining water.
Ladle out the shea butter and allow to cool, then form into balls.
The shea butter we carry is always Grade A 100% Natural & Unrefined, undyed Shea Butter from RIPE karite tree nuts! The trees are organically farmed and nuts are most often wildcrafted.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND OR USE REFINED WHITE SHEA BUTTER:
Shea Butter Applications
• As a natural anti-sun damage ingredient @SPF 15
• As a skin healing agent for small wounds & cracks
• As an anti-ageing agent for the skin
• To soothe sunburns
• To treat dry, damaged hair
• To soothe aching muscles
How much should I use in my products?
Applications of under 5% should be viewed as adding value only to your label. The impact on your overall efficacy will be minimal. To see a positive impact on your product, use approximately 10%. However, it is important to note that Shea Butter performs as an oil. Try it with a small batch first!
Fair Trade Compliant
My supplier sources its products using ethical suppliers. Both the shea and cocoa butter are fair trade compliant. This means that:
* Profits go back to the community
* Environmentally friendly production methods are utilized
* Underage or forced labour is not used
* A minimum price is paid to the producers regardless of market pressure.
Photo thanks to By Hopkinsuniv - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link