About Shea Butter
Shea Butter is an amazing natural ingredient with various fantastic benefits to the skin. While it’s likely you might have heard of Shea butter, or maybe even tried it for yourself, few of us truly understand just how powerful this natural butter can be. To help you make the most of your Shea butter, we have put together a full guide, so that you can discover all of the amazing benefits for yourself…
Shea Butter Explained…
Put simply, Shea butter is a fat that’s extracted from the nuts of the Shea tree. The Shea tree is native to West Africa, and so most Shea butter is sourced from this region. When at a warm temperature, Shea butter is malleable, and in it’s completely natural form it’s off-white in colour.
Used in beauty for centuries, the butter has a high concentration of fatty acids and vitamins. This paired with it’s easy-to-spread consistency makes it a fantastic all natural option for skincare.
How Shea Butter is Made…
Shea butter is made by collecting the nuts of the Shea tree, followed by cracking the shell to release the nut, which is often done by hand. The nut is then washed and left to dry to remove the moisture. Once dry, they are then crushed into small pieces, ready for roasting to create a paste.
Next water is added to the nut paste and whipped to create a lighter texture. The paste is then purified using distilled water, and then heated to encourage the fats to rise to the top and the oil to settle at the bottom. Finally, the fat is skimmed off the top, and the oil is collected once it has hardened to use as Shea butter.
Shea Butter Benefits…
First and foremost, the moisturising properties of Shea butter must be celebrated. As a natural moisturiser, the butter contains various fatty acids, including oleic, linoleic, palmitic acids and stearic. When you apply it to your skin, the oils are rapidly absorbed and restore lipids and hydration. This helps to strengthen the barrier between your skin and the environment, locking in moisture and improving any dryness.
One of the best things about Shea butter is that it’s very gentle, making it ideal for almost all skin types. As an all natural product, it doesn’t contain any harsh chemicals or man-made ingredients, which can irritate and dry the skin out. This results in optimum hydration, with all of the moisturising benefits coming from natural sources.
With anti-inflammatory properties, when Shea butter is applied to the skin it triggers cytokines, to slow the production of inflammation. This can help reduce irritation caused by environmental factors, such as dry weather and pollutants. In addition, it can improve inflammatory skin conditions, such as eczema.
Shea butter is also rich in vitamins A and E – antioxidants. Antioxidants are key to reducing the ageing process, by protecting the skin from free radicals that can cause premature ageing and generally dull looking skin. In addition, Shea butter also boosts collagen production and promotes cell regeneration. Finally, it is also known to improve acne, reduce the appearance of scarring, stretch marks, fine lines and wrinkles.
Shimirose Shea Butter…
At Shimirose, we are incredibly proud of the Shea butter that we produce. As a family business, our Shea butter comes from two sources – Auntie Diana from Yendi, and a women’s cooperative in Tolon, both in the north of Ghana.
Our Shea butter is all natural, and provides all of the benefits listed above.
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