Soothing African Shea Butter

African Shea Butter is from the Shea Karite tree used by natives for centuries to soothe and heal skin issues.

It is rich in vitamins A, D, E, and F, high antioxidants levels, and essential fatty acids. The good fats leave shea with a buttery, rich consistency; a wonderful body butter!

The process to make Shea butter is time-consuming, nuts are picked, cracked, grilled, and pounded down. They are boiled until the shea butter comes to the top of the surface, its scooped out and cooled till firm. So, with no further processing, this is the Raw form of shea

Raw Shea is the highest in effectiveness and in nutrients’, some of the further refined oils will lose some nutrients.

Shea butter is solid at room temperature but can quickly liquefy to body temp since it has a low melting point.

Each batch may differ in appearance and smell depending on where its produced and how it is processed or extracted. The color can be creamy to yellow and the smell is mild nutty odor. 

Benefits of Soothing African Shea Butter

1. Soothes and moisturizes dry, itchy skin, eczema, and minor burns and wounds. It can repair rough damaged skin; like on soles of feet and elbows
2. Acts as an anti-inflammatory, giving you pain relief from swelling of joints, like in arthritis.
3. It improves and relaxes muscle stiffness from both exercise and joint disease.
4. Shea butter is great for anti-aging, helping with skin discoloration, dark spots, wrinkles, stretch marks, and other blemishes.
5. It can be used on children for diaper rash and massage for skin elasticity.
6. Other suggestions for Shea butter are for frostbite, insect bites, radiation burns, shaving, and as a hair conditioner. 

Shea butter is high in unsaponifiables, a fatty acid of 7-12% fat and the avocado is the closest to this amount with 2-6% fat. It also has ratios of oleic, stearic, linoleic, and palmitic fatty acids which is why it is used in many cosmetic products.

It may take one to two months before you see results on deeper tissue damage, such as scars, but be consistent with daily use and you will be rewarded with beautiful skin.

Shea butter does not need to be refrigerated and will last 2-3 years, keep it in a cool, no sun counter or cabinet.

Note: Unrefined Shea butter oil is not filtered, so may contain particles of the shea nut.

References:

https://wellnessmama.com/27324/shea-butter-benefits/

https://draxe.com/nutrition/raw-shea-butter/

Cindy Burrows, B.S., M.T., Herbalist and is a Nutrition and Wellness Consultant helping individuals with health programs to improve life and happiness. She is a writer, speaker and owner of several businesses.