Unlike a dairy butter made from milk, shea butter is made from the fat of a nut that is found inside the ripe fruit of an African wild tree called Karite. This rich fat has the texture of clotted cream and is used in skin and hair products because of it's healing and moisturizing benefits and is even sometimes substituted for cocoa butter in chocolate. The people of Africa call the Karite tree, "the tree of life" due its vast usefulness in providing a continuous source of revenue to all those who make a living off its products. Shea butter is a fair trade item that is sustainably farmed by lots of female cooperative farmers in West Africa who label it "women's gold".
When the shea nuts mature, they fall from the trees and are gathered and processed in a labor intensive process that consists of cracking, crushing, roasting, separating, collecting and shaping the product into balls. The butter in its pure and unrefined form has been used by the local people of Africa for a long time for numerous purposes such as moisturizing the skin and scalp in the dry climate, as a treatment for healing small scrapes, burns and cuts such as the umbilical stump of a newborn, for minimizing and preventing scars and making yam stews.
The chemical make up of the butter can be demonstrated to be of two different portions, one that is responsible for its moisturizing properties and the other for its healing benefits. The larger portion, around 90% consists of a saponifiable fat which means it can be fully converted into soap. It makes up about 90% of the substance and is an excellent moisturizer that is absorbed quickly, provides superior hydration and penetrates deeply. The non-saponifiable portion is about 10% and is accountable for its healing action as it is composed of vitamins A and E and other antioxidants. These components make it a major anti-inflammatory agent and a minor sunscreen.
This unique substance is now prized all over the world as a natural healing moisturizer and emollient. It has numerous advantages when incorporated into skin and hair ca
The chemical make up of the butter can be demonstrated to be of two different portions, one that is responsible for its moisturizing properties and the other for its healing benefits. The larger portion, around 90% consists of a saponifiable fat which means it can be fully converted into soap. It makes up about 90% of the substance and is an excellent moisturizer that is absorbed quickly, provides superior hydration and penetrates deeply. The non-saponifiable portion is about 10% and is accountable for its healing action as it is composed of vitamins A and E and other antioxidants. These components make it a major anti-inflammatory agent and a minor sunscreen.
This unique substance is now prized all over the world as a natural healing moisturizer and emollient. It has numerous advantages when incorporated into skin and hair ca
The chemical make up of the butter can be demonstrated to be of two different portions, one that is responsible for its moisturizing properties and the other for its healing benefits. The larger portion, around 90% consists of a saponifiable fat which means it can be fully converted into soap. It makes up about 90% of the substance and is an excellent moisturizer that is absorbed quickly, provides superior hydration and penetrates deeply. The non-saponifiable portion is about 10% and is accountable for its healing action as it is composed of vitamins A and E and other antioxidants. These components make it a major anti-inflammatory agent and a minor sunscreen.
This unique substance is now prized all over the world as a natural healing moisturizer and emollient. It has numerous advantages when incorporated into skin and hair care products such as improving skin condition, tone and elasticity, healing eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis, preventing and decreasing scars, wrinkles and stretch marks after pregnancy and helping with the pain of muscle fatigue and arthritis.
Shea butter can be found in three different forms depending on the level of processing; unrefined, refined and highly refined. To attain all great benefits from it, it is best to buy organic, unrefined or the mildly refined product so that retains all its nutrients.
About the Author:
This unique substance is now prized all over the world as a natural healing moisturizer and emollient. It has numerous advantages when incorporated into skin and hair care products such as improving skin condition, tone and elasticity, healing eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis, preventing and decreasing scars, wrinkles and stretch marks after pregnancy and helping with the pain of muscle fatigue and arthritis.
Shea butter can be found in three different forms depending on the level of processing; unrefined, refined and highly refined. To attain all great benefits from it, it is best to buy organic, unrefined or the mildly refined product so that retains all its nutrients.
About the Author:
All comes from natural and organic products at Shea Butter moisturizer or you may also get Shea butter for natural hair. Felicia W. Reser is an expert of beauty products and health care check out her stories and advice.