Products in picture - *Lyonsleaf Body Butter & Healing Blend, *Pure Body Butters, Bathing Beauty Blanket, *Essential Care, *Ljs natural solutions
I am always promoting my love of shea butter products but I haven't explained in any detail about this ingredient. Shea butter is derived from the fruit of the African karite tree. The shea nut is crushed and boiled to extract the oil that is the shea butter. I found a slideshow about the process on BBC News website, if that interests you then click here.
The reason why I like Shea butter is for the benefits it can offer the skin (and hair). It is rich in vitamins which promote cell repair making it great for dry, sensitive and cracked skin. It also has anti-inflammatory properties so one of the reasons I think it works well on my eczema. As soon as the weather turns cold and the heating goes on, my skin becomes flaky, I cannot get through the winter without shea butter creams. It is also very economical because you only need the smallest amount compared to a lotion. In its raw state it kind of looks like white chocolate, well that's what I think of (food on the brain!). Depending on the quality and other ingredients in a product I have found the consistency varies between brands. Some shea butters are whipped which makes them airy and light, some are a creamy consistency and others are solid which requires you to scoop from the jar and melt in the warmth of your hands. I recommend buying shea butter skincare from a natural company that source quality ingredients. Shea butter which has been refined will lose its natural colour, scent, and effectiveness. I buy products where shea butter is top of the ingredient list. You can of course buy in its raw state from a supplier.
It is my understanding that if you have a nut or latex allergy you should avoid shea butter. When looking at product ingredients the INCI reference is Butryospermum parkii.
Do you love shea butter as much as I do?
Do you love shea butter as much as I do?
