Shea Butter

Shea butter, a natural treasure! 

In its purest raw state, shea butter has a thousand and one virtues for the skin, hair and body.

Shea butter represents 20% of the oils and butters used in our soaps, which makes them very difficult to work with (and therefore to make nice soaps, because the soap paste solidifies very quickly), but so restorative. Our soaps, regardless of the fragrance, leave the skin extremely soft, supple, hydrated and nourished. They restore the hydrolipidic film of the skin. This also applies to our moisturizer, which also contains a lot of shea butter.
Shea butter is undeniably the major ingredient in all our products.

But where does this natural treasure come from?
Shea butter is a vegetable butter made from a small shiny nut produced by a tropical African tree, the Shea tree, which means "butter tree". This tree grows wild in the African savannas.

Measuring up to 12 meters high, Shea can have a diameter of 2 meters and can live up to 300 years! At maturity (about 25 years), the tree can produce up to 20 kg of fruit.

Traditionally, the nuts called are boiled and dried in order to extract the kernel, the fat of which will be used to make shea butter.
The nuts are then crushed, ground and ground into a thick paste, which will then be immersed in boiling water.
Under the effect of heat, the butter liquefies, rises to the surface and solidifies when it cools. All you have to do is harvest it on the surface and package it. A 100% natural production method that gives top quality, ready-to-use shea butter.

However, the industry has developed two other, much faster extraction techniques:
    * Cold pressing: the almonds are crushed and pressed, but not heated. Thanks to this method, on a shea butter very rich in active ingredients. However, the yield is lower than with the traditional method, hence the higher price.
       * Solvent extraction: the butter is dissolved in hexane, then recovered when the latter evaporates. Although very commendable, this technique is not authorized in organic farming, because it degrades the active ingredients of the product.

Shea butter is solid and waxy in appearance at room temperature; it becomes oily above 34°C. When raw, shea butter has a slight nutty, slightly sour smell. To deodorize it, it must be refined (heated to a very high temperature) which causes it to lose some of its magnificent properties. Its texture is rich and unctuous, and it melts on contact with the skin.

What are its main benefits?

Shea butter is rich in vitamins A, D, E and F, as well as fatty acids.

It:
    - Deeply hydrates
    - Softens, nourishes, soothes and protects skin and hair from external aggressions
    - Repairs and preserves the naturally present hydrolipidic film
    - Preserves skin elasticity
    - Promotes cell renewal and fights against premature aging
    - Heals damaged or irritated skin
    - Acts as an anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and local analgesic
    - Absorbs some UV rays

    A great way to use it is to melt it in your hands and apply it to the affected area. In Africa, it is used in this way, raw, to treat and calm irritations, dry skin, for adults, but also for infants.

Uses:

 Daily care:

Need a protective and repairing lip balm? A cream for chapped hands or damaged feet? A nourishing and moisturizing treatment for the face or body? Look no further, you have found them all, in a single product: Shea butter.

Skin problems:

Shea butter has an undeniable effect on skin problems: psoriasis, eczema, severe desquamation or cracks are reduced and / or disappear with daily use of shea butter.
Its healing and protective power will help the skin to reconstitute itself more quickly. The anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, meanwhile, will cleanse wounds and calm irritation.

Aging skin:

In addition to moisturizing and nourishing the epidermis, shea butter restores elasticity and suppleness to the skin, while fighting against free radicals. Thus, wrinkles are reduced, cell renewal promoted and the signs of time, pushed back.

Hair:

Applied to the ends as a mask before shampoo or as a treatment for dry hair, shea butter protects the hair from external aggressions (heating devices, sun, cold, rain, pollution, chlorine, etc.), while restoring shine and vitality. .
In addition to repairing brittle hair, it softens and hydrates the scalp, thus fighting dandruff.

Anti-inflammatory and local analgesic: 

Shea butter can relieve sore muscles, but also prevent sports-related inconveniences such as strains, dislocations, sprains or aches. Simply perform a hot massage on the affected area with a dab of shea butter, until the product penetrates.

Shea butter also offers natural protection against the sun.

Be careful, shea butter is not a sunscreen! It should therefore not be used alone when you expose yourself. On the other hand, applied before the sunscreen, it can reinforce the action of the latter, and therefore protect you more.
Used daily, it also helps prevent sunburn, sun allergies, burning sensations and brown spots in the long term.

During pregnancy:

Applied daily to the stomach, hips, breasts and thighs, it can prevent pregnancy-related stretch marks, and reduce those that have already formed. Not only will it preserve the hydration and health of the skin, but also strengthen its elasticity.

During breastfeeding:

Thanks to its strong healing and repairing power, Shea butter can not only prevent stretch marks, but also relieve and heal cracks that may appear on the chest and nipple. Apply as needed to relieve pain.

For baby:

Nothing is more fragile and sensitive than the skin of an infant: to take care of it, apply a little Shea butter on the baby's body after the bath, as well as on his bottom after each change.
Note that it is best to do a test in the bend of the elbow beforehand, to make sure that baby is not allergic.

How to choose the good Shea butter?

First, be sure to opt for raw butter, which has not been bleached or deodorized. These chemical processes tend to denature the product, stripping it of much of its vitamins and other beneficial fatty acids.

A good shea butter is therefore colored – from pale yellow to more intense yellow, and has a fairly strong smell (which fades very quickly during use).

You will find this wonderful product under the name Butyrospermum parkii in the INCI of your cosmetic products. If it is at the top of the list, your product contains a large amount of shea butter, if it is at the end of the list, the product will contain little.