An Introduction to Unrefined Shea Butter

Shea Butter Tree Unrefined Shea Butter in a Nutshell Uses, Benefits, Production and Purchase

In today’s society, most people have only recently heard of the substance Shea Butter however that secret is far from being a “breakthrough discovery”. The function and benefits of Shea Butter have been known and put to use for centuries. The Africans have used Shea Butter for many generations, protecting and rejuvenating hair and skin (the largest organ in the human body).  Having said that, the benefits of Shea Butter are not discriminatory to the people of the world. Literally everyone can take advantage of the benefits provided by Shea Butter. Today, Shea Butter is accessible in its pure form (unrefined) and as a complimentary ingredient in many products (such as hemp skin care products) to help with rejuvenation,maintenance and relief of hair & skin ailments.

What is Shea Butter?

Shea Butter Kernels Unrefined Shea Butter in a Nutshell Uses, Benefits, Production and Purchase

Shea Butter is only found within the tropic lands of Africa.  The butter is extracted from the nuts of the Shea-Karite tree (see image to the left) which typically starts to bear fruit after about 15 years (shocking amount of time huh?)! Furthermore, it can even take up to 30 or so years to bear quality crops of Shea nuts with a highly viable content of irremovable fatty acid.  It’s this unique fatty acid that gives Shea Butter its signature healing properties, making it far superior to its cocoa & vegetable butter counterparts (fair enough, it takes that long to grow properly anyway~).

Traditional harvesting of Shea Butter was typically carried out by African people (mostly women) who hand-picked the nuts, crushed’em, grilled’em and then pounded them into shape. They were then boiled in water for hours until the immiscible substance called Shea Butter melted and rose to the surface (oil in water =p).  The top layer was then scooped off into gourds, leaving them to cool and set.  At room temperature, Shea Butter is a solid however it quickly liquefies right around human body temperature.  The product made from this relatively simple extraction (not easy, simple) is called Unrefined Shea Butter or Raw Shea Butter.

Melted Shea Butter Unrefined Shea Butter in a Nutshell Uses, Benefits, Production and PurchaseThe appearance of Shea Butter can widely differ, including its quality and smell depending on where it is produced (refining and extracting process). However, it is typically smooth and yellow creamy in appearance (see image to the right) very much like the butter you’d spread on your toast (see image to the right).

The question then is, how can one tell if they are getting Good Shea Butter? Awesome question. Pure Shea Butter is typically found in three types of extraction processes.  Recently, Shea Butter has begun to be graded against the following categories:

  1. Raw or Unrefined Shea Butter – extracted via the water technique discussed earlier.  As a result its color ranges from like cream (similar to whipped butter) to grayish yellow.  This is the original form of Shea Butter as seen in the image to the right (yummmm).
  2. Refined Shea Butter - is more highly processed. Has many of its natural components still intact.
  3. Highly Refined or Processed Shea Butter - solvents are used to increase the yield (hexane is an example).  The color is pure white.

What should Shea Butter smell like?
Shea Butter has a natural herbal nutty smell, which is not unpleasant to most people. I’d describe it similar to some burnt incense or candle sticks.  Given time, the smell of Shea Butter gradually diminishes. This is a great way to tell if your product is still fresh because if your Shea Butter has nearly no smell, it is probably getting old.  As a note, Shea Butter should not stink, not matter how old it is.

IF the smell of your Shea Butter goes off, do not use it.

What is the Best Way to Store Shea Butter?
Unrefined Shea Butter need not be refrigerated.  However, over a period of a couple or so years, it will begin to lose some of its healing properties.  As the organic ingredients start to break down, as will some of the healing benefits will be reduced. Nevertheless, the Shea Butter will continue to be an effective moisturizer period which makes it a good shelf product.  Store Shea Butter is a cool (not necessarily cold) place.  If you’re going to use it within a couple of years, you should have no problems.

My Shea Butter Melted?
One of the best things about using Shea Butter is its low melting point.  As soon as you apply it to your skin, it literally starts to liquefy just like normal butter from your fridge. So when using it like a balm, you simple rub the surface in a circular fashion for a period of 5 – 10 seconds and you can get an evenly distributed layer on the palm of your hands to apply to the body parts you wish.

However, one of the bad things about Shea Butter is its low melting point. It’s quite possible it will melt in a hot room to look like a pool of oil, and sometimes even when it’s delivered to you during the months of summer.  If this happens, please don’t worry.  The Shea Butter is still good.  Simply pop the lid off of the container and place it in the refrigerator (or a cool shaded place like a cupboard) until it hardens again.  Then, given some time, the butter will start to cool and you should give it a stir to bring the emulsion back together (so you do not get sedimentation of the liquid and insoluble components).

Sounds high maintenance? There is some care needed when effectively using and taking care of natural products as powerful as Shea Butter. Is it worth it? Yes!

Checking the Color of your Shea Butter

The color of unrefined Shea Butter depends on the Shea nuts used.  Shea nuts will vary in color from almost white to yellow and as stated before is typically a creamy color. Whilst it has been mentioned that Shea Butter of the white color is typically highly refined, I would not rely on the color as a form of determining its authenticity/quality.  However, what I can definitely say is Shea Butter should never be greenish, brittle or feel greasy though. This combined with the color and the label (i.e. pure or unrefined Shea Butter) will help you make a judgement call in that regards.

The Benefits for Your Body

This is one of the most valuable things we can know for ourselves regardless of whether you end up using the Shea Butter product or not. Shea Butter can provide relief from everything from just dry skin to many minor dermatological conditions (note, I do not claim it to be a magical cure for serious matters in which you should probably contact your physician).  Here are the numerous tick-box benefits of Shea Butter:

  • An all over body daily skin moisturizer
  • Intensive dry skin relief (i.e. base of your foot/heel, knuckles or scaly hands)
  • Relieves dry/itchy scalps that typically come from using rough chemical hair products or excessive dryness.
  • General rashes including diaper-rash
  • Healing peeling skin from excessive sun exposure or tanning
  • Blemishes (ones that remain as your skin heals from acne wounds for example)
  • Useful for skin elasticity and therefore appropriate to manage wrinkles
  • Skin itches or irritation caused by shaving
  • Minor external skin wounds (cuts and scratches)
  • For mothers who want to reduce stretch marks during pregnancy
  • Soothes minor skin burns
  • Soothese eczema
  • Reduces scarring of the skin from wounds
  • Reducing acne (especially in combination with African Black Soap)
  • It absorbs quickly into the skin without leaving an unpleasant greasy rez
  • Can be used to enhance your hair in order to improve shine and tone

How does Shea Butter Function to Truly Benefit My Skin?

Well, Shea Butter nourishes the skin using the Vitamins A, E and F.  What Vitamins A and E do is help keep your skin clear and healthy by helping it retain moisture quickly after it has been damaged. This typically means that it can prevent premature wrinkles and facial lines.

On the other hand, Vitamin F acts to protect your skin, and also as a rejuvenating moisturiser. It soothes rough/dry skin (and also assists in making dry hair smoother).  Shea Butter is high in unsaponifiables (a type of fat).  Because Shea Butter has a unique amount of unsaponifiable fat (similar to avocado oil), it has such a powerful influence when moisturising and protecting your skin. The prescence of cinnamic acid naturally protects your skin from the sun given its natural SPF rating of about 6.

Additionally, Shea Butter penetrates the skin with ease, allowing the skin to breathe without causing pore clogging and because it is also an anti-inflammatory, it can be used for treating mild rheumatisms. Wow!

Is all Shea Butter the same?

NO! You have to be careful. Remember, now that its properties as a skin and body product has gone through the roof and become a buzz, many money-hungry mongrels are taking advantage of it by only using a small amount of Shea Butter but prominently displaying it on the marketed label. This helps them lower their prices significantly and sacrificing the values of the hard-made substance. Remember, you want unrefined Shea Butter, and if there are additives they should compliment its properties.

Does the label tell me much?
Heaps. Ingredients on the label are listed in the order that they are used most to least.  Therefore, you should look for Shea Butter products that:

  • List Shea Butter early on
  • Do not contain “amines” or “alcohols”, rather they use some naturally occuring preservative like Rosemary Extract

Where Can I Get Good Shea Butter?

Here.

Related posts:

  1. Unrefined Shea Butter – The Moisturizing & Healing Benefits with a Little Know How
  2. Best Shea Butter – Why Pure Shea Nut Butter Products Nurture Your Skin
  3. Serf to Surf Unrefined Shea Butter Product – MUST READ Before Buying
  4. Shea Butter Sunscreen – Things You Should Know for Your Skin Health
  5. Where to Buy Pure Shea Butter – The Answer to that Question