You can tell if what you have is pure Shea Butter by its aroma and color. The color of pure Shea Butter and its aroma can sometimes be unappealing to individual consumers, which prompted a refining process to strip it of the original color and odor.

There are two forms of Shea Butter: refined and unrefined Shea Butter. The refined Shea Butter loses its aroma and color of pure Shea Butter as it goes through the manufacturing process, which includes adding a chemical called hexane. This is a petroleum-based chemical, which is thought to be harmful to people, the environment and other living things. Most consumers prefer unrefined Shea Butter.

Their Distinctive Characteristics

The color of pure Shea Butter may be a slightly greenish or cream colored. It varies from these two colors but is seldom far from either one. It looks very rich and fatty but does not feel greasy after a few minutes of rubbing onto the skin.

The Shea Butter color can be an indication of how it was produced. The unrefined color of pure Shea Butter is the greenish or ivory color that comes naturally to the cream. Since it is unrefined and not processed with any harmful chemical, it retains the color of pure Shea Butter.

The earthy aroma of pure Shea Butter may smell peculiar at first, but the scent eventually grows on you. Refined Shea Butter not only removes the aroma of the cream, but also makes it blend better with other, often questionable, ingredients. This gives the Shea Butter products more of a variety and can appeal to all kinds of noses. However, the quality of refined Shea Butter suffers.

Uses For Pure Shea Butter

Pure Shea Butter is commonly used as either an ingredient for cosmetics or as a moisturizer itself. Due to the high demand for it, some cosmetics manufacturers use a small amount of it in some of their products and yet label it a Shea Butter product. In cases like these, you are not really getting your money’s worth since it is not purely Shea Butter.

You might like to read the ingredients and the percentage of what it contains before you buy the product.

Unrefined Shea Butter

The natural Shea Butter cream is best for sensitive skin and people who suffer from allergies. It is 100% natural and does not contain any fragrance or dye. It smoothes evenly on the body and is completely hypoallergenic. Sheabutter cream can be used daily for rejuvenation and moisture protection.

Skin Problems

Many people suffer from skin problems such as psoriasis, athlete’s foot, chapped hands and lips, eczema, dry scalp, itchy skin, sunburn, peeling, dry complexion and much more. Sheabutter cream can be applied to the lips to help soften them or can be bought in lip balm form for consistent use.

There are whipped Shea Butter creams for the body and Shea Butter hair care products for the scalp to help reduce itchy dry skin. There are Shea Butter creams made specifically for all of the above skin problems and are very successful.

There are special creams that are made specifically for babies. These Shea Butter creams are unscented and used for diaper rash and baby acne.

Shea Butter comes from the Shea tree in West and East Africa. For centuries the women in rural villages have been using Shea Butter for many different things. They have used the bark for medicinal purposes. They boil the bark and ground them into creams and have made their own sheabutter creams for scrapes, burns and scars years before Westerners knew the Shea tree existed. They use the shells from the Shea nuts as mosquito repellant and they crush the nuts and manually take the Shea Butter out of them to make into their creams for their bodies.

Older women from these villages have almost flawless complexions and no wrinkles at all.

When skin care manufacturers discovered the Shea tree and its remarkable properties, Shea Butter cream exploded onto the Western marketplace. Practically every woman uses sheabutter creams today to fight the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Women who use these creams consistently have extremely soft and healthy skin without any greasy residue. Babies have found a perfect and soothing way to rid themselves of diaper rashes.

It’s remarkable the wonderful health care remedies a little known tree in Africa could produce.

Shea Butter Products

Many people are willing to try natural hair growth alternatives to hair loss before they go to specialists about their hair problem.

Shea Butter haircare is also available in shampoo and conditioner forms. Sheabutter hair care is also in a leave on conditioner form and as a treatment for excessively dry brittle hair.

Sheabutter Hair Products

A Sheabutter hair product that is quite popular is the Sheabutter hair conditioner, which is really great for even the coarsest hair. It lends softness and sheen to all kinds of hair types. The Sheabutter hair leave in conditioner actually has the same concept as the conditioner. It moisturizes and reenergizes the hair and scalp to help promote better hair.

The Sheabutter hair shampoo is also great for cleaning and moisturizing but the conditioner is more effective. The Shea Butter shampoo has very little Shea Butter in it since it is supposed to cleanse the hair and then the application of the conditioner does the moisturizing.

Shea Butter hair growth products are actually very effective in moisturizing the hair and scalp. At the same time, they can alleviate the symptoms of dermatitis and psoriasis for those who suffer from these skin disorders. Superficial wounds and scars can also be healed faster when you use all natural 100% Shea Butter on your head.

Shea, Nuts, Butter And Oil

Shea nut butter is a very rich skincare product that is extracted from the Shea nut. The Shea nut comes from the Shea tree or the Karite tree which is native to most parts of Africa.

This is the reason why most Shea Butter originates from Africa. The Karite tree can live to more than two hundred years old. It matures are twenty years and reaches full productions around forty to forty-five years old. This means a single tree can produce a lot of Shea nuts per season.

Shea Butter is one of the best natural beauty products and is highly prized even in Africa. The production of the cream has been ongoing for decade even centuries. Shea Butter is used in so many things. Its uses range from a cooking oil to a skin moisturizer and hair conditioner and also to fade away scars and stretch marks.

Shea Butter Hair

Shea Butter is currently available in an organic, unrefined form and refined form. Despite both being 100 % Shea Butter, the difference lies in the Shea Butter extraction methods.

The way Shea Butter is produced, affects Shea Butter grade and quality. Post-processing factors like storage and temperature i.e. how to heat Shea Butter can also reduce its quality.

The refined Shea Butter has no natural fragrance and natural color. On the other hand, the organic, unrefined form of Shea Butter is in its natural state. Research has concluded that the refined form of Shea Butter is not as effective as the organic, unrefined one.

Major Uses

The primary use of pure sheabutter is as a moisturizer and as an emollient. Many products carry Shea Butter but not pure sheabutter due to its expensive cost. Many cosmetics mix other ingredients to the Shea Butter to cut expenses. 100% pure Shea Butter has been found to be very effective in fading scars and stretch marks. This in itself is one reason why so many women buy 100% Shea Butter. Other benefits of Shea Butter are keeping the skin elastic and supple.

Raw Shea Butter in shampoos and conditioners also help brittle hair regain its softness and elasticity. It can revitalize and prevent further breakage of the hair. 100% Shea Butter is also used for tribal ceremonies in Africa where the trees are common. Other uses for raw and pure Shea Butter are as cooking oil and conditioner for leather and wood.

100% Shea Butter is claimed to have anti-inflammatory properties, and has a reputation of helping lessen irritation from psoriasis, rashes and other skin disorders.

The Cost

The unrefined version of 100% Shea Butter is more expensive than the refined version. This is because organic products take more time to process and produce compared to those products that are refined and process without any regard for safety. The price for 100% Shea Butter usually depends on the demand and the supply of the product.

The uniqueness of the product means that it will always have a high demand and lesser supply since it takes seasons to grow the nuts and prepare the cream.

Pure Shea Butter