Shea butter is a fat extracted from the nut of the African shea tree. Afro Nilotica Shea Butter is sourced form Uganda in East Africa. The shea butter comes from two oily kernels within the shea tree seed. It is ivory in color when raw and commonly dyed yellow with borututu root or palm oil. It is widely used in cosmetics as a moisturizer, salve or lotion. Shea butter is edible and is used in food preparation in some African countries.
It’s safe for all skin types.Shea butter has been used as a cosmetic ingredient for centuries. Its high concentration of vitamins and fatty acids — combined with its easy-to-spread consistency — make it a great product for smoothing, soothing, and conditioning your skin.
East African shea butter is considered a more luxurious product. East African shea butter spreads more easily and is more suitable for sensitive skin, ageing skin, bruised skin, burns, wounds, dry peeling skin and baby skin.
There are two types of shea butter products:
- Unrefined shea butter. This is shea butter in its pure, natural form.
- Refined shea butter. This is product where the natural color and odor have been removed. While this may make it more visually pleasing, it can remove up to 75 percent of the “bioactive” ingredients that give shea butter its healthy properties.
Benefits of shea butter
Afro Nilotica Shea butter has several benefits
- Moisturizing skin-It contains three fatty acids- Oleic, stearic, and linoleic acids which help water and oil mix, also help the skin absorb shea butter. This makes it a perfect moisturizer with no greasy feeling.
- Reducing wrinkles-It boosts collagen which helps plump up skin and reduce the look of wrinkles.It also helps absorb ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun — an important factor in skin damage. Shea butter is rich in vitamin E, which helps diminish skin scarring, and vitamin A, which helps keep skin firm.
- It’s antioxidant-Shea butter is high in vitamins A and E, as well as catechins and other significant plant antioxidants, which may protect skin from damage. There is evidence that suggests that cinnamic acid esters in shea fat also help to prevent damage from ultraviolet radiation.
- It’s moisturizing–Shea butter is typically used for its moisturizing effects. These benefits are tied to shea’s fatty acid content, including linoleic, oleic, stearic, and palmitic acids.
- It may help prevent acne-Shea butter is rich in different kinds of fatty acids. This unique composition helps clear your skin of excess oil (sebum).
- It helps boost collagen production-Shea butter contains triterpenes. These naturally occurring chemical compounds are thought to deactivate collagen fiber destruction.
- It helps promote cell regeneration-Shea’s moisturizing and antioxidant properties work together to help your skin generate healthy new cells.Dead skin cells sit on the top. New skin cells form at the bottom of the upper layer of skin (epidermis).
- It may help reduce the appearance of stretch marks and scarring-It’s thought that shea butter stops keloid fibroblasts — scar tissue — from reproducing, while encouraging healthy cell growth to take their place.
- It may help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles-By boosting collagen production and promoting new cell generation, shea butter may help reduce what researchers call photoaging — the wrinkles and fine lines that environmental stress and aging can create on skin.
- It offers added sun protection-Using Shea butter on your skin does give you some added sun protection, so layer it over your favorite sunscreen on days you’ll be spending outside.
- It may help prevent hair breakage-Since shea butter is such a nourishing, healing ingredient, you can use it to revive dry hair. Apply raw shea butter to your hair to boost moisture and nourish hair.Afro Nilotica Shea Butter is an option that repairs damage and breakage.
Other banefits include
Unrefined raw Shea butter is an excellent ingredient for cooking.Grade A is unrefined shea butter, grade B is refined, and grade C is highly refined. You should choose grade A shea butter when cooking, since it’s most rich in antioxidants and fatty acids
Since shea butter doesn’t have any salt (or sugar!), it’s a great option if you want to add rich, nutty flavor to meals without increasing the sodium content.While shea butter can replace other cooking oils (including olive and avocado oils) or lards (you can spread it on toast like butter.
COMPONENTS OF SHEA BUTTER
The benefits of shea butter come from its chemical makeup. Shea butter contains:
- linoleic, palmitic, stearic, and oleic fatty acids, ingredients that balance oils on your skin
- vitamins A, E, and F, antioxidant vitamins that promote circulation and healthy skin cell growth
- triglycerides, the fatty part of the shea nut that nourishes and conditions your skin
- cetyl esters, the waxy part of the shea nut butter that conditions skin and locks in moisture
How to use shea butter
Shea butter is a creamy, semisolid that melts at body temperature, making it easy for your skin to absorb. It’s used in a variety of skin and cosmetic products, such as:
- moisturizers
- shampoos
- conditioners
- soaps
On skin
You can apply shea butter directly to your skin. Raw, unrefined shea butter is easy to spread.
You can use your fingers to scoop a teaspoon or so of shea butter from your jar, and then rub it onto your skin until it’s completely absorbed.
Shea butter is slippery and can keep makeup from adhering to your face, so you may prefer to apply it at night before bed.
On hair
Raw shea butter can also be applied directly to your hair.
If your hair is naturally curly or porous, consider using shea butter as a conditioner. Make sure your hair has absorbed most of the shea butter before rinsing and styling as usual. You can also use a small amount of shea butter as a leave-in conditioner.
If your hair is naturally straight, thin, or fine, consider using shea butter on the ends of your hair. Applying shea butter to your roots may cause an oily-looking buildup.
Storage
Shea butter should be stored slightly below room temperature, so that it stays solid and easy to spread.