Enhance your skin with the benefits of unrefined shea butter
Unrefined Shea Butter is a powerful 100% natural moisturizer with many healing benefits and potential to improve the condition of skin and hair. It is solid at room temperature, but melts easily on contact with the skin for quick and easy absorption.
Regular use can produce smoother, softer, healthier looking skin for all skin types. It naturally contains vitamins A, E, and F. These antioxidants can help skin retain its natural elasticity, absorb moisture from the air, and help prevent premature wrinkles by increasing overall collagen production. It also contains cinnamic acid which may provide modest skin protection against sun damage (note: traditional SPF sunscreens are still necessary for full protection). While some of these benefits can also be found in other carrier oils and nut butters, unrefined shea butter is unique in that it contains a high amount of unsaponifiables and fatty acids by comparison.
In hair care, shea quickly hydrates dry, damaged hair and helps protect against weather damage and general brittleness. Absorbs quickly and completely into the scalp to hydrate without clogging pores. It is especially beneficial for heat-treated and chemically-processed hair.
Some other benefits include:
Treatment of skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.
Prevention and treatment of stretch marks.
Soothing burns, sunburns and insect bites.
Soothing diaper rash.
Helping prevent scarring from cuts.
Hydration of severely dry and cracked skin.
Unrefined Shea vs. Refined Shea:
It is important to note that there are processing differences between unrefined and refined shea. All shea butter is initially extracted from the African karite (shea) nut tree, but only unrefined shea butter has the healing benefits that make it such a sought-after natural moisturizer and skin care ingredient.
Unrefined shea butter can be extracted from the shea nut by hand using traditional West African methods or with the use of a mechanical press. Both methods produce butter without the use of chemicals or synthetics. The final product is unrefined shea butter, also known as raw shea butter or virgin shea butter and has a high concentration of antioxidants, healing benefits, and natural UV protection. Its color can range from beige to light yellow, and it has a slight smoky or nutty aroma that comes from traditional processing methods.
Refined or ultra-refined shea is extracted and processed using high temperatures and chemical solvents such as hexane. It is generally pure white in color and contains no odor. During this processing, almost all possible healing benefits have been lost.
Today, many mainstream skin and body care products use the refined variety in their formulas due to its longer shelf life, pure white color, and lack of odor. These products may be decent moisturizers, but they’re not going to have the amazing healing benefits that can only be found with pure, unrefined shea.