Organic Shea Butter - we shine the spotlight on this amazing African tree oil
What is Shea Butter and where does it come from
Our wild-crafted & fairly traded shea butter is produced by women co-operatives in Ghana, West Africa, using shea nuts from wild Karite trees. Although technically a nut, unlike most tree nut products, shea butter is very low in the proteins that can trigger allergies.
Virgin shea butter is not extracted using hexane or other chemicals, nor it is bleached or deodorised like most commercially used shea butters. It is free from preservatives, colouring agents (natural or artificial) or other additives. Virgin shea butter can vary in colour between batches and throughout the year - from light or dark olive to pale or rich golden yellow. Because no chemicals are used during its production, our shea butter retains all its natural goodness, colouring & nutty, slightly smoky aroma.
Why is Shea Butter so good for the skin
Antioxidants
Our shea butter is a creamy unrefined organically produced butter, packed with vitamins A, E & F, making it exceptionally rich in antioxidants. Vitamin A is invaluable for skin repair and regeneration, and Vitamin E keeps the skin healthy and elastic.
Fatty Acids
Shea Butter is also rich in essential fatty acids, including linoleic, oleic, stearic and palmitic; these act as powerful refatting fairies when applied to the skin, restoring lost lipids and moisture bringing instant hydration to the skin.
Plant Esters
The naturally occurring plant esters of shea butter (wax like substances known as cetyl esters) are invaluable not only at conditioning the skin and locking moisture in, but also have anti-inflammatory properties causing inflammatory cells to slow their growth, thus aiding skin recovery in inflammatory conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis. These also help reduce scar tissue formation and encouraging healthy skin cells to grow, making shea butter invaluable at skin healing and minimising the appearance of stretch marks and scarring.
Triterpenes
Various sources suggest that shea butter contains naturally occurring compounds known as triterpenes, which are thought to play a key role at slowing collagen fibre destruction which happens naturally as we age, making shea butter highly valuable ingredient in facial moisturisers.
What can I use organic Shea Butter for
Because of the exceptional nutritional content virgin shea butter has a multitude of uses - from soothing dry, chapped or sun damaged skin, to preventing wrinkles, treating stretch marks, scars, blemishes, eczema, small wounds, nappy rash, scrapes, hair conditioning, insect bites, arthritis, muscle aches & tension, burns and fungal infections.
In recent clinical trials shea butter was also found to be effective in protecting the skin against the weather and harmful UV rays. However please note we do not endorse this ingredient as an approved SPF treatment. It makes a great aftersun exposure moisturiser though, so do take some when you go on holiday next time.
Which of our products contain Shea Butter
We do love organic shea butter and most of our face creams and body butters are made with this amazing natural ingredient.
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