Shea butter has grown popular as part of skin and hair-care regimens
By Lashonda Stinson | Source: THE STAR-BANNER
Shea butter” - in recent years, this term has been appearing more and more in the skin care and beauty aisles. Products that are made with it promise to relieve dry skin and make it softer and more radiant.
But what exactly is it?
Known for its soothing, moisturizing and skin protecting properties, shea butter is made from the nuts of karite trees found in the wooded savanna regions of West and Central Africa. The extraction process of the oil is very labor-intensive and tedious (visit www.alaffia.com to see the step-by-step process), but the final product is a smooth, light yellowish butter that does wonders for just about anything. Shea butter is an effective remedy if you’re suffering from dull, dry skin, stretch marks or scars and blemishes, among a laundry list of other things.
Traditionally shea butter has been used for many things, such as a decongestant, cooking oil and for sprains. However, it is most valued for being an exceptional moisturizer for skin and hair. It’s rich in vitamins, especially vitamin A and E, minerals and proteins. Fatty acids, which help retain skin moisture and elasticity, are very prominent in shea butter, which is why it works so well as a moisturizer.
Ocala resident Terri Walker can attest to that. Five years ago she was introduced to shea butter while living in Charleston, S.C. She got her first jar from a vendor who sold natural products at a local flea market She’s been hooked ever since, using it in her hair and on her face, elbows, knees and feet.
The difference, she said, in her skin before and after shea butter is like night and day.
“My skin has a glow to it now and it’s a lot smoother,” said Walker, whose sister sends her all-natural shea butter from Columbia, S.C. “I use it every day.”
Shea butter’s fine qualities are nothing new to Michele Probst, CEO and founder of Menaji Skin Care and beauty editor of Beststuff.com. If you want healthy looking skin, she says, you have to use healthy products.
“It’s a wonderful, all natural organic topical ingredient that will enhance youth and minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, said Probst, also a celebrity makeup artist for nearly 20 years.
These days people are approaching skin care in a new way and all-natural ingredients like shea butter are benefitting because of that, she said.
In addition to having amazing skin softening capabilities, it also has impressive healing properties. The Web site www. everythingshea.com, states shea butter restores elasticity of aging skin and speeds up the healing process of cuts, burns and scraps. Because shea butter promotes cell renewal, moisturizes the skin and increases circulation, it helps reduce wrinkles, vitaminstuff. com stated. And because it contains cinnamic acid, it also protects against UV rays.
“Shea butter actually enables your skin to absorb moisture from the air, and as a result, it becomes softer and stays moisturized for longer,” according to www.agbangakarite.com. Agbanga Karite is an African-owned producer and wholesaler of traditionally extracted, unrefined shea butter, African black soap and exotic oils.
When shea butter is in its raw and pure state it is called “unrefined.” When shea butter goes through a process to rid it of its natural color and scent, it is labeled “refined.” This process significantly reduces the healing values of shea butter. Most shea butter made outside of Africa is refined shea butter, which is white and odorless.
Walker said although she’s tried store-bought shea butter, she loves using shea butter in its pure form. “It’s not the same,” she said of the processed shea butter. “To me, it doesn’t last as long. With the pure kind, I can put it on and still know I have it on at the end of the day.”
Mother Earth, located in the Ocala Center shopping plaza on East Silver Spring Boulevard, carries a line of shea butter products from the company Alaffia. The company makes handcrafted, unrefined shea butter and is part of the Fair Trade Federation, a group of retailers, producers and wholesalers committed “to providing fair wages and good employment opportunities to economically disadvantaged artisans and farmers worldwide.” (African women are mainly responsible for the production of shea butter.)
Wilford Powell-Gordon, who works at Mother Earth Food Market, has his own company Netchem Ab, which sells shea butter and other natural skin and hair care products. He said in his opinion, shea butter hasn’t caught on as much here as compared to bigger cities.
“I’m from New York and it’s very well known in New York. It’s bought by both European people and people of African ancestry,” he said. “It’s suitable for all skin types.”
In its raw form shea butter has a slight smell to it. Some describe it as “smoky and nutty” and most people are put off by it. To make it more consumer-friendly, manufacturers add fragrances such as mint and lavender to it.
“Some people don’t like the scent, so what happens is it gets refined,” Walker explained. “When you refine it, it takes out the Vitamin A, E and cinnamic acid and those are what gives shea butter its real healing properties . . . The raw shea butter goes into the skin better.”
Although shea butter has been a staple in African culture for centuries, in the states it’s just beginning to become a familiar name in the mainstream market. It can be found on Amazon.com and name brand bath and beauty companies are introducing more products made with shea butter.
There’s Olay Complete Body Wash with shea butter. Aveeno, Lubriderm and Jergens all have products that feature shea butter as a main ingredient. Palmer’s, best known for its cocoa butter products, launched its line of Palmer’s Shea Butter Formula products in 2002.
Covergirl’s newest lip color product, Smoothwear Liptint, is made with vitamins and shea butter, promising “to improve the quality of your lips over time.” And shea butter has even found its way into Huggies Baby Wipes.