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About Shea Butter
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Shea
Butter originates from the seed of the Shea Tree.
No chemicals or preservatives are used in the making
of shea butter and the highest quality shea butter
is prepared with a cold press. Because shea butter
originates from a seed, it is considered a seed oil.
Seed oils have two important characteristics.
Firstly, seed oils have a saponifiable fraction,
which contains the moisturizing agents. Secondly,
seed oils have a nonsaponifiable fraction, which
contains the healing agents. Shea Butter has been
known to contain anywhere from 5% to 17% of a
healing fraction. Other seed oils often contain a
healing fraction of 1% and less. It is because of
these unique healing properties that the shea tree
is also called the Karite Tree, meaning Tree of Life
in Wolof (an indigenous language of Senegal).
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Natural, unrefined, Shea Butter is full of Vitamins A and E,
which may explain why shea is an excellent moisturizer and
healing agent. The Vitamin A in shea helps to alleviate
blemishes, wrinkles, eczema, and dermatitis. Shea has also
been shown to treat skin allergies, insect bites, sunburns,
frostbite, and a variety of other skin ailments. Shea Butter
may also accelerate the rate of wound healing. Shea is such
a versatile moisturizer for the skin because the natural
moisturizers in Shea Butter are the very same moisturizers
produced by the sebaceous glands in the skin. Vitamin E has
been known to increase the micro-circulation to the skin,
resulting in a more effective flow of blood to and from the
skin. Not all Shea Butter can have such beneficial effects
on the skin. These benefits vary on the quality of the
butter.
Shea Butter has been known to age and lose its natural
integrity. Shea Butter becomes less effective as it ages due
to a lack of bound Cinnamic Acid, the ingredient which
allows shea to be an effective healing agent. Although shea
with unbound Cinnamic Acid is less effective as a healing
agent, it does retain its moisturizing benefits. The
preparation and the environmental conditions after
preparation can also alter the quality of the butter. Aging
and loss of integrity make the difference between a poor
quality shea butter and a high quality shea butter. A truly
good butter will be both effective as a moisturizer and a
healing agent, whereas poor quality shea butter is only good
for moisturizing.
Shea Butter has been researched by physicians and classified
into four different groups; Class A, Class B, Class C, and
Class F. Class (or grade) A is premium Shea Butter, most
effective for both moisturizing and healing. Class F is the
lowest quality Shea Butter, recommended only as a
moisturizer and has no healing properties. To confirm that a
shea butter has been tested and certified as a Class A shea,
look for the American Shea Butter Institute Seal. The
Institute Seal also certifies that no fillers, chemicals, or
preservatives have been used in the Shea Butter; as all of
the aforementioned often alter the natural integrity of the
Shea Butter. Aging and excessive heating may alter the
integrity shea butter.
Be very
cautious about the purchase of the following:
1) Foul or Extremely Pungent Shea. Indicate of being spoiled
or excessive heating.
2) White (bleached) Shea. (Grade F) Like sugar or flower,
bleaching strips shea of its nutrients.
3) Hard Shea. Solidification makes all butters harder in
cold temperatures. However, if shea is rock hard at room
temperature (70° F) something went wrong in processing.
4) Gritty Shea. Again, complications in processing.
5) Discoloration and/or black residue. This could be
unhealthy pathogens, like mold. Shea is naturally cream or
light yellow in color.
6) Debris. You wouldn’t eat a piece of fruit with out
washing it would you? Shea should not have sticks and/or
creatures in it.
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