Ingredient Spotlight: Shea Butter | Your Skin's Best Friend
Shea butter comes from the nuts of karité trees that grow in the Sahel region extending from West to East Africa, from Guinea and Senegal to Uganda and South Sudan. This commodity is actually well known as being an industry worked mainly by women in small co-operarives. The nuts are processed by hand into a paste which is then hand kneaded with water. This process separates the outer shell from the butter leaving a pale-yellow butter that smells slightly nutty.
Shea butter is rich in vitamins A, E, and D, as well as fatty acids and antioxidants. These nutrients make it great for use in cooking, but also helps to protect the skin from damage and promote healing. Shea butter is known for its moisturizing and emollient properties, which help to soften and protect the skin.
There are many benefits of shea butter for the skin. It can help to:
- Moisturize and soften the skin
- Protect the skin from damage
- Promote healing
- Reduce inflammation
- Help to heal dry, cracked skin
- Reduce the appearance of stretch marks
- Have antibacterial and antifungal properties
Shea butter is a versatile ingredient that can be used in a variety of skin care products. We use it in many of our products since it is safe for use on all skin types, even sensitive skin.
Here are some of the products that we at Sebesta Apothecary use shea butter in and why:
- Baby Soaps: Gentle way to create a silky bubble in the soap, ensuring it doesn’t strip the skin of any moisture while cleansing.
- Shave Soap: Shea Butter helps to create a thick rich lather that helps get that close shave without irritating the skin.
- Face Wash Soap - Oatmeal: Provides a gentle cleanse while reducing inflammation and healing dry skin.
- Shower Lotion Bars: Solid at room temperature, the heat of your skin fresh from the shower is just enough so to melt a little of the moisturizing butter leaving a nice protective barrier so you can take on the day.
- Beard Balm: Great for a deep moisture boost, while helping to reduce itchy, flaky skin under that beard or mustache. Bonus: Those antibacterial properties come in handy here as beards can house bacteria which can cause irritation and breakouts!
- Lip Balm: Lock in that moisture and heal chapped lips without feeling sticky.
We hope you enjoy shea butter as much as we do - It really is a magical ingredient!
Quick Tip: Some natural butters like Shea have a tendency to become a bit grainy in texture. This does NOT mean the butter has gone bad or turned rancid. Shea Butter is made up of 7 different fatty acids. When a butter as complex as shea, is heated, the fatty acids separate from one another. If it cools too slowly, these fractions stay separate causing the butter to go grainy. (This can happen when shipping products in warm weather). A quick solution to reduce or remove the graininess and get it back to a smooth texture is to gently melt the butter, and then rapidly cool in the fridge or freezer.