Shea Butter is the fat extracted from the cold compression of the African Shea tree seeds. This wonderful product has uses that are industrial, cosmetic, and medicinal in nature. Traditionally, Africans used the Shea Butter for primarily for cooking and in medicinal compounds. As more and more Western traders began to receive Shea and analyze its properties it became highly prized and lauded for its cosmetic uses.
Today, Shea Butter is used in hair products, makeup, and Soaps. It is used to soften the hair, moisturize the skin and reduce the appearance of scars. Pure Shea Butter is one of the few topical products that work with the body’s epidermal to inspire skin to absorb moisture from the air. Regular use of Shea Butter leaves the skin looking healthier and more lustrous.
Go Raw
Not all Shea Butters are alike. When you over-process an ingredient the heat of the manufacturing actually kills many, if not most, of the desired compounds that allow the product to work correctly. Raw Shea Butter contains vitamins A and E in plentiful quantities. Vitamin E has always been considered a useful anti-aging ingredient, while vitamin A is used traditionally to treat skin disorders. It is useful on rashes, dry or cracked skin, stretch marks, insect bites, sunburns, skin allergies, eczema, contact burns, and dermatitis.
Raw Shea Butter can also be used as a conditioner for the hair. Applied once a week to the hair and within a month you will find that there are fewer splits, tangles, and the hair will have a lustrous feel to it.
Fair Trade is Good For Everyone
Raw Shea Butter is hard to find, and harder still if you are concerned with ethical purchases. The decline of African culture among African nations is in direct proportion to corporate experience, therefore we encourage you to buy Shea Butter and other products from “Fair Trade” companies such as the Akoma Cooperative (http://www.akomacooperative.com/Shea_Butter.html ) where the purchase of this wonder product help sustain village life and supports the women and children of the community who live off of the profits of their Shea Butter production. The Akoma Cooperative provides traditional jobs to the Ghana village of Pusu-Namogo; giving them the means to keep their village alive and healthy.
Do It Yourself
When purchasing the raw Butter remember also that you can “mix” it yourself. Add your favorite fragrance oil to make a lustrous body moisturizer. The oil will hold the fragrance to the skin much longer than an alcohol-based perfume. Add “tint” to make it a tinted moisturizer for the face. Run out of cooking oil…use Shea Butter. Need to tame the ends of your hair before a hot night out, take a pinch of Shea Butter and rub it between your fingers then apply to loose ends.
It is a versatile product and far healthier than the petroleum-based products that most companies put out. Moreover, when purchasing Shea Butter from Fair Trade, organic suppliers like the Akoma Cooperative you are putting your money where your heart is.
