From out of Africa comes karite butter. More
popularly known in the West as shea butter, this yellow-white to ivory-colored
paste has been used by African healers for thousands of years to alleviate
maladies of the skin and scalp.
Shea Butter comes from the African shea tree found
along the West African Savannah region. It is a wild growing tree that
produces tiny, almond-like fruit from which shea butter is extracted. The tree
itself is not cultivated and takes 40 to 50 years to mature. In most parts of
West Africa, destruction of the shea tree is forbidden due to its economic,
health and social benefits. (Shea butter is a valuable source of food in
Africa.) Indeed, many herbalists in Africa regard shea butter as an invaluable
agent for internal and external body purification.
Traditional
uses of shea butter include: treatments for dry skin, blemishes, skin
discoloration, scars and wrinkles, a relaxer for stiff muscles, as an aid for
pain from swelling and arthritis, even as a sun screen.
What makes shea butter so great for the skin is its
high content of non-saponifiable fatty acids (comprised mostly of stearic and
oleic acids.) These fatty acids are indispensable for moisturizing and
retaining the elasticity of the skin. By making up for lipid (fat) deficiency
in the epidermal cells, shea butter provides the skin with all the essential
elements it needs for its good balance. Shea butter contains up to 11% of
unsaponifiables, making it a superior superfatting material for soapmaking.
Smooth on face, hands, and body, the gentle qualities of shea butter are used
by the cosmetics and soap industries in such products as shampoos, creams, and
balsam for the hair, and soaps and other cleaning products for the skin.
Shea butter is used in shampoos and lotions because
of its outstanding rapport with the body; it is superior to both cocoa butter
and jojoba butter in the treatment of damaged hair. It is an amazing
skin-soothing agent for makers of soap, particularly when blended with
lather-generating coconut oil. It’s a fine product by itself, too: clinical
observations suggest that shea butter increases local capillary circulation,
which in turn increase tissue re-oxygenation and improves the elimination of
metabolic waste products.
Enjoy
the Benefits of using Natural Products!
