Each summer, the tree bears a fruit the size of a plum, which contains a nut.  Shea butter is the fat extracted from the seed that is removed from the shea nut.  The Shea kernels look similar to a horse chestnut and are comprised of about 50 percent fat, 10 percent protein, and 30 percent carbohydrates.  The pits of the pulpy plum size fruit are picked by hand, allowed to sun dry, and then roasted in order to dehydrate the nut. The dried fruit is hand crushed in order to remove the skin and then smoothed between two stones into a brown paste.  The women of this region transform the brown paste into a soft white butter.  Pure unrefined virgin shea butter undergoes no chemical processing and is free from bleaching agents, preservatives, and additives.  It is still harvested and prepared using the same method practiced for thousands of years.  This method of preparing the virgin shea retains the natural goodness, vitamins and minerals, and allows the nutty, smoky scent to be naturally preserved. The color of the butter ranges from off white to gray to golden brown, to green, depending upon the maturity of the nut.

All Shea Butters are NOT Created Equal!

We use high quality, naturally extracted, unrefined shea butter.  This butter commands a premium price, but you get an incredible product. Shea butter is available in various forms; unrefined, refined, and ultra-refined.  How the shea butter is extracted from the nut and how it is subsequently processed determines its final nourishing qualities.

• Unrefined (or Virgin) Shea Butter: At the high end of the shea butter spectrum you have a natural, manual extraction process which leaves more of the wonderful raw ingredients in the Shea Butter.  This shea butter can vary in color from yellow to gray to even a slight green, and has a smoky, nutty scent.  Color, texture, and scent vary depending on the region in which the Karite tree grows.   Unrefined shea is very sensitive to changes in temperature and can be difficult to work with.  It is not uncommon for products made with this butter to have a bit of a grainy feel to them.  Although the grainy part melts the second it touches your skin, you can see why cosmetic companies shy away. 
  
  To qualify as unrefined, shea butter must not have passed through any filtering systems using chemicals or other methods that would remove or reduce the natural nourishing components or change its natural properties in any way.  Unrefined shea butter is passed through a cheesecloth filter to remove nut skins.   As with all nuts, there is a skin between the nut and the shell which can, and does, get into the shea butter as it is being pressed out of the cooked nuts.  You may even see some of the nut skin pieces that escaped the cheesecloth in our shea butter products.
   

• Refined Shea Butter: This shea butter has been passed through one or more filtering systems.  It may be deodorized using chemicals, or other processes, to remove the natural nutty aroma.  It may be bleached, either chemically or as a result of the filtering system used to make it whiter in color.  It may have a preservative added to it to prevent it from going rancid since the natural antioxidants and vitamins that normally do this have been removed.  The quality of this shea butter depends on the refining system used and there is no standard in place.
   

• At the other end of the spectrum, the Ultra-refined Shea Butter is usually extracted using solvents, a cheaper and quicker method of extraction.  This shea butter has been filtered and re-filtered.  It is deodorized, bleached to pure white, and further processed to produce a softer, smoother textured product that is easier for mass production machines to incorporate it into commercial lotions,  which is why it is extensively used by the cosmetic industry.   Even smaller companies making shea butter products will use this type of shea butter since is cheaper, easier to work with, produces a finer textured product. Also without its natural nutty aroma, will not interfere when scents are added.  Ultra-refined shea butter will often have preservatives added since the antioxidants and vitamins that act as natural preservatives have been removed.  This over processed product does not retain any of the healing properties that shea butter is known for, other than basic moisturizing.  

Your skin deserves the best! The less refined, the more natural raw ingredients remain in the Shea Butter.   A good analogy is bread.  At one end you have a less refined natural whole wheat bread loaded with natural fiber, vitamins, and wheat protein.  At the other end, you have white bread!

Is Our Shea Butter Organic?

Organic is definitely the buzz word these days.  The problem is the definition.  Our Shea Butter is Fare Trade produced by a woman owned company in Ghana!   The company now has organic certification!

Virgin Shea Butter is widely used to protect skin from the sun’s UV rays, as well as soften and heal cracked and aged skin.

• Evens skin tone
• Absorbs quickly without leaving greasy residue like mineral oil based products
• Penetrates deep into the epidermal layer of your skin to help restore elasticity to maturing skin and prevent the cellular breakdown that leads to dry, cracking skin, and stretch marks
• Stimulates cellular activity, fights the effects of aging and repairs rough, damaged skin
• Returns natural luster to skin and hair
• Does not clog pores
• Revitalizes, softens and maintains skin moisture
• Aids in the healing of wounds and may improve scars due to its anti-inflammatory properties
• Used to heal eczema, burns, rashes, severely dry skin, and to lessen the irritation of psoriasis
• Moisturizes after shaving to prevent irritation
• Has natural sun blocking powers and may protect skin from sun damage and environmental elements

• Nourishes the hair shaft
• Moisturizes dry, dull over-processed and heat-treated hair resulting in improved brilliance and manageability
• Helps prevent weak hair from breaking, fading, or thinning out and may promote hair growth

Persons suffering from latex allergies should do an allergy Patch Test before using any shea butter product.  Many people with latex allergies are not affected by shea butter, but some are, so it is better to be safe than sorry!