About African Shea Butter

African Shea butter has been used for centuries for its unsurpassed ability to protect and regenerate the skin. It comes from the nut of the Karite (ka-ree-tay) tree, which grows throughout West Africa. Karite can grow up to 20 meters high, and its trunk can reach up to 1 meter in diameter. It produces its first fruit when it is about 25 years old, and reaches full production at the age of 40-50, and can live up to 300 years. The fruits of the Karite tree resemble large plums, approximately 3-6 cm. The Karite nut is edible and contains 1-3 seeds surrounded by a thin brittle hull. The creamy substance, known as shea butter, is produced from these seeds.

What are the Traditional Uses of African Shea?

The name Karite means the Tree of Life, due to the multitude of important uses that shea butter provides. In Africa, it is used in daily cooking, and also taken therapeutically for colds and flus In the Yoruba tradition, shea butter is the ceremonial food for the orishas: Obatala, Olokun, and Orumila. Shea butter is used on newborns and infants daily to protect their sensitive skin from irritants. It is also used extensively by the elderly to treat afflictions of the joints and to maintain the suppleness of their skin. Many people use it regularly on their feet to heal cracks made by the dry Sahara dust.

The fruits of the Karite tree are traditionally harvested by village women. The process of making shea butter starts with the separation of the kernels from the hulls by pounding them. They are then kept at a low simmer by adding small amounts of water and continuous stirring. The karite is pored into calabashes, stirred, and the impurities skimmed off. This process may be repeated several times until the karite is a creamy white color.

What are the Benefits of African Shea?

The therapeutic properties of African Shea butter are numerous. Extremely high in Vitamins A, E and F, shea butter provides skin with all the essential elements it needs for good balance, elasticity and tone. Recently advocated as a cosmetic ingredient, shea butter continues to pique the interest of cosmetic chemists the world over.

Shea butter is used therapeutically for the following skin conditions:

1. Dry Skin - Shea butter helps prevent ashy skin, chapping, chafing, rashes, psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis, skin cracks, and tough or rough skin (especially feet and elbows).

2. Wrinkles - Shea butter helps aging soft skin tissue to firm up. Rejuvenates skin cells and cleans pores. Can be used on all skin types.

3. Skin Irritations - Minor skin irritations including: allergies, insect bites, frost bites, sun burns, burns, and small skin wounds all respond positively to shea butter treatment.

4. Dry Hair and Scalp - Apply to hair and scalp to add moisture to dry, brittle hair; to prevent weak hair from breaking, fading or thinning out; to prevent dandruff; and revitalize split ends. Shea butter will protect hair from the damaging rays of the sun, hair dryers, perms and dyes. Unlike petroleum based products, it will not clog pores and block hair shafts. Use it as a conditioning sheen to maintain hair's natural shine and improve manageability. Try it before swimming to protect hair against chlorine and sea salt.

5. Arthritis and Rheumatism - Shea butter is deeply penetrating and heating to soothe painful joints and aching muscles.

6. Sun protection - Shea butter can be used as a sun screen to prevent the UV rays from penetrating the skin.

7. Sensitive Skin - For infants or people with highly sensitive skin, shea butter is a natural alternative. The chemical composition of shea butter is close to vernix, the substance found on newborns at birth.

8. Stretch Marks - Shea butter is excellent for the prevention and treatment of stretch marks and other kinds of scar tissue. It is also good for the healing of the sore and cracked nipples of nursing mothers.

9. Aging - Shea butter is wonderful for elderly and invalids for use to prevent bed sores and to ensure continued suppleness and moisture of their skin.

10. Massage - African Shea butter is the ultimate in skin nourishment has the best "slide" and consistency for massage therapy.

What is in African Shea?

Shea butter and oil have a high concentration of nonsaponifiable fatty acids which promote cellular growth, helping to restore damaged skin. Other components of shea butter and oil include: Keratin, necessary of maintaining elasticity of skin; Triterpenic Alcohols with Cinnamon Esters, which provide protection from UV rays; Allantoin; Resinous Esters, which provide healing and disinfecting properties, Cinnamic Acid, which most directly correlates with clinical effectiveness in healing; high levels of Stearic and Oleic fatty acids, known for their moisturizing qualities, as well as other natural compounds with high therapeutic value.


What sets African Shea apart from other Natural Oils?

The components of most seed oils can be divided into two important categories. The first is called the saponifiabe fraction which contain most of the moisturizing properties. The second category is called the nonsaponifiable fraction, which contain most of the healing properties. What sets shea butter and oil apart from other seed and nut oils and butters is its exceptionally large nonsaponifiable fraction; containing important nutrients, vitamins and other valuable phytonutrients required for healing. While having an excellent moisturizing fraction, in most other seed oils and butters the healing fraction is very small, often 1% or less. Shea butter, depending on the source and processing methods, has a nonsaponifiable fraction of 5% up to as much as 17%. Because shea butter has such a high percentage of nonsaponifiables, in addition to its moisturizing qualities, regular use of this natural cream can effectively treat many of the skin problems listed above. It is out of these unique healing properties that the Karite tree came to be known as the Tree of Life.