Whether it's after a stressful day at work, after sports, or just because, everyone should pamper their body regularly. Shea butter is excellent for this and brings numerous valuable ingredients. Shea butter not only gives your skin suppleness, it also helps you to relax and increase your well-being. At the same time, your health also benefits from this high-quality care. You will be amazed at the healing power of shea butter and how versatile it can be used. Shea butter is used, among other things, for skin and hair care. But pure shea butter can do much more and should therefore be an integral part of your routine.
What is shea butter and how is it made?
Shea butter is extracted from the fruits of the shea tree, which belong to the berry family. This tree is mainly found in the Sudanian zone in Africa. The fruits of the tree are even edible and have a slightly sweet taste. The fruit itself is green and contains a kernel, the so-called shea nut, from which the pure shea butter is now obtained. The nuts are peeled and then ground in a mortar, creating a brown mass. This is infused with hot water. During the subsequent kneading, the fat separates and floats on the surface of the liquid. The fat can now be skimmed off and allowed to cool. This is now the pure and valuable shea butter.
The ingredients and effects of shea butter
Shea butter is known for its many minerals and vitamins. But that alone doesn't make it as popular as it is. It is only through the special composition with other ingredients that it gains further healing properties and finds its justification in the field of cosmetics.
Shea butter itself is mainly rich in the following ingredients:
- Oleic acids
- Palmitic acid
- Linoleic acid
- Stearic acid
- Vitamin E
- Beta carotene
- Allantoin
- Triterpene alcohols
- Triterpenes
The following effects are attributed to these ingredients:
- Vitamin E is an antioxidant that protects against free radicals and also slows down the aging of cells in the body.
- Beta carotene is also an antioxidant that controls the reaction of our immune system and is also supposed to protect us from various heart diseases.
- Omega-3 fatty acids are necessary for the body because they also protect against heart disease, normalize blood pressure, and also increase cholesterol levels. Furthermore, they can also relieve joint pain.
- Allantoin is considered anti-inflammatory and is said to support the body in wound healing and thus accelerate it.
- Oleic acids like the well-known linoleic acid are unsaturated fatty acids that are supposed to maintain the natural skin barrier and the acid mantle. They also have an anti-inflammatory effect and are therefore also used in many different skin diseases.
- Triterpenes have an anti-inflammatory effect. They also protect the liver and are supposed to counteract thrombosis. The regeneration of nerves is also attributed to triterpenes.
- Triterpene alcohol has a decongestant, antispasmodic, and also antibacterial effect.
The application possibilities of shea butter
Thanks to its many active ingredients, shea butter is offered in the form of creams, lotions, ointments, and generally as body care. Now we would like to show you how you can use shea butter so that you too can benefit from its many advantages and effects on your body in the future.
Shea butter as an anti-aging product
Through the regular use of shea butter, you can promote and support the blood circulation of your skin. This allows individual ingredients to penetrate deep into the skin and unfold their full effect. Shea butter ensures a significantly better skin appearance and provides it with sufficient moisture. This reduces wrinkles and delays the aging process. This primarily refers to wrinkles that result from excessively dry skin. The contained vitamin E and beta carotene also protect your skin from free radicals, which not only age your skin cells but can also further damage them.
Using shea butter on your face
On your face, you can use shea butter either in its pure form, i.e., neat, or mix it with a high-quality day cream. It is sufficient to apply this care in the morning. It is unsaponifiable. This means that once applied and absorbed, shea butter forms a protective layer that cannot be washed off even with soap. Once spread over the entire body in the morning, you will have a pleasant and silky soft skin feeling all day long.
Good to know: In Africa, shea butter has been used for ages as protection against wind and sun.
Shea butter as a remedy
Shea butter not only supplies the skin with many vitamins and moisture, protecting it from dryness. Shea butter also contributes to regeneration and healing. For example, shea butter can also be used for the treatment of scars and also supports the skin in the regeneration of sunburn.
Its anti-inflammatory effect helps with both neurodermatitis and eczema. Furthermore, many experts recommend the use of shea butter for joint pain or rheumatism. Those who apply this remedy daily to the painful joints can alleviate the inflammation and, in some circumstances, even completely heal it, so that the pain also improves.
The effect can also help with allergy symptoms. A study in Nigeria in 1975 showed that shea butter has a decongestant effect on the mucous membranes in the nasal area. In some participants, the allergy symptoms even completely disappeared after a longer period of use.
Another study, conducted in Japan at the College of Science and Technology in Tokyo, even showed that shea butter had a positive effect in the fight against tumor cells.
Shea butter for lip care
The butter from the shea nut is also often used for lip care. Used as a pure natural product and lip balm, the lips are protected from various external influences, such as dry air or cold. In addition, the lips get a beautiful and natural shine.
Shea butter for hair and scalp
Shea butter is not only used as a cream or skin care product. Even with dry hair and split ends, a small amount is enough to moisturize the hair.
It is best to distribute and massage the unrefined butter throughout the hair before going to bed, so that it can work overnight. The hair is then washed the next morning. Your hair will feel wonderfully soft and supple. For short treatments, it is sufficient to leave the natural product on for 20 to 30 minutes, like a soothing bath. The effect over several hours at night is, of course, significantly higher.
If you suffer from a dry or severely flaky scalp, shea butter can also be the perfect solution here. For this, it is massaged into the scalp. Also with this application, you should leave the butter on overnight and only wash it out the next morning. This not only provides the scalp with important moisture. The itching is also significantly reduced by the nourishing properties.
Our conclusion – Shea butter the all-rounder
Due to its many positive properties, shea butter has become an integral part of not only skin and hair care. When buying, always pay attention to the ingredients, because especially as a pure and unrefined natural product, shea butter can fully unfold its effect on your skin and the rest of your body.
