Posts Tagged ‘shea butter skin care’

Facts About Shea Butter

March 10th, 2010

A bowl of Shea butterShea butter has been one of the fastest growing skin treatment products over the last few years. There’s no doubt that your skin feels pretty good after you’ve applied it. Shea butter comes in many different scents which encourages some to continue using it. But the question is, is it any healthier than any other lotions or applications?

Shea butter is an application that has multiple uses, despite most only knowing it as a skin product. There is actually a process that can make it edible to be used in chocolate. Another process allows it to be used for soap. Shea butter can also be made to use in medications. There are 5 different grades of the product, which determines which way it will be used.

When it’s used in medications, it’s normally used to protect or heal the skin in some fashion. It’s used in a variety of products to help fight rashes and eczema, burns, wrinkles and chapped lips. It’s also used in products that help fight ultraviolet rays. One of the worries about Shea butter is that there are few scientific studies on the product other than from the industry itself, so it’s not really know if the health benefits are true or not.

Shea ButterIt is a product that has been used in Africa for hundreds of years without many negative effects. When people do have negative effects, it’s usually a mild allergic reaction, such as itchiness or skin breaking out in a rash. This is proof that it’s not for everyone, but there are people who are also allergic to both cocoa butter and aloe vera. Sometimes it depends on the grade of shea butter that’s in a product. Inexpensive products might not use grade A or B shea butter, which means it’s not the most pure or safest grades.

The best thing about shea butter is that it’s a vegetable fat from an African tree known as the “Karite”, which is the name for “Shea”, and it’s considered all natural before processing. It’s very flexible to use, which is what makes it popular. It can retain almost any scent, and you’ll find a lot of homemade products using shea butter, which means it can be purchased almost anywhere. Overall it’s pretty safe for most people to use, but don’t get caught up in believing it’s a panacea for every health issue one might have with their skin.

See More:
How to Make Shea Butter