Shea Butter: From Traditional Production to Global Skincare Staple
Known as a staple in skin and hair care, shea butter has been helping soothe, nourish, and moisturize individuals since as long as A.D 100. Originally found in Africa, shea butter has multiple uses, first starting out as cooking oil, before making its debut in the beauty sphere.
So, what exactly is shea butter? As said, shea butter is from Sub-Saharan Africa, where shea trees are dominant. It is a tree nut that falls off of the shea tree, also called “vitellaria”, which is then boiled to release the oily kernels that have fatty oils within it, which then becomes the shea butter.
Shea butter has a plethora of excellent uses. First off, it works as an emollient, which softens the skin, because of how well it locks in moisture. Its high concentration of fatty acids, which help regulate oil production, also gives rise to different vitamins including, A, E, and F which also aid in cell growth. Furthermore, those fatty acids protect the skin and help the scar-healing process, as well as with acne outbreaks, since it regulates sebum (oil) production. It also helps soothe skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, burns, and stretch marks. When applied in small doses, shea butter even works as a natural heat protectant for hair. However, shea butter in the cosmetics industry only accounts for 5% of its use. Outside of beauty, shea butter is used in African cuisine for creating chocolate and confectionaries, for example.
Within the cosmetics industry, shea butter comes in various forms. It can be found in creams, lotions, moisturizers, hair conditioners, and much more. Shea butter is in various brands ranging from hair in SheaMoisture, to body in L’Occitane, and face in Kiehl’s. When looking to see if a product has shea butter in it, look for the name BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA) BUTTER. This is another word for the vitellaria tree that shea butter is sourced from.
Although known as an ingredient in products, shea butter works phenomenally on its own. When finding authentic shea butter, it is key to look for ones with a yellowish color as they are unrefined – meaning they retain the various benefits of shea butter with limited processing. In comparison, refined shea butter is white in color because of the processing which removes beneficial ingredients from it.
Shea butter has been a force in African culture for centuries before it made its way to the cosmetics market, bringing along with it many wonderful uses. The next time you are experiencing a skin or hair concern, take a moment to contemplate whether shea butter can help, its many uses are sure to tackle any problem a consumer may have.