Shea butter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shea butter is a slightly greenish natural fat extracted from fruit of the Shea tree by crushing and boiling. Shea butter is edible. It is consumed in traditional cuisine and used in the chocolate industry as a substitute for cocoa butter.
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[edit] Types
There are three kinds of shea butter available on the market today: crude unrefined, filtered and chemically refined. The crude and filtered types are available with organic certification. The chemically refined version has been bleached, heated, and solvent extracted. Because of these alterations, the chemically refined version may lack some healing properties.
[edit] Properties
Shea butter is known especially for its cosmetic properties as a moisturizer and emollient. It is also a known anti-inflammatory agent [1]. Shea butter can be effective at treating the following conditions: fading scars, eczema, burns, rashes, severely dry skin, and in lessening the irritation of psoriasis. Shea butter provides natural UV sun protection.
Shea butter is comparably richer than other emollients but scarcity of supply results in an erratic market price.
[edit] Uses
Shea butter can be found in many high end moisturizing skin products. It is also used in hair conditioners to add and maintain moisture in dry brittle hair, in addition to revitalizing, repairing and preventing breakage. Shea butter is also used in some indigenous ceremonies. Followers of the Holy Spirit Movement rebel group of Uganda smeared their bodies with shea butter in the belief that it would stop bullets.
Handcrafted shea butter is also used in Togo, West Africa for ceremonies among the Fulani ethnic group.
