“Why do we use Shea Butter in practically everything?”

Unless you never read the labels on things you buy (Shame on you!), you will have noticed that Shea butter is in almost every product we sell. To date, we only sell 2 products without Shea butter and that is only because we couldn’t cram it in there somehow! It really is that amazing for your body. You can eat it and enjoy various benefits, but it really shines as a skin loving ingredient in your skin care routine. Let's explore this fantastic ingredient.

Shea butter is technically a tree nut product. But unlike most tree nut products, it’s very low in the proteins that can trigger allergies. There is no medical documentation of an allergic reaction from topical usage. Shea butter doesn’t contain chemicals known to dry out skin, and it doesn’t clog pores. It’s good for practically every skin type!

Shea butter is typically used for its moisturizing effects. These benefits are tied to shea’s fatty acid content, including two saturated fats, Stearic and Palmitic, AND 2 unsaturated fats, Oleic and Linoleic. When you apply shea topically, these oils are rapidly absorbed into your skin. They restore lipids and rapidly create moisture. This restores the barrier between your skin and the outside environment, holding moisture in and reducing your risk of dryness. The balance of fatty acids also means that it will not make your skin oily looking.

The above listed fatty acids are also why Shea butter is such a great soap making ingredient. Each of the four acids contributes to a better bar of soap. Stearic and Palmitic contribute to a harder, longer lasting bar and to the lather of the bar. While Oleic and Linoleic make for a moisturizing and creamy bar with nice “slip”.

Shea Butter is also (DEEP BREATH) Anti-inflammatory, Anti-bacterial, Anti-fungal, promotes antioxidant activity, boosts collagen production, promotes cellular regeneration of skin, adds sun protection and MAY aid with acne, reduce stretch marks and scarring, reduce wrinkles, help heal wounds, and can soothe insect bites, sunburns, eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis. WOW! That is a ton of benefit from a single ingredient. It’s a wonder that everyone isn’t using it in their skin care products.

All of these wonderfully amazing benefits come from the fact that Shea butter contains the following important ingredients.

The triglycerides linoleic, palmitic, stearic, and oleic fatty acids, ingredients that balance oils on your skin
vitamins A, E, and F, antioxidant vitamins that promote circulation and healthy skin cell growth
cetyl esters, the waxy part of the shea nut butter that conditions skin and locks in moisture. This is the ingredient that makes it a great addition to soap as it remains in its original form once soap is made.

So, I think we can all agree that our desire to add Shea butter to as many of our products as possible is a very good idea. We will continue to use this fantastic ingredient and hope that you love the fact that we do! Until next week…

Why Shea Butter?

All Natural?