It is shea butter that has become one of the most popular cosmetics on the market today. No wonder, after all, it is the most efficient and oiling product that comes from Mother Nature. It is used not only on the skin, but also on the hair. Why is it such a valued and frequently encountered cosmetic among producers of natural cosmetics?
WHERE DOES SHEA BUTTER COME FROM AND HOW IS IT COMPLETED?
Shea butter, also known as karité butter, is a product whose origin can be found in West and Central Africa. This is where we can find shea Vitellara paradoxa trees – Masłosz parka, known as butter trees. This tree has egg-shaped leathery leaves and white flowers. Reaches up to 15m in height. The fruit resembles walnuts, with a seed inside and surrounded by pulp. And it is this flesh that is used to make the famous shea butter. African tradition requires only women to harvest the fruit of the shea tree.
Curiosity
Do you know why shea butter is so valuable? It takes 20 years for the shea tree to bear fruit, and the annual amount of fruit harvested is around 20 kg. This in turn translates into 1.5 kg of the cosmetic.
HOW TO USE ?
The created cosmetic is a lotion with a solid consistency and a pale yellow color. Upon contact with the skin under the influence of its heat, it melts, allowing it to be spread. You can find products that are pure butter or cosmetics, such as lotions, in which it is included as an ingredient. We recommend rubbing the butter in your hands so that it becomes a liquid and spread it thoroughly on the selected part of the body, e.g. on the thighs. You can also use butter to protect hair ends against external factors – strong heat of a blow dryer or wind. Perfect in winter as an occlusive layer on the lips.
PROPERTIES
Shea butter is valued for its many positive properties. Among other things, it is about exceptional regeneration and nourishment of the skin and protection against external factors. Hence, it is ideally suited as a mouth protection against strong wind and frost. It is also a rich source of vitamins A and E, and as you know, these vitamins are real elixirs of youth that delay the aging process and protect the skin against free radicals. Vitamin F contained in shea butter helps to rebuild the protective layer of the skin.
It is also said to be a natural UV filter, but it must be remembered that it cannot protect itself – the SPF value is too low (3-4). Shea butter can be successfully used as a cosmetic that fights cellulite and prevents stretch marks.
Fatty acids contained in butter support the absorption of nutrients and also support the production of collagen. The skin becomes tighter, firmer and smoother.
REFINED OR UNFINED
A frequently asked question when choosing butter is: should you choose refined or unrefined? The refining process is the purification of substances to give them the appropriate properties. The overwhelming majority of the substances is to remove the color or smell of the substance. In this process, unfortunately, the valuable properties of the raw material are often lost, which is why we usually recommend unrefined butters.
WHERE TO BUY SHEA BUTTER?
We recommend choosing shea butter from drugstores that offer high-quality products. When choosing a cosmetic, it is always worth checking the composition of the product, the so-called INCI, which is placed on the packaging. Shea butter should contain only one ingredient. Our BOSQIE Natural Shea Butter contains Butyrospermum parkii (shea butter).