Shea Butter Benefits & Uses
There are so many uses when it comes to Karite butter (or shea butter) that I had to create a whole section of the website in order to dedicate it to this INCREDIBLE product.
There’s no doubt that the way in which the butter is made as well as the communities by women in Africa behind it have all contributed to making this product something I have fallen in love with.
When finding out all the different uses and benefits of shea butter I just couldn’t help thinking I had striken gold. Here’s a post dedicated to listing all the benefits. I know there are A LOT of sites and articles and blog posts and mentions, etc etc regarding all the different benefits but I just COULD NOT avoid the obvious.
So, feel free to scroll and enjoy what you might already know regarding the benefits of shea butter and/or find out new benefits you hadn’t stumbled upon anywhere else.
As far as I’m concerned, I’ve had a look at a lot of lists to make sure I didn’t miss anything. And, if I did, please do let me know and I’ll add it asap! Enjoy :)
Shea Butter Uses: A List that Keeps Growing
What is shea butter good for? Well, I’ve found many benefits and keep stumbling upon new ones. So, as I find them, I’ll keep adding them to this list. If you think there’s a shea butter benefit I’ve missed please leave it in the comments below and I’ll add it as soon as I see it. Thanks!
**Make sure to out my shea butter on face before and after post.
Shea Butter for the Skin & Other General Uses
- Good for blemishes
- Prevents wrinkles
- Stretch mark prevention during pregnancy
- Muscle fatigue, tension and aches
- Dermatitis
- Radiation treatments for certain medical problems
- Anti-inflammatory
- Anti-tumor promoting compounds such as cinnamate esters
- Boosts collagen production (anti-aging properties)
- Heals eczema
- Heals psoriasis
- Heals rosacea
- Good for burns
- Hypoallergenic
- Good for infants
- Good for diaper rashes
- Safe for people with sensitive skin
- For insect bites
- For frost bites
- Lubricates skin cracks, tough or rough skin on feet
- Skin peeling after training
- Small skin wounds
- Insulation against cold
- Skin allergies
- Treats sprains and wounds
- Decongestant
- For arthritis treatment
- Evens out skin pigmentation
- Good for acne-prone skin
- Adds natural glow to the skin
- Restores elasticity on the skin
- As a tanning oil
- For irritated skin after shaving
Shea Butter for Cosmetic Use
- Moisturizes and rejuvenates dry skin
- Moisturizes chapped lips
- Hair conditioner adding sheen
- Lubricates dry scalp
- Hand cream
- Make up remover
Other Uses
- Confections and chocolate
- Cocoa butter substitute
- Good for making products like soap, creams, lip balms, sunblock lotion
- Softens and conditions wood and leather
- Cooking
- Candle making
What it Contains
Below I’ve listed what I found shea butter contains. Ideally I’ll create a blog post at some point solely dedicated to develop each of the bulleted points in depth. The idea is to talk about each acid and its benefits together with the vitamins and their benefits. Keep tuned!
- 40-50% oleic acids
- 30-41% stearic acids
- 5-9% palmitic acid
- 4-5% linoleic acid
- 1.2-1.7% arachidonic acid
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin F
Quotes regarding a scientific study regarding its antitumor agents:
“Since the inhibitory effects against EBV-EA induction have been demonstrated to correlate with inhibition of tumor promotion in vivo, these compounds may have potential as antitumor agents. ~ Source
“… it appears that the triterpene cinnamates and triterpene acetates isolated from shea fat, especially lapel cinnamate, could be valuable as anti-inflammatory agents and chemopreventive agents in chemical carcinogenesis. Although these compounds can be found in other plants, shea kernels are a particularly attractive source due to exceptionally high levels of triterpene alcohols (up to 6.2% as the NSL constituents of fat) and the availability of shea nuts and shea kernel fat (shea butter) as export commodities. ~ Source
Conclusion
What can I say? The above are clear benefits that this magic product offers. I love when I bump into products that just offer so much in a way that feels right: natural products right from mother earth, no messing around with it, no adding/substracting/manipulating. Just Simple Magic! 🙂
Sources
https://www.andrewblayon.com/product-page/whipped-shea-butter
how is this shea butter made ?
how can you identify the original one?
Hi, here’s a video that shows the entire process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7ktkxQuCjI&t=32s. Also this post on shea butter will have useful information for you: https://ohmightyhealth.com/all-you-need-to-know-about-shea-butter/. There’s no such thing as ‘unoriginal’ or ‘synthetic’ shea butter as far as I’m concerned. What you have is refined, ultra-refined or unrefined shea butter, depending on processes, and then you have raw shea butter (no processes have taken place after the shea butter was made). Check this post: https://ohmightyhealth.com/difference-between-raw-unrefined-refined-ultra-refined-and-whipped-shea-butter/. Hope this helps and thanks for stopping by : )