SHEA BUTTER- WHAT IS IT AND WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?
Many people refer to Shea butter as “Women’s Gold.” Shea butter is a light gray or beige colored seed oil that is extracted from the seeds found inside the nuts of the
Shea tree; also known as the
Karite tree. This unique tree grows uncultivated in 19 countries found only in the continent of Africa. The region where this tree grows is known as the
Shea Belt region. The Shea Belt Region includes:
The area stretches about 3000 miles from Senegal in the west into Ethiopia in the east. That’s pretty wide isn’t it? Even though the process for making Shea butter between eastern and western Africa remains similar, there is a HUGE DIFFERENCE found in the properties of the cream.
Did you know That:
First: The Shea tree can grow as high as 15 meters (49.2 feet for those still using the English system). From there, it can take as long as 40 to 50 years before it matures and is able to produce the nuts needed to make
Shea butter.
Secondly: The person who introduced Shea butter outside of Africa was Scottish explorer Mungo Park who discovered it through his ventured up the Gambia River. He wrote extensively about how native Africans used Shea butter in his book, “Travels in the Interior of Africa.”
SHEA BUTTER-WHAT CAN YOU FIND INSIDE THIS PRODUCT?
Shea butter contains many nutrients. Because Shea butter comes from a kernel or seed of the nut, it is a seed oil. It’s as simple as that. Seed oils can be divided into two important properties known as fractions. The first is the
saponifiable (try saying that three times very quickly) fraction. This fraction provides the moisturizing agent needed for your body. Here is a listing of the compounds that make up the
saponifiable fraction
- Triglycereides
- Diglycerides
- Monoglycerides
- Free fatty acids
- Derivatives of Mono and Diglycerides
The second fraction is called the nonsaponifiable fraction. This fraction contains the healing properties for your skin. Okay, I know what you might be thinking, the information is too technical. BOORING. Don’t worry it gets much easier to understand from here.
To be very honest with you, despite the huge moisturizing properties found inside Shea butter, it’s moisturizing properties are not necessarily unique to Shea butter. The same moisturizing properties in Shea butter are also found in many other oils from both plant and animal sources. Cocoa Butter and Beef Tallow are two examples. Here are some more that you may be familiar with:
It is very important to understand that any oil from any source can serve as a moisturizer. Here’s the BURNING question. What sets Shea butter, most importantly, our Shea butter
APART from all other seed oils?
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