Although not as popular as cocoa butter, shea butter is brilliant for those of us with dry skin!
As well as being a popular cosmetic ingredient, it is also edible and is a great source of Omega 3.
I am a HUGE advocate for shea butter as i have seen its effects on me during prolonged usage, however, most of the Shea butter produced in the UK/USA is not always 100% shea,as companies add various chemical ingredients to “bulk” up the product, and so I get my Shea butter imported from Ghana- that way, I know it’s 100% pure!
So! A few facts you should know about shea butter:
- Shea butter is classified within 4 grades: A, B, C and D. A (unrefined, raw) contains the most natural vitamins, B (refined), C (Highly refined ans extracted using chemicals) and D (lowest uncontaminated grade. When buying Shea Butter, always make sure (when possible) that you check the ingredients for Grade B-C shea butter (grade A is rarely sold in the UK but if you can get it, please do!)
- Shea butter comes from West Africa (predominantly Ghana and Senegal)
- Shea butter is known to treat the effects of rashes, eczema, fading scars, stretchmarks, dry skin and hyper-pigmentation. (I can vouch for this one!)
- Effectly penetrates the skin without leaving it greasy.
For the past week or so, i’ve been using my own DIY version of a body moisturizer, using some grade A Shea butter that my Dad brought back from his recent trip to Ghana! Here’s what I did:
Pure Shea butter:
I then cut the shea butter into smaller pieces.
I then used a measuring jug, some coconut oil and found an empty pot
I then mashed the Shea butter and coconut oil (I later added some olive and avacado oil too) together to make an extremely rich, creamy mixture.
I then put it all in the empty pot and voila! Homemade shea moisturiser!
Try it sometime!
I have had shea butter that was yellow. Guess that wasn’t the real deal. I am going to give this recipe a try once I get my hands on some shea butter.
I have also been wanting to make my own vanilla
this is an awesome idea Steph!
we have it in nigeria too….its called okuma in igboland! Its so weird thats its making waves now and ive used it all my life as a pain relief lol
http://say-bleurgh.blogspot.com/
thanks Jex!
And yeah Shea butter has been used for aaaaaages…love the stuff!
I have to try this, i've always never known what to really do with the blocks of it. It never clicked to make it into a body butter 🙂