The Perks of Shea Butter

Fall is around the corner, and that means football, colder weather, sweaters and pumpkin spice lattes. However, fall and colder weather can also make your skin very dry. If you are looking for a cream that can heal the dry skin, shea butter might help. Shea butter is an effective moisturizer to help relieve dryness. But what is shea butter? 

According to Out of Africa, a company that specializes in creating shea butter products, shea butter is a natural moisturizer containing fatty material from karine nut trees located in the savannahs of West and East Africa. 

The nuts are taken out of the fruit from the tree and are cracked or pounded to extract the butter from inside the nut. The butter is then gets boiled in water until shea butter rises to the surface. After that, the shea butter is scooped and set aside to cool off. There is Vitamin A, E, F, fatty acids and antioxidants in shea butter. 

So what are the perks of shea butter? First of all, shea butter is not refined or processed with chemicals. According to Deyale Sports Center, run by chiropractor Angel Chambers, Vitamin A and E help create clear and healthy skin while Vitamin F helps to protect the skin. Shea butter can also heal dry skin as well as other minor dermatological conditions. For example, it can help heal eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis. 

The American Shea Butter Institute, shea butter can be used for: skin rash, skin peeling and sunburns, wrinkles, blemishes, stretch marks during pregnancy, itching skin, insect bites and skin damage after a burn. Shea butter is also beneficial for hair as well. It moisturizes the scalp, root and tips of the hair; it helps repair and protect hair from dryness and heat-treated hair (flat iron, curling iron and blow dryer). 

Be aware that when buying shea butter, not all of it is the same.  Make sure the shea butter you are purchasing is not chemically refined or processed by reading the label and the ingredients before buying. Buying raw shea butter or a product that is mostly all shea butter tends to give the user better results. 

The American Shea Butter Institute also reported the older shea butter is, the less beneficial it will be for the skin. Because it is older it loses a lot of its moisture. Whole Foods has a wide variety of shea butter products for any type of use. Also True Blue Spa, a collection from Bath and Body Works, sells multi-purpose 100 percent shea butter and is not animal tested. 

So, when the changing season brings unwelcome dry skin, shea butter might be your cure.