Shea Butter and Hair
| Shea body butter can also be used as a hair moisture sealant. After conditioning hair, shea body butter can be applied to the hair while hair is still damp. The sealing effect will hold mositure in the hair. The shea body butter will also moisturize the scalp to prevent dry, flaky or scaly skin. Many believe the shea body butter will also help protect sun burn on the scalp where sun screen is rarely applied. Shea body butter should not be used as a conditioner, but AFTER conditioning. Some have reported that using shea body butter to replace a conditioner might cause brittle hair. It is a sealant to hold in the conditioner’s moisture. |
Where Do I Buy Shea Body Butter?
| For a whipped high quality 100% Grade A shea butter, AllNaturalSheaButter.com has 4 oz. and 8 oz. sizes, plus lip balm. Great packaging for a unique economical gift. The owner lived in West Africa and knows the product and suppliers. Ivory colored butter is used for their body butters. They also offer scented versions with vanilla, lavender, lilac, jasmine, honeysuckle, and rose. For something different, they also offer key lime pie, Japanese cherry blossom, and Caribbean piña colada scents. They almost always have a coupon or special in addition to good prices. |
What Is Shea Butter?
| Shea body butter is made from the nut inside the fruit produced by the shea tree or genus Vitellaria. There are two subspecies. Paradoxa is found mainly in western Africa. Nilotica is found mainly in eastern Africa. The shea tree produces its first fruit (which resemble large plums) when it is about 20 years old and reaches its full production when the tree is about 45 years old. It produces nuts for up to 200 years after reaching maturity. There is evidence that shea butter has been produced at least back to the 1300′s. |
Where Does It Come From?
| The shea tree grows in Africa from just south of the Sahara Desert down to the Equator. It does not grow as well near an ocean coast. The largest production is in West Africa. The English word “shea” was derived from the Bambara language in Mali, Africa. “Shea” is pronounced “shee” like “tea”, but many Americans today pronounce it “shay” like “hay”. Many people in other parts of the world use the French word for the tree “karité” pronounced “care·e·tay”. |