The Use of Pure African Shea Butter Keeps a Glowing Skin

Information may not be reliable

Natural Sources of Shea Butter:  Shea butter is the product of the Shea nut.  It is a complete vegetarian source of fat or lard that is had from processing the Shea nut seed.  The Karite tree, that matures in about twenty years to produce the nut, which in turn brings forth the Shea butter.  It is mainly cultivated in the western parts of Africa and is considered a cash crop yielding a good return to the farming community there.  The Shea butter can also be used after refining.  But the color and fragrance of the original product gets removed on refining and thus is not a wide spread practice.    

Uses of Shea Butter:  Once the Shea nut is crushed and the butter extracted, there is not much use for the remaining nut kernel and at most times is discarded or best used as animal feed.  Most applicable Shea butter skin care is as an additive to creams and lotions that are applied to the skin.  The product keeps the skin soft and supple and removes any scars or marks on it.  The slight fragrance that the butter has only enhances the acceptability of products using Shea butter as its ingredients.  Extracts from the Shea butter are added to many well known hair products that point to the commercial aspects of the Shea nut.  Pure Shea butter is noticed to have an anti inflammatory effect that makes it useful as a balm during the treatment of burns. 

The Economics of Shea Butter:  Shea butter is a major cash crop in parts of Africa that is under its cultivation.  Most nut bearing trees do grow for a good two hundred years, making it a very hardy vegetation.  With a wide range of properties that go onto define the Shea butter; the product is used locally for a variety of uses, making the butter an integral part of cultures and life style of the region.  If the butter is subject to refining then it produces a totally odorless substance that could be used as an additive to a number of cosmetic and health products.  As the awareness and popularity of the Shea butter increased it soon came to be cultivated as an organic product, thus increasing it applications. 

Wide Spread Uses:  The very nature of Shea butter helped it gain acceptance as mainly a cosmetic product right from the old days.  With modern processing capabilities, it soon became used as additive in balms and skin creams.  Refined Shea butter came to be used in many up market products that it soon became a tradable commodity.  Whole rural communities in West Africa have taken to cultivating the Karite tree commercially to harvest the Shea nut.   As more properties of the pure African Shea butter become apparent, the simple nut from the Karite tree would only gain more importance. 

About the Author:

The author works in the form of a highly respected and educated writer on subjects like African Shea Butter and natural body care products. Additional information regarding pure African Shea butter and Shea Butter products can be found at: http://www.africanfairtradesociety.com