Shea Butter
Shea butter is one of 3 main components I use in my simple skin cream preparation. In previous posts, I've mentioned how I made a quick simple skin cream for my friends from Coconut oil, cocoa butter and Shea butter. I also began the first of a 3 part post with specifics on the benefits of one of the three components; Coconut Oil. This post will concentrate on the benefits of the second of the three components - Shea Butter.
It comes from the African Shea (also known as Karite) tree nut. This tree grows in western and central Africa and is used in multiples ways for food, medicine, moisturizing dry skin and hair, and making soap. Its use for these purposes appears to go back centuries. There is evidence that jars of Shea were found among items belonging to Cleopatra, Nefertiti and the Queen of Sheba.
This butter is rich in essential fatty acids, particularly stearic and oleic acids, phytosterols, vitamins E and D, allantoin and vitamin A. All of these components have reported benefits in increasing skin elasticity, reducing the appearance of fine facial lines, reducing free radical damage, fading age spots and rejuvenating collagen production. These effects were reported in a clinical study done by Frank Renard, Ph.D., where participants in this study were provided Shea butter to use on their skin for four to eight months. The results showed clearer, brighter skin, fewer wrinkles as well as less sun damage.
As with other natural ingredients such as coconut oil, the unrefined form is superior to the refined form, since the refining process strips out the useful substances that help skin. In its unrefined form, many reports exist indicating it helps minimize the appearance of facial lines, and its anti-inflammatory properties help smooth skin irritations such as eczema, scrapes, cuts and insect bites. Several articles I've read also imply that the Cinnamic acid in this butter gives it an SPF rating of about 6-10, so it can also provide a level of sun protection. Some lots of the unrefined versions have a nutty smell to them that many do not like. I don't notice much of a smell to mine, so I suppose it depends on the tree. The other ingredients such as the essential oils I use, tend to have a stronger smell anyway, so it doesn't affect my products.
Below is a simple Shea butter recipe I found at "Make your own cosmetics.com". It has only 3 ingredients and will fill about 5 lip balm containers. Feel free to use old ones you've used up. All you need to do is scrape out any remaining old lip balm and sterilize the containers in boiling water for a few minutes.
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon beeswax
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon shea butter
1. Place all ingredients in a heat proof measuring cup with a pour spout. (I like to use Pyrex.) Put the cup in a pan of boiling water and stir gently with a pop sickle stick or clean spoon until the wax is almost melted.
2. Remove from pan and stir will until wax is completely melted. Carefully pour into lip balm tubes or pots. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes before using. Enjoy!!
Have fun making your own Shea Butter lip balm, and let me know how you like it!
The next post will be about the most heavenly smelling of the 3 - Cocoa butter!