refined

Shea Butter Refined

Shea Butter (or African butter) is a natural plant extract that is high in fatty acids and other nutrients. This moisture-rich butter is used as an emollient that helps to smooth and soften your skin. It melts at body temperature and is therefore easily absorbed.

• Shea butter can be used directly on skin as a wonderful moisturiser.
• You will find shea butter in a wide range of products including lip gloss, hair conditioners, skin moisturiser creams, soaps, massage candles and medicinal balms.
• It can also be used to treat other skin problems such as; blemishes, eczema, skin allergies, wrinkles, itching, insect bites, and even frost bite.
• Shea butter has a limited capacity to absorb ultraviolet radiation and can therefore can be used as a mild sun block.

Suggested use: Please conduct your own research

Hair tip: You can use shea butter to reduce frizziness and get your hair to curl the way you want. Just apply a small amount of shea butter to fingertips—press your fingertips to the butter with moderate pressure to get just enough to feel tacky. Then rub fingertips on unruly hair. You can then restyle with a blow drier and brush. The heat from the dryer melts the shea butter, the brush spreads it evenly through your hair, and the hair curls the way you style it.

Further information:

Tips on working with Shea Butter in Formulations

Shea butter contains various fatty acids which each have a specific temperature range where they melt and solidify. When the butter is melted and heat is unevenly distributed some fatty acids may solidify quicker than others, resulting in a grainy texture. Sometimes these grains take days, weeks or even months to appear. There is nothing wrong with the butter if it is grainy, but most prefer a smooth, buttery texture.

To prevent graininess and grain formation you will need to make sure that heat is evenly distributed during the cool down process. This is best achieved by constantly stirring the melted butter during cool down. Unfortunately simply pouring melted shea butter into jars and leaving to cool at room temperature without evenly distributing the heat will likely result in grains. So rather gently stir your melted butter while it cools for best results.