Shea Butter comes from the Shea Tree mostly found in West
African countries like Ghana, Mali, Togo, Burkina Faso & Nigeria. The English
name Shea comes from its Bambara name "sii", which means sacred.
Benefits of Shea Butter
Skin
Care
*Raw Shea Butter helps heal scars, burns, bruises, and
stretch marks.
*It also prevents ashy skin, chapping,
and skin rashes. It helps prevent skin irritation for babies. It is good to use
if you have dermatitis, eczema or athletes foot.
*Gives relief for arthritis, joint pains,
or other muscular pains.
*Strengthen nails and moisturizes
cuticles.
*Raw Shea Butter helps drain toxins
from sore muscles.
Facial Care
*Firms up aging
skin and helps clear wrinkles and fine lines. It absorbs quickly into the skin
without clogging pores.
Hair
Care
*An ideal hair conditioner that protects the scalp from sores
and rashes. Helps prevent hair from breaking, fading, or thinning out. Helps
rid the scalp of dandruff.
Bio Finest 100% Raw Unrefined Shea Butter
I was given an opportunity to try
and review Bio Finest 100% Pure Organic Shea Butter. Although I have an idea
what it is for, I do not really have an experience using raw Shea Butter in its
purest form.
Raw Shea Butter is yellow in color
and has distinct nutty scent – it smells pretty good. It is very
silky, thick and creamy when in room temperature. It could harden a bit and become flaky
when it is cold.
I first used it without mixing it
with any other oils. I used it to
moisturize my elbows and arms. I have a skin condition called Keratosis Pilaris
or chicken skin/white bumps on my arms.
There are days when my skin would flare-up causing it to turn red and
itch like crazy. The only way for me to avoid having the flare-ups is when I
religiously scrub it hard (like there is no tomorrow) and follow it up with a
very good moisturizer. The raw Shea Butter worked very well on my arms. It did not make it itch and my arms were well
moisturized.
(Disclaimer: I received this product for free in exchange for an honest review)
How to Store Shea Butter
Store it in a cool dark area and away
from harsh lighting, heat or sun. Some
websites say that you can store it in the fridge to extend its shelf life,
however, some say not to refrigerate it all.
The average shelf life of a pure raw Shea Butter is 12-24 months. Its potency is best up to 16 months.
Whipped Shea Butter with Coconut Oil
Recipe
I checked online for a good use for
my pound of Shea Butter. One DIY that
caught my attention is the Whipped Shea Butter.
There are tons of recipe online – all with different ways of melting and
integrating different oils. Some say not to melt the Shea Butter into direct
heat because it will cause the end product to be grainy. Lucky me, Los Angeles
is going through a terrible heat wave that my Shea Butter melted on its own
without any help from the microwave or double broiler.
Ingredients:
1 Cup Shea Butter in room temperature
½ Cup Coconut Oil in room temperature
½ cup Cold Pressed Extra Virgin
Olive Oil
30-40 Drops of Essential Oil (I used
Peppermint)
Procedure:
Mix the Shea Butter, Coconut Oil and
Olive Oil in a big mixing bowl. Use a
fork and mix well.
Place bowl in the freezer for 3-5
minutes.
Using a stand or hand mixer, whip
the oil concoction in slow speed for 3 minutes. Gradually increase the speed to medium.
You
have to whip it for a good 10 minutes or when until it starts to form stiff
peaks.
Add 30-40 drops of essential
oils. This may sound a lot but the nutty
and coconut-y smell is pretty strong.
You need quite a lot to overpower it.
Once all set, use a spatula to put
it in a clean empty container or jars.
I decided to store my whipped Shea
butter in the refrigerator. Also, note that since all the ingredients are pure
oil, it takes about 3 minutes before your skin absorbs it. Do not put too much.
A little goes a long way!
