Whipped Shea Butter DIY and Shea Butter Review

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!