Photo by Christian Mackie: https://www.mackiec.ca/
What is Shea Butter?
Shea butter is a fantastic, anti-inflammatory moisturizer that has a multitude of benefits and uses. Here at Beauvivo, we only use virgin, certified organic shea butter in our soaps and body butters. Using unrefined, organic shea butter (or Butyrospermum Parkii, if you like the fancy terminology) is very important to us, because it means no extreme heat or chemical solvents are used during processing. This allows the shea butter to stay high in skin healing antioxidants!
Shea butter is made from the nuts of the Shea Tree in Africa, and the virgin, unrefined shea butter that we use is processed by entrepreneurial women in Africa. This provides an economic boon, as well as much needed empowerment for African women.
If that isn’t awesome enough, all of our products are also Leaping Bunny Certified! In short, this means our products are all vegan and cruelty free. Check out their strict guidelines here.
What do I use it for?
Shea butter is highly moisturizing and conditioning, and can be used on skin, lips, and hair. It can be used alone, or made into a plethora of products like lotion, lip balm, make-up, body butter, and soap! It can also be used as a base underneath makeup, and even provides low level SPF protection (SPF 6.) Regular use has been shown to reduce and prevent signs of aging, improve skin elasticity, and reduce the visibility of stretch marks.
Why is shea butter so darn good at moisturizing?
Shea butter is comprised primarily of two fatty acids: oleic and linoleic. These fabulous fatty acids, as well as the high levels of vitamins and antioxidants present in shea butter, aid in collagen production and can rectify dry skin. It will prevent further dryness when used as part of a regular skin care routine!
Oleic acid has been shown to provide many benefits, including the ability to deeply moisturize, make hair thicker, longer, and stronger, slow aging, rectify dry scalp and dandruff, and sooth skin conditions such as eczema, rosacea, and psoriasis.
Linoleic acid provides many of the same benefits, but isn’t as heavy as its counterpart. This creates a more balanced moisturizer that is non-comedogenic, meaning that it doesn’t clog pores. Score for those of us with oily skin!
Shea butter makes a great dermal conditioner because it forms a barrier on the skin’s surface. I like to call it a Shea Shield. Also, unlike other fatty oils, shea butter has a high number of unsaponifiables, meaning not all components of the fatty acid turn into soap during the soap making process. Luckily, this means you can add it to soaps and lotions, and more of the conditioning and moisturizing properties will be transferred directly to your skin!
Where can I buy some heavenly shea butter products immediately?
Feel free to peruse our stock of heavenly soaps and body butters; you won’t be disappointed!
Written by: Ashley Renfro
Sources:
https://wellnessmama.com/27324/shea-butter-benefits/
https://www.sheainstitute.com/asbi-library/21reasons/
https://www.selfhacked.com/blog/oleic-acid-benefits/