Shea butter is a slightly greenish natural fat extracted from fruit of the Shea tree by crushing and boiling. Shea butter is edible. It is consumed in traditional cuisine and used in the chocolate industry as a substitute for cocoa butter. Raw shea butter is preferable to refined, since refining involves the use of hexane, which is a neurotoxin.

Uses

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Shea butter is known especially for its cosmetic properties as a moisturizer and emollient of skin. Because of these properties, it is used in numerous cosmetics today. It further adds and maintains moisture in dry, brittle hair, in addition to revitalizing, repairing and preventing breakage, and promoting hair growth.

Shea butter is also used in some indigenous ceremonies. Followers of the Holy Spirit Movement rebel group of Uganda smeared their bodies with shea butter in the belief that it would stop bullets.

External links

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• Women Producing Shea Butter
• Benefits of Shea Butter for Skin
• Shea Butter Recipes
• How to Use Unrefined Shea Butter