Whipped Shea Butter & Its Many Uses


Shea butter, also referred to as karite, which means "life" has been used across the African continent for centuries. It hails from Central and Western Africa. It's actually a nut fat, as it's obtained from the fruit of the kernel. Shea nuts are picked by women, then par-boiled, and sun-dried for a week in order to dehydrate the nut. This increases their storage time. The next step is to crush the dried fruit, in order to remove the skin. When the shea butter is hand crushed like this, it retains all its numerous vitamins and minerals and the nutty, smoky scent is naturally preserved. The color ranges from off white to gray to golden brown to green, depending upon the maturity of the nut. It's always refined at least once, in order to remove dirt, bits of gourd, or leaves, objects that would not be fun to apply to your skin.

In Africa, shea butter is often used as a cooking oil. Shea butter can also be used as a hair conditioner, as a way to prevent sunburn pain, to soothe cracked, dry feet and hands, especially during those skin-drying winter months or for those of you who live in a dry climate. According to noted soapmaker/author Susan Miller Cavitch, in her 1995 book The Natural Soap Book, writes: "Shea butter is gentle enough for babies and people with sensitive skin. It soothes and softens dry chapped skin, while nourishing all skin types. I have come to rely heavily upon shea butter for its effectiveness." She was using this wonderful substance, and including it in her homemade soaps, long before most people in North America had even heard of shea butter!

The texture of this life giving butter is smooth and creamy. However, since the early part of this century, a new way to make shea butter even more luxurious and soft is to blend it with high quality plant and seed oils in order to create a whipped cream like texture which glides onto your skin. Whipped Shea Butter can be made by those who know which combinations of oils and shea butter can be whipped together to create that natural moisturizer your skin needs and yet not be too heavy/greasy. Properly made whipped shea butter is light, creamy and fluffy and resembles Cool Whip yet doesn't need to be refrigerated.

In 2003 Google's search engine returned only 80 matches for whipped shea butter. Nowadays, it's over 2000! However, for those of you unfamiliar with this wonderful product, whipped shea butter is always 100% natural, containing only shea butter and vegetable/plant/seed oils and an antioxidant such as vitamin E. It can be found unscented or with added fragrances/essential oils. Whipped Shea butter doesn't have any type of wax, water, preservatives, or petroleum/mineral oils. Whipped Shea Butter is always light, creamy and fluffy, making it easily absorbed into your skin.

This is one of the most versatile products available as it can be used as a hair conditioner, makeup remover, all-over moisturizer, softens cuticles, and always soothes dry or chapped skin. Lighter in weight than plain shea butter, whipped shea butter is a sumptuous yet economical way to pamper the body's largest organ - your skin.

About The Author

Lisa Maliga has been designing natural bath & body products since 1998 and this year has launched her company, Everything Shea Aromatic Creations. Her love of shea butter, which is added to all the soaps, prompted her to name her company after the moisturizing and skin-soothing ingredient that comes from the nut of the African shea tree.


More Resources

Treating Arthritis- Naturally
There are actually three common types of arthritis. These areOsteoarthritis which is the most common, affecting around 16million Americans with an average age of 45.
Aloe Vera - No Wonder They Call It The Miracle Plant
Aloe Vera is a member of the Lily family. It is a succulent that looks a lot like a cactus and is known by various names such as the burnt plant, the miracle plant, the natural healer and the medicine plant.
Athlete Foot Remedies
Athlete foot is a common skin infection that is caused by a fungus. The medical term for foot fungus is tinea pedis.
Aromatherapy for Common Ailments
Aromatherapy works in several ways to combat commonailments. Essential oils contain molecules that onceapplied or dispersed through the air trigger nasalreceptors to send healing messages to the brain.
Fish Out Of Water
We measure our world by the limits of our knowledge and experience. If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to treat everything like nails.
How To Use Senna For Constipation Relief
It is known that Egyptians used senna tea to relieve constipation. This tea is used for medium and chronic conditions of constipation.
Vibrational Medicine
Vibrational medicine attempts to treat people with various forms of pure energy. The influence of alternative medical systems such as Chinese, Ayervedic or Tibetan medicine have led in part to the development of machines that can 'image energy'.
You Cant Fool Mother Nature
In the 1970's, there was a margarine commercial with the message of "you can't fool mother nature." This statement never held more true than it does today.
A Grounded Look at the Nature of Healing
In "Evidence for the Sixth Sense", Hazel Courteney interviews an American scientist, Gary Schwartz, regarding the nature of energy and its relationship with the physical world. He explains three worldviews; one, that matter produces energy, it is a side effect of the physical world.
NMT: Trigger Point Therapy and What to Look for in a T Bar
Massage therapy is as ancient as noodles. People have been striving to reach a state of ultimate comfort and efficiency, while at the same time, cutting the work load.
Complementary Therapy The Route To Better Back Health
Find Out How to Reduce and Eliminate Chronic Back Pain Using Non-Traditional TherapyComplementary therapy is concerned with health and wellness from a mind, body and spirit approach. As a past sufferer of back pain resulting from injury and a congenital disorder, I understand how challenging it can be to live with back pain.
Gearing Up for Flu Season
Well, flu season is coming upon us quickly, and most people would love to skip getting sick this year. The biggest question is?How? Here are the easiest ways to keep yourself and loved ones free of the nastiest of colds this (and every) year.
Aromatherapy
Although the word aromatherapy has not been around forever, the use of plants, herbs, fruits and flowers for healing have been centuries long. Aromatherapy is still being researched today for it's wide variety of uses, including the healing effects that is has on the body.
Treatment Options for Hand and Foot Eczema
There are many kinds of eczema, and too few people who can tell you how to cure them. Scientists are trying get a better handle on the causes of such eczema as hand and foot eczema, but they may still have years to go before they find a tested and sound way to prevent the condition.
Hypnosis Cures For Nail Biting
One little-thought-of application for hypnosis is to help people stop their nail biting habit. While this may not be on par with splitting the atom, it is a serious problem for people who always seem to find themselves gnawing their nails.
Why Are Organic Bedding and Organic Cotton Products More Expensive?
At first glance it may seem strange that natural and organic bedding products, without industrial chemicals, toxins and pesticides, should cost more than conventional bedding.Remember that industrialization over the past century was developed to produce products as cheaply as possible, and as quickly as possible, for maximum profit.
Bath Time For Your Alzheimer's Patient
Caring for an Alzheimer's patient is one of the most difficult things you can do. It involves a lot of energy, time and patience.
Healing With Color FAQ
Can Color Therapy Be Used With Other Healing Techniques?Yes, color and crystal therapy combine very very well - as does color therapy with reflexology. You can learn more of this by reading additional articles at AkobiAromas.
Mindfulness and Pain: Just Say Ouch
What's the best way to manage pain?Just say ouch.That's a simplified description of the role of mindfulness in reducing the experience of pain.
Feuille D Menthe: The Cooling and Uplifting Fragrance of Green Grass
Feuille D'Menthe is a blend of several fragrant grass essential oils, with the main ingredients being sage, vetiver, mint and basilic. The perfect combination of these fragrant herbs exudes a rich and fresh aroma, without gloom and turbidity.

More Alternative Information:

Related Articles

Alternative Herbal Therapies can be used for Diabetes Treatment
Diabetes has become one of the major chronic problems faced by world. You have alternative herbal remedies for diabetes treatment and so using them for getting betterment in our health condition would prove safe and effective.
The Fine Art of Smudging
An Aboriginal Canadian friend of mine who teaches at the Whispering Lodge in Toronto was explaining to me how physical or emotional healing cannot take place until the person is cleansed of any of the following conditions:1) Emotional conditions such as resentment, bitterness, envy, jealousy and guilt2) Negative thoughts about others or one's past or future3) Negative emotions such as grief, hatred, desire4) Bad or evil spirits5) Attachments or negative energy sent to us from other peopleIn most Aboriginal traditions, a sweat lodge, basically a tent or teepee or cave filled with smoke and heat, is used to remedy the sick person of these conditions. In ancient Rome, buildings called purgatoriums were used for the same purpose.
Cleaners And Our Health
Many people use strong cleaners or acid cleaners to make the house clean and to get hard to clean stains out, but people don't realize that many cleaners are bad for our health they contain ingredient that irritate the skin and the fumes that those cleaner produce are dangerous if we inhale them.Many people suffer from asthma and other respiratory problems and using those type of cleaners in a place not well ventilated can be harmful for the health.
How to Cure Allergy Naturally?
When the immune system in our body finds or realizes anything as foreign to the body, it immediately releases antibodies like histamines to fight against the foreign substance. This causes inflammation which is called allergy in our body.
Body Work
Body Work is more than just a massage, it's a whole concept. Body work theororizes that within our anatomy, is a story of unresolved problems and past traumas -- both physical and psychological.
Heart Disease and Homocysteine
Are you aware that one of the most important indicators of heart disease is homocysteine? -1A naturally occurring amino acid in your body, homocysteine can cause inflammation and damage to your blood vessels when levels become elevated because of a functional deficiency of B vitamins and Folic Acid. -2Every week we read or hear about heart disease being one of the biggest health concerns facing America today.
1st Textbook on Sleep Psychiatry
An informative textbook confirming a newly established field: Sleep PsychiatryBook Review by Nikos M. Linardakis, M.
Dandelions! This Common Weed is a Wonderful Spring Tonic
Those Glorious Dandelions! Taraxacum officinale (composite family)Spring is coming! Starting about this time every year I find myself craving bitter flavors. My body is longing to cleanse itself of toxins accumulated over a long winter of holiday indulgence, rich foods and various colds & flus.
Some Smells Cause Headache
Did you know that some smells cause headache?Its true, the intoxicating or stupefying fragrances of some perfumes and room fresheners are some of the odors, that if you inhale them long enough, you will find that these smells cause headache. This need not be something that you have used on your own body.
Natural Smoothie Formula to Stop Constipation and Acne
Here is how to build a natural smoothie that can stop constipation, relieve acne, improve your skin and give you more energy. The smoothie base is a liquid slurry that can be used to add more natural ingredients.
Acupuncturists
An ancient Chinese method of pain relief and disease treatment; acupuncturists have used acupuncture effectively over several centuries. Acupuncturists use a treatment where fine, hair-like needle insertion is done over several, specific areas of the body.
Exercise: Tai Chi for Mind, Body, and Spirit
The practice of Tai Chi combines flowing movement and breathing techniques with mental and spiritual awareness to bring about a workout that benefits the mind, body, and soul. If you are experiencing a lot of stress in your life, then you may benefit from joining a Tai Chi class in your local area, or even getting a book or video from the library and learning the movements on your own at home.
Treating Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Without the Use of Antibiotics
What is a urinary tract infection (UTI)? A Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) -- commonly known as a bladder infection, kidney infection, or cystitis -- is caused by bacteria that attach to the inside lining of the urinary system or tract.In over 90% of all urinary tract infections, the culprit is the bacterium E.
Thyme: Elegance Drifting Through the Ages of Time
Thyme is a herb that has been cultivated for centuries for both its medicinal and culinary uses.HistoryThe use of thyme has been recorded since 3000BC when the Sumerians used it as a medicinal ingredient while the Egyptians used it in the mummification process.
Aromatherapy Oils
Aromatherapy is a method of using the aromatic oils which have been distilled from plant sources to engender a feeling of well being both physically and psychologically. Safe and correct use has been shown to benefit the physical and mental well being.
Limitations You Should Know About When Using the Subconscious For Pain Relief
As powerful as the subconscious can be in relieving pain, it has a number of limitations that you should be aware of before attempting to use it to ease your pain.The use of the subconscious to ease pain can be not only helpful but in some cases may be the only thing that seems to produce lasting relief.
Too Clean-A Critical Look At The Alleged Link Between Asthma and Cleanliness
Americans are ridiculed around the world for our attention to cleanliness. Recently some natural health experts have suggested that the growing problem of childhood asthma is directly related to our obsession with clean homes and a handful of studies seem to confirm their suspicions.
ADHD The Easier Solution
ADHD is a very rapidly growing part of the health care industry. The symptoms are varied, including: irritability, hyperactivity and behavioral problems.
The 5 Hidden Dangers In Toothpaste
A Must Read if You Have Children!Would you allow your family to brush their teeth with engine degreaser or rat poison? The fact is, they probably are and you don't even know it.Dental hygiene products that you and your children use every day may contain toxins that have been linked to cancer, blindness, and even death.
Alternative Medicine vs Conventional Medicine - Part 1
The term 'alternative medicine' that is so commonly used today is somewhat unsuitable since that would seem to indicate that it is a form of treatment departing from so-called 'traditional' scientific practices and is just a possibility for a new treatment of disease. The truth is, so called 'alternative' medicine is the natural treatment of disease that was in effect in ancient times long before conventional medicine was ever introduced.