Glowing, Beautiful Skin with Shea Butter

For many years African women have used Shea butter for variety of skin care purpose ranging from keeping the skin moisturized to treating acne problems. The Western world is now starting to catch on the benefits of natural Shea butter and you can see the ingredients in a variety of skin creams, body butters and anti-aging serums on beauty and cosmetic shelves and it is because Shea butter can work wonders on the skin!

Shea butter is the natural fat extracted from the seeds of shea tree, the shea nut and the tree is distinct to 19 countries across the African continent. The processing of the Shea from extraction to usable form is still done manually by the local woman and the process is quite laborious involving intense crushing, boiling and kneading. Natural, unprocessed shea butter comes in ivory white and buttery yellow colors depending on the season and region extracted.

It is noted that Shea butter is an anti-inflammatory agent that can reduce irritation and treat a variety of skin problems such as acne, darks spots, wrinkles, dry skin, sunburns, rashes and many more. Shea butter is also noted to have slight sunscreen capabilities and works wonders on moisturizing dry hair while preventing breakage. Shea butter is also the primary ingredient in the concotion of the African black soaps, which are known to treat acne blemishes and a range of other skin problems.

I have been using shea butter with great surprise that a product that we find in our own back yards can be much more effective than many of the pricey, fancy labeled commercially produced products. It is important to note though that shea butter comes in natural and processed form. The processed form is what you will find in many deparment and beauty shops. However, I prefer to use unprocessed shea butter and find it to be more suitable for my skin.

Unprocessed shea butter can be purchased at http://www.agbangakarite.com/ and I love the fact that their shea butter is fair traded so you can shop with confidence that the local women are fairly compensated for all their hard work. I have also ordered from http://www.nasabb.com/ and I am also a fan of their 100% natural black soap. I'll be doing detailed reviews on particular products from those websites in the near future so stay tuned.

Unprocessed shea butter is thick in texture and so I like to mix it with essential oils to soften it up, and the essential oils helps the skin as well. Since my skin is oily and I suffer breakouts, I mix my shea butter with tea tree oil and lavendar oil. Those with dry skin might want to mix with it essential oil of chamomile. Also since I have oily skin, I use the mixture primarily as a night cream and in small quantities, and don't worry it will not break you out and in the morning my skin feels so soft and looks clearer.

How to use:

1) Apply shea butter after cleansing and toning your face
2) Use as a night cream
3) Apply all over body and focus heavily on elbow, knee and heels
4) Apply to lips to keep them soft and moisturized
5) Apply to hair after conditioning to lock in moiture (excellent moisturizer for natural hair!)

After several days of using shea butter, your skin should feel and look soft with a happy glow.