If you love natural cosmetics, you are familiar with the many herbal ingredients that are used to create a variety of creams, lotions, tonics and other products marked "Bio" or "Natural". One of the commonly used natural ingredients is shea butter. The uses and properties of this herbal product are the subject of this article.
What is this oil?
This product is derived from the fruit of the shea tree. The substance has a solid consistency at temperatures below 35˚C. If you increase this thermal indicator, then shea butter, or shea butter, begins to melt with ease. The smell of this herbal product is gentle and pleasant, with nutty notes.
Depending on the characteristics of the raw materials and the method of production of oil, its color can vary from white to greenish-yellow. It is eaten, used in chocolate, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
Delicious and keeps for a long time
At room temperature, this herbal product is quite similar to ghee. This similarity is probably the main thing that catches the eyeEuropean. Scottish traveler Mungo Park, who was one of the first immigrants from the Old World to witness the production of shea butter, appreciated the nutritional qualities of the product. He noted that this vegetable raw material can be stored uns alted for a whole year. The taste of the exotic product, according to Park, is in no way inferior to the premium cow butter familiar to Europeans. It is not surprising that the local population of Burkina Faso and other African countries include this vegetable fat in their daily diet. After the notes of the Scot who so enthusiastically described shea butter, the use and properties of this product aroused great interest among Europeans.
How is it made?
In the homeland of the shea tree, shea butter is produced by hand, probably even today. The harvest of nuts falls during the rainy season. An interesting feature of the production of shea butter is the fact that it is completely feminized. The whole difficult process of extracting a fatty product is carried out by beautiful and hard-working African women.
After the nuts are harvested, they are placed in vats and kept in the ground for about two weeks. The flesh of the fruit rots, and the seeds are easier to extract. They are boiled to prevent sprouting and roasted for four days. Such a semi-finished product can be stored for a long time, up to nine months.
To extract oil from the seeds, they are freed from the peel and fried for a whole day. The prepared kernels are crushed, pounded in a mortar to a paste-like state and intensively kneaded. The resulting mixturerinse in plenty of water several times, separating the foam. Then this substance is boiled for several hours, removing the top layer. This is the precious target product - shea butter. The use and properties of this fat in Africa are mainly associated with the nutritional value of raw materials.
Where can I use this product?
This shea butter is exotic for us, and Africans cook food with it, smear walls and windows during the rainy season and use it for simple medical and cosmetic needs. About 90% of the produced product is used for own needs by the population of the black continent.
After tasting shea butter in Europe and the United States, the uses and properties of this vegetable raw material formed the basis of many scientific and technological developments. Today in Africa, for the most part, not a ready-made fatty substance is purchased, but the seeds of the plant itself. Mechanically processed shea butter, whose properties and application, the photo and description of which are now familiar to many inhabitants of the planet, is considered a cleaner and more stable product. It is used for food purposes and in the manufacture of cosmetics. The quality of this oil is due to its composition. Let's take a closer look at what is in the cherished jar of herbal substance.
What is this herbal product made of?
Currently, quite often, shea butter is included in the composition of cosmetic products.
The properties and uses of this fatty substance are directly based on its composition. shea butter containsthe following biologically active substances:
Triglycerides or fatty acids:
- Oleic (up to 55%) - omega-9 acid, a good emulsifier, widely used in chemical synthesis, soap making, cosmetics production.
- Stearic (up to 45%) - carboxylic acid, the most common in nature. For the human body, this substance is an energy depot. This acid is widely used in soap making and cosmetics.
- Palmitic (up to 7%) - a monobasic unsaturated acid, gives hydrophobic properties, is used in the production of soaps, detergents and cosmetics.
- Linoleic (up to 8%) is a monobasic omega-6-acid, which is indispensable for the human body. This acid contributes to the restoration and normal functioning of cell membranes.
- Linolenic (1%) - refers to omega-3-unsaturated fatty acids, and is of considerable value to the human body.
Unsaponifiables:
- Polyphenols have antimicrobial activity, adaptogenic and antioxidant effects.
- Tocopherols, which together form vitamin E, have a rejuvenating, regenerating, antioxidant, oncoprotective effect.
- Triterpenes stimulate oxygenation of cells, reduce cholesterol levels, serve as a sunscreen.
- Steroids have a high biological activity and anti-aging effect.
- Terpene alcohols are responsible for the smell of the oil. They have anti-inflammatoryantiseptic properties and deliver nutrients deep into the skin.
Hydrocarbons (up to 3%) perform a moisturizing function.
The effect depends on the method of application
Thus, we can conclude that shea butter, properties and applications, reviews and benefits for the body of which are the subject of our review, is considered a very valuable product. When taken orally, essential fatty acids help to effectively lower cholesterol levels. This oil rejuvenates the body, actively fights aging and cancer, saturates cells with oxygen.
As evidenced by the reviews, if you apply shea butter externally, then there is hydration, regeneration, skin rejuvenation, improves peripheral circulation. Restoration of cell membranes, removal of inflammation, elimination of peeling is noted. Shea butter, whose properties and applications in cosmetology are now of great interest, can be used as a single agent, but is most often included in a wide range of face and body skin care products, as well as hair.
Shea butter for facial skin
This vegetable fat-like ingredient will be useful for dry, aging, irritated skin. You will find all the information of interest about shea butter, properties and use for the face, reviews and recommendations from experts and consumers below.
This ingredient has been actively included in the composition of cosmetics for two decades and has earned people's love and recognition. Shea butter soothesinflamed areas, softens hardened zones, protects against negative environmental influences, restores barrier functions, has a rejuvenating and antioxidant effect, serves as a solar filter. The presence of phytosteroids makes this herbal ingredient a unique and effective assistant in the fight against aging. Shea butter starts cell renewal at the level inherent in a young body. Women who use creams and masks with shea see excellent results: the skin is perfectly hydrated, wrinkles are reduced, and elasticity returns.
Experts recommend using shea butter cosmetics after the age of thirty, when beautiful ladies face the first signs of skin aging. For young girls, this ingredient will help in the fight against acne. Consumers note a reduction in skin inflammation and rapid healing of scars after acne and blackheads. Shea butter, whose properties and use for the face are appreciated by consumers, prevents the formation of comedones and does not clog pores. This means that the mechanism of formation of blackheads and pimples is interrupted, and the skin becomes clean, even, smooth and fresh.
Shea for a beautiful body
Shea butter has proven itself well as an anti-cellulite component. It increases the microcirculation of the skin and fights the notorious orange peel. If orange oil and coffee extract were added to the composition of the cellulite cream, then shea terpenes will deliver them to the deep layers of the dermis. Also, women note that not only the bumpy structure disappears, the skin becomes more elastic andsoft.
Stretch marks that occur during pregnancy and for a variety of other reasons can also be reduced with shea butter. With a regenerating effect and restoring cellular structures, this herbal component prevents the formation of stretch marks and helps to improve the healing of scars.
Cinnamic acid, which is part of shea butter, serves as a natural UV filter and is actively used in the production of special sunscreens.
Shea butter for hair
Of particular interest is the topic: "Shea butter: properties and applications for hair." Modern women expose their curls to daily hot styling, apply styling products, color and resort to the use of newfangled hairdressing services. All this, of course, makes us beautiful, but adversely affects the structure of the hair. They become dry, brittle and lose their natural shine.
Shea butter has shown excellent results in repairing damaged hair. If the scalp is dry, then you can apply shea products along the entire length and rub into the roots. Otherwise, experts recommend using shea butter on the hair, retreating from the roots a few centimeters. The mask should be kept for two to five minutes, depending on the dryness and degree of damage to the hair. Women note that after the first week of using shea products, hair comes to life, becomes elastic, soft and shiny.
Other ways to use shea butter
Besides the cosmetic industry, this herbal ingredient is widely used in food production. Quite a long time ago, shea butter, whose properties and application in the food industry became in demand immediately after its appearance in Europe, began to take root in the manufacture of margarine. This substance is rich in triglycerides, which, by hydration, give a large yield of saturated fats and make production profitable.
Shea butter is also often used in chocolate making as a substitute for cocoa butter. This significantly reduces the cost of its production and does not negatively affect the quality of the delicacy itself. However, experts say that such a product cannot be called chocolate and give it the definition of "confectionery bar".
For beauty from within
It can be said that shea butter is clearly underestimated as a nutritional product. It can be used as a complete butter substitute and is much better than its animal counterpart. It not only does not contain cholesterol, but also contributes to the fight against atherosclerosis, protects against aging, and prevents the development of cancer. The presence of phytohormones in it makes shea butter very useful for women during menopause. This will serve as a good alternative to anticlimacteric drugs of pharmaceutical origin.
