So on my previous post I shared about the Shea Butter and at the end of that post I said there are Ivory, Yellow & White Shea Butter. On this post I wanna share the difference among this 3 butters. Let's get started.
First stop is the Unrefined Shea Butter. This is in Off White/Ivory color. As I have discussed previosly, Shea Butter is a natural fat that is extracted from the nut from Shea Tree also known as Karite. The Karite Tree begins production of this nuts when they're about 20yrs old. But the tree reaches maturity at about 45yrs old. There's a total of 19 countries in Africa that produces Shea Butter ranging from the West, Central and a little bit down to the East. The largest deposits of Shea Butter are from Ghana, Mali, Togo, NIgeria and Uganda.
So what is the color of Shea Butter?
Shea Butter is NOT milk White & it is certainly NOT Yellow. Shea Butter is Ivory or Off White in color. The texture is smooth and creamy and it really melts on your hand and it doesn't leave an oily feel when you apply but of course it goes a little long way, it's oil and fats so when you apply a lot of course you will have that oily feel behind. It has a smokey odor a little nutty. The smell of Shea Butter is very unique. Some said, when you smell the Shea Butter you will never forget the smell because its unique. (:
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| My Shea Butter. I got this from Coastal Scents. It's from Ghana and this product is from the Fair Trade. |
What are the properties of Shea Butter?
The reason why Shea Butter is really good for your skin is because it prevents formation and diminishes stretch marks and helps to maintain skin elasticity. It evens out skin tone by reducing blemishes and scaring and enhance skin to it's youthful glow. It softens dry, cracked skin. It hydrates and promotes cell growth. Provides natural ultra-violet sun protection although it only has an SPF6, not that much so if your going out under the sun you still need to lather on some sunscreen. It's an excellent moisturizer for all skin types and it will not clog your pores. It penetrates deep into the skin. It has anti-oxidants that protect the cells agains't free radicals and premature aging. Free radicals could be second-hand smoking or it could be toxins that are produced in your own system. It contains Elastin which is a protein that gives your skin supple and youthful resilience.
If you guys wanna know more check this site American Shea Butter Institute.
If you are allergic to nuts, the American Shea Institute suggests that you should stay away from anything that has Shea or Shea Butter itself. This is because there's still hasn't been any tests done to show how tolerant people allergic to nuts would be with the Shea nut and it is a NUT!
Second stop is the Yellow African Butter.
It is a bright, clear, Yellow butter. The bad news is that this is NOT SHEA BUTTER. The good news is that this comes from a tree also and is similar to Shea Butter! The problem is, the butter has been marketed in the US & Europe as Yellow Shea Butter and because of this they've created a whole mess and confusion about the butter. This Yellow butter is actually called African Butter and it comes from a completely different tree from a completely different environment. The Shea Butter which is an Off white or Ivory comes from a tree that grows in an open savannah and is actually drought tolerant but the African Butter comes from trees that grows in dense forests and the trees prefer wet, shaded conditions. From that you can already tell that the inhabitant environment of the two trees are totally different. The other differences of both butters is that the Shea Butter is more creamy than the African Butter but both butters have great moisturizing & healing properties.
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| Image of African Butter from the web. |
They are similar but in their fatty acids Shea Butter is much more superior. But both butter are great! But if you want, maybe you can try both butters and see which one is more receptive to your skin. Be very careful however, not all Shea Butters are created equal and not all African Butters are created equal. Due to its popularity, there are people adding some things in it like waxes or some coloring and all this bad things that interferes with the natural properties of both butters.
This is to clear with you guys that Yellow Butters is NOT Shea Butter. It comes from a different type of tree from a different type of environment and it is known as the AFRICAN BUTTER. It has just been marketed wrong in the West world like in the US & Europe thus resulting the confusion.
And lastly, White Shea Butter or the Refined Shea Butter. It is a Shea Butter that has been bleached, deodorized and extracted using powerful substances which destroys the Natural properties of the Shea Butter rendering it virtually ineffective. Plus they add preservatives. In other words, this is completely rubbish. There is no point getting yourself a pleasing Milky White, scented Shea Butter, because of the process that the Shea Butter has gone through being refined and heated up to 400 degrees just to strip all of it's odors and such thus includes stripping away the natural properties of the Shea Butter. It renders useless. You are just paying for the pleasant color and the fragrance. So be careful with this. There is too much chemicals in this butter which is not good for you.
Here's a video of how the Shea Butter is made. It takes 20-30hrs to of labor to produce 1 kilo of handcrafted Shea Butter.
So those are the 3 types of butter that you should know. And I'd just like to add here that whether you will buy Shea or African Butter, please make sure that the butters that you're getting are from those who supports the FAIR TRADE.
Fair Trade is an organized social movement and market based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries making better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price as well as higher social and environmental standards.
This Fair Trade helps the people in Africa especially the women who handcrafted this Shea Butter to be paid accordingly. The Fair Trade also helps in providing the African Communities the basic commodities such as food, water, education, health care & shelter. For more information please click the link Coastal Scents Fair Trade & Fair Trade Shea Butter Cooperative.
So That's it! Thanks guys! Hope I've given you some useful info.
Much Love,
Ivy ♥
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