Pure, grade A, certified fair trade, natural, unrefined Shea Butter, handmade by hardworking women. Traditional techniques passed down through generations are used to craft every batch. No chemicals, no additives. Just pure shea butter full of natural goodness.
Available in 250g, 500g sizes or larger and in DIY Recipe Kits!
Every order provides the dignity of income to hardworking Ghanaian women and their families.
Learn more about shea butter here.
Since the beginning of time people have been looking for ingredients and products to enhance their natural beauty. Looks and general appearances have always played an important role in our social interactions and therefore today the cosmetics and beauty industry is valued in billions of dollars.
Man-made solutions aside Mother Nature herself has blessed us with her bounties such as Shea butter that are not only 100% natural and organic in nature but are also the answer to our skin and hair care needs.
Shea butter is a vegetable fat that is derived from the nut of the African Shea tree. The African shade tree is also known as the Karite tree which roughly translates as the tree of life in French. The color of Shea butter is pale, yellowish-white, or ivory in its pure form. It is used throughout the world as a moisturizing agent in creams, lotions, lip treatments, hair conditioners, cleansing shampoos, etc. It is also used as cooking fat in African countries due to its easy availability and health benefits.
Now that we know what Shea butter is let us look at the options it is made in. By the virtue of processing, there are four main types of Shea butter. We shall look at each of them in detail.
Natural, unrefined shea butter also called Raw Shea butter is the first product that is collected once the Shea tree nuts are put through the butter extracting process. The process itself has four main stages.
1. The Shea tree nuts are dried, and their outer coverings are removed.
2. The nut is then ground and put through a roasting process to bring out the flavor and fats.
3. It is then put into hot boiling water to pull out the butter. During the boiling stage, the butter itself flows through to the surface and is then collected.
4. The product that is collected from the surface is known as raw Shea butter and it's free from any sort of additives or artificial ingredients. It is bright yellow and sometimes has a strong smoky aftertaste and smell due to the roasting of the nuts. At this stage, of course, the product might contain some impurities due to the organic nature of the process.
Unrefined Shea butter is also 100% organic in nature without any additions of other ingredients. The only difference between this and raw Shea butter is that of the removal of certain impurities that are present in raw Shea butter. The raw Shea butter is put through a process to remove impurities that can damage the integrity and effectiveness of the product. This process renders the yellow raw Shea butter to a slightly paler shade of yellow, as the impurities are removed.
Now we'll talk about refined Shea butter. Once unrefined Shea butter is exacted it is again put through a filtering process that aims to remove the remains of the impurities that might be left and remove the smokey scent of the product itself. Refined Shea butter is off-white in color and different in smell and even slightly in texture compared to the unrefined Shea butter.
Lastly, we have ultra-refined Shea butter. To achieve the product known as ultra-refined Shea Butter you must put the refined Shea butter through two more filtering processes which not only alter the composition of the product itself but also reduce the number of nutrients present in it as well as change this physical state of the product thus making it slightly more liquid and, in some cases, even reducing its melting point. Therefore, the ultra-refined Shea butter is the most sought-after type of Shea butter when it comes to using in the cosmetic industry due to its melting point, no fragrance more malleable texture that makes it easy to mix and make it part of different cosmetic products. It is white and easily recognizable against other varieties of Shea Butter.
We will now look at the benefits of Shea butter and how it can help us in enhancing the natural beauty of our hair as well as become a part of our skincare regime. Moisturizing Properties
Shea butter is known for its moisturizing properties as its emollient nature helps prevent moisture loss when it's applied on the skin as well as helps repair parched skin and dryness that might be caused due to different environmental elements.
When it comes to hair care, Shea butter is regarded as one of the best natural products for reducing hair frizz. It can be used as a styling gel or a leave-in moisturizer, in a suitable amount to help reduce frizz and flyways thus making your hair shinier and silkier.
The presence of different vitamins including vitamin A and vitamin E in Shea butter helps fight the early signs of aging, especially fine lines. Fine lines are usually caused due to the lack of moisture and damage caused to the moisture barrier of the skin due to different lifestyle changes. Antioxidants and fatty acids present in Shea butter help fight the damage and thus reduce the chance of it re-occurring as well.
Due to its moisturizing properties, Shea butter helps in making the hair more manageable. It reduces the coarseness of the hair as well as rebuilds the protein structure of damaged hair thus making it easier for you to try new hairstyles and leave your hair open as a style statement.
Shea butter is a natural and 100% organic, vegan product that can prove beneficial in promoting hair growth. If your hair has reached a growth plateau and you're experiencing split ends as well, we recommend the use of Shea butter as a deep conditioning overnight treatment. The vitamins and active anti-oxidants present in Shea butter will help promote blood flow to the roots of your hair thus increasing hair growth and reducing split ends as well. You can also use Shea butter as a heat protectant treatment for your hair during a blow-dry to replenish the moisture content in the hair and make it more voluminous.
Shea butter comes from the seed of the African Shea tree that is grown in Africa. The majority of the world‘s Shea butter comes from Africa. The nut of the African Shea tree is processed using hands and goes through different steps to extract Shea butter. To benefit from Shea butter especially in improving your hair’s natural beauty and achieving glowing skin, we recommend using only pure, fair trade, and 100% organic certified Shea butter such as that available at Baraka.
Shea butter is no doubt a gift of nature to us when it comes to maintaining natural beauty and benefiting from its hair care and skincare benefits. Its organic nature provides an internal satisfaction as well when using because you know that whatever you're putting on your hair, scalp or skin is free of harmful chemicals and man-made stabilizers that may have negative effects in the longer run.
Man-made solutions aside Mother Nature herself has blessed us with her bounties such as Shea butter that are not only 100% natural and organic in nature but are also the answer to our skin and hair care needs.
