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The Origins
of Shea Butter
Shea butter is
extracted from nuts coming from the shea tree that grows in the wild in
Sahel, West Africa (Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, etc.). The shea tree can
live for hundreds of years and draws with its deep roots, from dry,
parched soil, a vital energy that benefits man through its nice green
fruits.
The shea fruits
are delicious and supply the local populations a nourishing meal full of
vitamins. Inside the fruit is a nut that, itself, contains the precious
shea almond.
Traditionally,
African women recover shea almonds and transform them in a pure, pale
yellow butter, slightly gritty, after a long conditioning and cooking
process that is still their secret. This precious butter is 100% natural
and is used for their personal care, but also as cooking fat.
Active Principals of Shea Butter
Shea butter is
so much appreciated in dermatology because it contains a real cocktail
of elements good for the skin. Among these, is first a very high part of
essential fatty acids (EFA), more than in most other vegetal oils or
butters. These EFAs are, notably, oleic acid, stearic acid, linoleic
acid, and palmitic acid. They play a very important moisturizing,
softening, scarring and anti-inflammatory role and help renew the
cutaneous cells.
Shea butter also
contains A, D, E and K vitamins that have a recognized effect against
skin ageing. And, shea butter is also rich in phytosterols with
protecting and regenerating virtues.
The
manufacturing process has a great influence on the properties and
efficiency of shea butter. If it is refined with aggressive chemical
substances in order to whiten it and diminish its characteristic smell,
or if it is extracted with solvent, at an industrial scale, it loses its
vitamins and part of its efficiency.
KARIDERM
products bring you a hand made organic shea butter that is a guarantee
of purity and higher quality. |
