Usually, weather changes always make our skin stressed and not delightful, in such conditions you may consider putting Shea butter on your options shelf. Originally, Shea butter was made from a seed extracted from the Shea tree.
The source of Shea butter is the Shea trees that grow in East and West Africa, people are using this butter for centuries for its skin benefits. It is rich with anti-aging, lightening, and anti-inflammatory properties.
Shea butter is considered as an essential solid oil and great anti-aging agent.
Typically it is made of high essential vitamins and essential fatty acids that make it idealist for skin uses and fighting age.
Its production goes through very unique processes, as you see Shea butter also comes from oily kernels, so they’ve to separate the kernels from the seed to form a powder. Then boiled it, and that’s how the butter will rise.
Shea butter nutrition
- Vitamin A is perfectly amazing for wounds, anti-breakouts, and natural skin dehydrators.
- Vitamin E is also considered antioxidant, it may nourish and protect the skin from UV. Also, may help boost skin cell production.
- Vitamin D powerful anti-aging agent, very effective on acne and skin scars.
- Essential fatty acids such as omega-6 that are considered as a natural skin cells booster, it also helps to absorb and get rid of excess oil.
- Minerals are great for cleaning and providing a soft-looking glow on the skin.
Is Shea butter good for skin?. And what does it do?

Indeed it is, Shea butter has a unique nutrition concentration that happens to work wonders on the skin. It is excellent skin nourishment and moisturizer, as well as for its ability to boost collagen production. One of its many skin benefits is to boost collagen production, which results in closing pores, healing acne, and glowing healthy skin.
The advantage of using Shea butter for skincare is the options it offers, works great for dry skin and oily skin. If applied properly it will hydrate your skin and protect it from UV and reduce sunburns.
Due to its large amounts of essential fatty acids, such as oleic or palmitic acid Shea butter is a good source for anti-inflammatory properties, which may help reduce skin inflammation, soothe and soften your skin.
Shea butter different types
Actually, it has 4 different types of Shea butter available in the market, but the most common ones are refined and unrefined Shea butter.
However, we’ll walk through each type
Refined Shea butter
Not alike raw or unrefined Shea butter, refined Shea butter is pure cream. Meaning there is less filtering when it comes to its production process.
It also contains two types; Refined and ultra-refined Shea butter. Both are great and available, but due to their refinement processes, they may not be the best selection as a skin moisturizer.
Unrefined Shea butter
No chemicals involved, that’s what the term unrefined means. Thus, for unrefined Shea butter means it’s extracted in the same way people used to do for centuries.
Its production makes it natural and helps to preserve all its nutrition and its healing properties.
Raw Shea butter
Somehow similar to the unrefined Shea butter the only difference is that raw Shea butter won’t count as raw as long as it goes through any filtered process.
African Shea butter
Used for food, medical for its healing properties. African Shea butter is an excellent skin moisturizer and nourishes. It is thoroughly rich with healing and antioxidant properties that make it a good anti-age agent.
The best type of Shea butter for skin regime
whatsoever, they all work well as part of your skin regime, it is best to apply raw and unrefined Shea butter because their healing and moisturizing properties still remain.
Refined Shea butter is also a good option, but it’s moisturizing and healing effects are less compared to the other types.
10 astonishing Shea butter skin benefits

Skin moisturizer
If your skin remains dehydrated and dry it could result in skin cracks and will make far worse than before. Thus, you should use Shea butter for its great face benefits when it comes to moisturizing effects.
It considers a good source of fat content that will nourish and lock deep in the skin moisture to keep it hydrated all day long.
Reduce inflammation
The reports about Shea butter for skin benefits indicated that due to its anti-inflammatory properties and some essential fatty- acids Shea butter could help to reduce skin inflammation.
The cinnamon acid content will reduce skin inflammation and even prevent skin mutation.
Hydrates the skin
Dryness and dehydrated skin are two major factors that could lead to the development of skin cracks. Fortunately, Shea butter for dry skin proved to be very effective in this matter.
Due to its fat content, Shea butter will get into the skin’s layers and lock its moisture and nourish it, this will help the skin to sustain hydration as long as you want the effect to stay.
Soothe the skin
Frequent and regular use of Shea butter will improve and boost collagen production.
This will result in the stimulation of the blood movement in the skin. With time your skin will gradually look soft, nourish, and clear.
It also helps when your skin keeps its hydrated condition.
Treat blemishes
Unrefined and raw Shea butter known for its healing properties which makes them a good agent for fighting blemishes.
Not only that, but it also contains 5 major essential acids that help moisturize, nourish, and reduce blemishes and skin’s dark spots.
Anti-age agent
Wrinkles, fine lines, puffiness, and blemishes all fall into the category of aging. Whatsoever, using Shea butter for wrinkles and fine lines could help to reduce and prevent any further age signs.
Being rich with essential vitamins, essential acids, and fat content your skin has the ability to clean and moisturize your skin. So you could reduce the aging effect and maintain young, clear, and soft.
Treat eczema
Many things could cause irritated or inflamed skin which will ruin the soft skin you have. But, thanks to the excellent Shea butter skin moisturizer you will have the ability to reduce and treat eczema.
The antioxidant properties such as vitamin E will reduce irritated and inflamed skin to generate glowing soft looking skin.
Reduce stretch marks
Pregnancy affects the skin’s natural elasticity and tends to leave stretch marks therefore, we recommend you to apply Shea butter on stretch areas.
Due to its unique contents, it will enhance the skin’s elasticity by boosting collagen production that results in lightening the skin and reducing stretch marks.
Treat acne
Healing properties combined with fatty acids makes a great acne fighter, that’s precisely what Shea butter is. It makes an excellent moisturizer and skin nourishing. It helps to close pores and treat acne.
You could directly apply Shea butter for acne through a cotton ball and see the wonders happen.
Protect the skin from UV and reduce skin tone
You could use Shea butter on your favorite sunscreen wherever you go outside, this will build a thin layer to protect your skin from UV rays and reduce sun damages. In conclusion, you could sue Shea butter for even skin tone as well.
How to use Shea butter on the skin?

There are two ways when it comes to how to apply Shea butter for skin. The first method is direct application. But, to do so you need first buy a cream that contains Shea butter.
Apply the cream as a skin moisturizer, to reduce age signs, heal stretch marks, or treat acne.
First methods include using Shea butter for:
- Skin moisturizing.
- Reduce wrinkles and fine lines
- Soothe chapped lips
- Hydrate skin
- Protection from UV
- Reduce eczema
The second method is to mix it with other ingredients, here’re some best Shea butter recipes for skin care
Anti-aging cream
- 1 cup Shea butter
- 10 drops essential oil ( Geranium and Lavender for each)
- 5 drops Frankincense essential oil
Shea butter softens cream
- 1/2 cup Shea butter
- 1/4 aloe vera gel
- 7 drops of any essential oil
Note: Before any direct use cold down the mixture in the refrigerator for around 15 minutes.
Anti-eczema cream
- 1/2 cup Shea butter
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 3 tbsp rose water
How to store Shea butter?

Experts suggest storing Shea butter in a jar glass or anything available you could store it in as long as you keep it in a dry cold place.
It is known that it’s shelf life approximately between 18 to 24 months, meaning at least a year and a half. Although, you could make it last for long if you refrigerate it.
How to buy it?
Shea butter product could be found in many health food stores, but before doing any product purchase go for the product that contains
- Raw Shea butter
- Unrefined Shea butter
- Organic Shea butter
- Grade A
Please note that the product you choose doesn’t contain any other ingredients you may have an allergy from.
Side effect
There is low evidence that Shea butter could cause any side effect on the skin, but some reported that it may clog skin pores which leads to acne. However, even if that’s true the chances are rare even if someone has a nut allergy.
The bottom line Shea butter is very beneficial for skin regime and you must add it to your shelf.
References
- https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-1512/shea-butter
- https://www.cosmeticsdesign.com/Article/2009/05/12/Moisturising-power-of-shea-butter-highlighted-by-scientific-studies
- https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/shea-butter-market
- https://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/33959/PDF/1/play/)