About Shea Butter
Shea nut trees do not yield fruit until they are 20 years old, but bear fruit until their 200th year. Women in Burkina Faso’s co-operatives harvest the shea fruit, boil to separate the pulp from the nut, dry the nuts, and shell nuts with pestles. The nuts are then crushed in a time consuming process in which three women gather around a vat of nuts, using simultaneous strokes into a mortar with pestles, until a paste is formed. The paste is then mixed with water to separate the oil that will become shea butter, a smooth, light yellow butter, with a slightly nutty aroma, in its pure, unrefined state. Shea butter will last for many years if kept away from light and heat as it is resilient to oxidative rancidity. It is high in vitamins (especially A and E), minerals, proteins and fatty acids.
Shea nut trees provide shade for animals in Africa, and every part is used in villages: the fruit is edible; leaves, roots and bark are used in medicinal preparations; wood and nut shells are used for fuel; nuts are used for butter and cosmetics; and butter is used for decoration and waterproofing houses, as well as for trade/income.
Shea butter is highly prized by international cosmetics, chocolate and pharmaceutical industries, and the co-operatives can earn 2-3 times more on the international market, than on the village market – thus increasing medical expenditure, school attendance, and empowerment of women. Shea butter has a myriad of uses:
Medicinal Uses
- Dull, dry skin
- Skin rash
- Itching skin
- Sunburn, skin peeling
- Protection against UV rays
- Cuts, burns, scrapes
- Scars, blemishes
- Skin cracks
- Tough or rough skin
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- Frostbite
- Stretch mark prevention
- Insect bites
- Healthy skin
- Muscle fatigue/ache/tension
- Muscle sprain
- Pre-/post-strenuous exercise
- Skin allergy (poison ivy/oak)
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- Eczema
- Dermatitis
- Skin damage (cooking injuries, medical radiation)
- Pharmaceutical preparations
- Decongestant
- Relief from razor burn and after waxing
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Cosmetic uses
- Moisturizer
- Facial treatment
- Anti-aging products
- Fine line/wrinkle treatments
- Lipstick, lip gloss
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- Lip balm
- Around-eye cream
- Bar soap
- Hand cream
- Body wash/cleanser
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- Shampoo
- Hair conditioner
- Shaving cream
- Bath oil
- Body butter
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Food / Consumption Uses
- Vegatable cooking oil
- Confectionary
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- Cocoa butter substitute in chocolate
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Other Uses
- Construction industry: waterproofing buildings
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- Veterinary sun screen for horses and other animals
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