Shea Nut Butter is a wonderful natural skincare ingredient. It offers long-lasting moisturising protection and relief for dry, irritated skin, making it an excellent choice for a wide range of products. Creams, body butters and balms will all benefit from shea's inclusion.

Native to West Africa, a shea tree growing in the wild loses leaves at the end of the rainy season, then flowers for the next two months. Flowers grow into fruits and when the fruits are around the size of a plum, they begin to fall. This is when they are harvested. 

Harvested fruit is processed to remove the nut and the nut kernels are dried to help bring out the natural oils. Kernels are finally roasted and the rich butter extracted and refined ready for use.

The high levels of stearic and oleic acids in Shea Nut Butter give it its impressive consistency and texture. Stearic acid provides solidity and oleic acid imparts its softness and determines how easily it melts. 

All the fatty acids found in shea combine to offer an array of natural cosmetic benefits. It helps to smooth skin tone, protects from environmental conditions such as drying winds and is recognised for its anti-inflammatory action. 

It also contains significant amounts of Vitamin E which provide impressive healing, soothing and anti-oxidant properties. 

When applied directly to the skin, shea butter will gently melt on contact and be easily absorbed so you don't end up feeling oily or greasy. It can even help boost collagen, minimising the appearance of fine lines and leaving your skin feeling plump and nourished.

Including shea in day creams can provide some natural sun protection. While it is not an effective sunscreen on its own, it's great to apply on top of your sunscreen product for added benefit. 

You can even use Shea Nut Butter in your haircare preparations! Rubbing it into dry or damaged tips can help improve your hair strength. 

Why not try this wonderful ingredient in your next natural skincare formulation. We know you've love it as much as we do.