Shea butter: application and properties, reviews

If you like natural cosmetics, you are familiar with many herbal ingredients that are used to create a variety of creams, lotions, tonics and other products marked "Bio" or "Natural". One of the most commonly used natural ingredients is shea butter. The application and properties of this herbal product have become the topic of this article.

What is this oil?

This product is obtained from the fruit of a tree called shi. The substance has a firm consistency at a temperature below 35 ° C. If this thermal index is increased, shea butter, or karite, begins to melt easily. The smell of this vegetable product is tender and pleasant, with nutty notes. Depending on the characteristics of the raw materials and the way the oil is produced, its color can vary from white to greenish-yellow. It is used for food, used for the production of chocolate, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products.

Tasty and kept for a long time

At room temperature, this plant product is very similar to ghee. This similarity is probably the main thing that strikes the European. The Scottish traveler Mungo Park, who was one of the first people from the Old World to witness the production of shea butter, appreciated the nutritional qualities of the product. He noted that this plant raw material can be stored in unsalted form for a year. The taste of the exotic product, according to the Park, is in no way inferior to the cow's butter of the highest quality, which is familiar to Europeans. It is not surprising that the local population of Burkina Faso and other African countries, this vegetable fat is included in the daily diet. After the notes of the Scotsman, who enthusiastically described the shea butter, the application and properties of this product aroused great interest among Europeans.

How is it produced?

At the birthplace of the tree of shea, shea butter is produced manually, probably, even nowadays. Harvesting of nuts falls for the rainy season. An interesting feature of the production of shea butter is the fact that it is completely feminized. All the hard process of extracting a fatty product is carried out by beautiful and hard working women in Africa.

After harvesting the nuts, they are placed in vats and kept for about two weeks in the ground. The flesh of the fruits rot, and the seeds are extracted more easily. They are boiled to prevent sprouting and four days are roasted. Such a semi-finished product can be stored for a long time, up to nine months.

To extract oil from the seeds, they are released from the peel and fried for a whole day. Prepared kernels are crushed, pounded in a mortar to a pasty state and vigorously kneaded. The resulting mixture is rinsed in large quantities of water several times, separating the foam. Further this substance is boiled for several hours, removing the top layer. This is the precious target product - shea butter. The use and properties of this fat in Africa are mainly associated with the nutritional value of raw materials.

Where can I use this product?

This is for us karite oil is exotic, and Africans cook with it food, smear the walls and windows during the rainy season and apply for simple medical and cosmetic needs. About 90% of the produced product is used for own needs by the population of the black continent.

After the Shea butter was tried in Europe and the USA, the application and properties of this plant raw material formed the basis of many scientific and technological developments. Today in Africa, for the most part, not purchased fatty substance is purchased, but seeds of the plant itself. Mechanically processed shea butter, properties and application, a photo and description of which is now familiar to many people of the planet is considered a cleaner and more stable product. It is used for food and cosmetic purposes. The quality of this oil is due to its composition. Let's take a closer look at what is in the treasured jar of plant substance.

What does this plant product consist of?

Nowadays quite often cosmetic products include shea butter. The properties and application of this fatty substance are directly based on its composition. Karite oil contains the following biologically active substances:

Triglycerides or fatty acids:

• Oleic (up to 55%) - omega-9 acid, a good emulsifier, is widely used in chemical synthesis, in soap making, in the production of cosmetics.
• Stearic (up to 45%) is a carboxylic acid, the most common in nature. For the human body, this substance is an energy depot. This acid is widely used in soap making and cosmetic production.
• Palmitic (up to 7%) is a mono-basic unsaturated acid, imparts hydrophobic properties, is used in the production of soaps, detergents and cosmetics.
• Linoleic (up to 8%) - monobasic omega-6-acid, refers to the irreplaceable for the human body. This acid promotes the restoration and normal functioning of cell membranes.
• Linolenic (1%) refers to omega-3-unsaturated fatty acids, and is of considerable value to the human body.

Non-saponifiable substances:

• Polyphenols have antimicrobial activity, have adaptogenic and antioxidant effect.
• Tocopherols, which together form vitamin E, have anti-aging, regenerating, antioxidant, oncoprotective effects.
• Triterpenes stimulate the oxygen saturation of cells, reduce the level of cholesterol, serve as a sunscreen filter.
• Steroids have a high biological activity and a rejuvenating effect.
• Terpenic alcohols cause the smell of oil. They have anti-inflammatory, antiseptic properties and deliver useful substances deep into the skin.

Hydrocarbons (up to 3%) perform a moisturizing function.

From the way of application depends the effect

Thus, it can be concluded that shea butter, properties and applications, reviews and benefits for the organism of which are the subject of our review, is considered a very valuable product. If you use it inside, the essential fatty acids contribute to an effective reduction in cholesterol. This oil rejuvenates the body, actively struggles with aging and cancer, saturates the cells with oxygen.

As evidenced by the reviews, if you apply shea butter externally, then there is moisturizing, regeneration, skin rejuvenation, peripheral circulation improves. There is a restoration of cell membranes, removal of inflammation, elimination of peeling. Shea butter, properties and applications in cosmetology which are now of great interest, can be used as a mono-drug, but most often it is included in a wide range of products for skin care of face and body, as well as for hair.

Shea butter for facial skin

This vegetable fat-like ingredient will be useful for dry, fading, irritated skin. All the interesting information about shea butter, properties and application for the face, feedback and recommendations of specialists and consumers, you will find below.

This ingredient has already been actively involved in cosmetic products for two decades and has earned people's love and recognition. Shea butter soothes the inflamed areas, softens the coarsened zones, protects from the negative influence of the environment, restores barrier functions, has a rejuvenating and antioxidant effect, serves as a solar filter. The presence of phytosteroids makes this herbal ingredient a unique and effective assistant in the fight against aging. Karite oil triggers the renewal of cells at the level inherent in the young body. Women who use creams and masks with carite, note excellent results: the skin is perfectly moistened, wrinkles contract, elasticity returns.

Experts recommend the use of cosmetics with shea butter after thirty years, when beautiful ladies face the first signs of skin aging. Young girls this ingredient will help in the fight against acne. Consumers note a reduction in skin inflammation and rapid healing of scars after acne and acne. Shea butter, properties and application for the face of which are appreciated by consumers, prevents the formation of gums and does not clog pores. This means that the mechanism of acne and acne formation is interrupted, and the skin becomes clean, smooth, smooth and fresh.

Karite for a beautiful body

Karite oil has proved to be good as an anti-cellulite component. It increases microcirculation of the skin and fights with the notorious orange peel. If the cream of the cellulite was added with orange oil and coffee extract, the terpenes of karite will deliver them to the deep layers of the dermis. Also, women note that not only the hummocky structure disappears, the skin becomes more elastic and soft.

Stretch marks, arising during pregnancy and for a number of other reasons, can also be made less noticeable with shea butter. Providing a regenerating effect and restoring cellular structures, this herbal component interferes with the formation of striae and helps to heal the healing of scars.

Cinnamic acid, a constituent of shea butter, is a natural UV filter and is actively used in the production of special sunscreens.

Shea Butter for Hair

Of particular interest is the theme: "Shea butter: properties and applications for hair." Modern women put their locks on daily hot styling, apply styling products, color and resort to the use of new-fashioned hairdressing services. All this, of course, makes us beautiful, but adversely affects the structure of the hair. They become dry, brittle and lose their natural shine.

Shea butter showed excellent results in the restoration of damaged hair. If the scalp is dry, then you can apply the means with the karite all the way and rub it into the roots. Otherwise, experts recommend using shea butter on the hair, retreating from the roots a few centimeters. The mask should be kept for two to five minutes, depending on the dryness and degree of damage to the head of hear. Women note that after the first week of applying the funds with karite hair come to life, they become elastic, soft and shiny.

Other ways of using shea butter

In addition to the cosmetic industry, this herbal ingredient is widely used in food production. Quite a long time, shea butter, the properties and applications in the food industry of which became in demand immediately after its appearance in Europe, began to be introduced in the manufacture of margarine. This substance contains many triglycerides, which by hydration give a large yield of saturated fats and make production profitable.

Karite oil is also often used in making chocolate as a substitute for cocoa butter. This significantly reduces the price of its production and does not negatively affect the quality of the delicacy itself. However, experts say that such a product can not be called chocolate and give it the definition of "confectionery tile."

For beauty from the inside

It can be said that shea butter is clearly underestimated as a food product. It can be used as a full-fledged substitute for butter, and this product is much better than its analogue of animal origin. It not only does not contain cholesterol, but also contributes to the fight against atherosclerosis, protects against aging, prevents the development of cancer. The presence of phytohormones in it makes the shea butter very useful for ladies in the period of menopause. This will serve as a good alternative to anti-climactic drugs of pharmaceutical origin.