Surprisingly, an oil rich in various fats derived from the karite tree also known as the Shea tree is the answer to your multiple skin and hair problems. Recently, this Shea butter has gained massive popularity around the world due to its extensive use in numerous beauty products for instance moisturizers, cosmetics, and hair products.
Today in this article we have put together a detailed list of the 5 best Shea butter benefits that you can receive!
Provides Moisturization and Clears Acne
Shea butter proves to be an outstanding moisturizer for your skin and body. The fat-rich content present in it is responsible for its softening and moisturizing properties. Shea butter locks in massive amounts of moisture in the skin and keeps it hydrated for a longer time. Dehydrated skin tends to become scaly and itchy.
Due to this certain parts of the body are vulnerable to developing skin cracks. This is where shea butter comes in handy, it can work to nourish your skin and provide it with a moisturizing barrier that protects your skin from roughness and itching.
Moreover, shea butter is well known for the healing characteristics that can be credited to the numerous fatty acids and plant sterols such as stearic, palmitic, linolenic, and oleic acid present in it. These oil-soluble constituents do not go through the process of saponification or turn into soap when they come in contact with alkalis.
Shea butter has its well-deserved recognition due to its property that makes it the most non-saponifiable oil as compared to nut oils and fats. This is why Shea butter is packed with an abundance of healing characteristics. Raw, unrefined shea butter has proved to be a great healing agent for skin rashes, scars, stretch marks, and many other issues related to skin.
Provides a Youthful Glow and Treats Inflammation
Shea butter is famous for being one of the best anti-aging agents for the skin. It has proved to stimulate the growth of collagen; a protein responsible for a youthful look. Moreover, the significant amount of vitamin A and E present in the butter provides the skin with the hydration it needs.
In the case of regular usage, shea butter can effectively reduce wrinkles and fine lines. Its anti-aging characteristics can easily be attributed to its potential of improving blood circulation to the skin along with promoting the growth of new skin cells.
The vitamins present in shea butter along with providing hydration work against free radicals that are harmful to the skin. These free radicals are typically present in our environment and have a great potential of damaging our natural skin barrier. The cinnamic acid esters present in the shea butter protect your skin from the damage caused by these free radicals.
As you all know, shea butter has numerous derivatives of the infamous cinnamic acid that imparts anti-inflammatory characteristics. These characteristics enable the shea butter to help cure inflammation of various kinds on your skin. Rashes, cuts, sunburn, and scrapes can also be effectively treated by using this butter.
Brings Back the Skin Elasticity
The non-saponifiable components and vitamin F present in this butter are responsible for restoring the elasticity of the skin. As you know, shea butter is a great choice for stimulating the production of collagen hence, improved collagen growth contributes to better skin elasticity.
Restored elasticity results in lesser appearance of stretch marks, wrinkles and fine lines. Regular massaging of shea butter on the affected area of the skin has proved to reduce all kinds of marks and wrinkles.
Fixes Untamed Hair
Chemically and heat-treated hair is majorly damaged through various processes such as ironing, curling, perming, and dyeing. All these treatments are responsible for stealing the naturally locked-in moisture of the hair thus leaving them dry and unmanageable. Shea butter can work effectively in locking this natural moisture back in the hair.
Moreover, it also serves as a barrier for hair for protection against severe weather conditions and various free radicals present in the air and water. Shea butter has a trace amount of SPF which is sufficient enough to provide the hair with protection against sun damage that is caused by exposure to UV rays. It also protects the hair against salt and chlorine if applied prior to swimming.
Lastly, shea butter imparts regenerative and moisturizing effects on the scalp and hair. This provides strength to the hair shaft and in turn, reduces breakage. Being rich in countless vitamins, it soothes the dehydrated hair and heals split ends.
Eases Muscle and Joint Pain
Muscle pain is typically caused by an inflammation in an area that went through excessive exertion or some kind of muscle disease. For years, shea butter has been used in Africa to soothe muscle aches of any kind. Moreover, massaging shea butter on affected areas results in reduced swelling and pain.
Shea butter has proved to effectively relieve the pain of rheumatism; a kind of pain felt in joints due to inflammation and stiffness. This pain can also be felt in muscles and their corresponding fibrous tissues. Shea butter can be used as an ointment for applying on areas affected by pain and swelling. Doing this will reduce the pain and swelling levels significantly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does shea butter expire?
The determined expiry period of shea butter is 12-24 months after which it goes rancid. That means after 12-24 months shea butter starts degrading due to loss of its vitamin content. You can still use rancid shea butter as a moisturizer however, the benefits received from the vitamin content will no longer be imparted.
How do I know if my shea butter is real?
You can conveniently identify unrefined real shea butter through its light yellow or cream color along with its natural nutty odor. Unrefined authentic shea butter has a shelf life of around 12-24 months. On the other hand, refined shea butter is white and lacks any odor.
How do you tell if shea butter is expired?
You can easily identify if your shea butter is expired or not by being mindful of two-pointers.
- Expired shea butter gives off an unbearable rancid smell that can potentially make you gag.
- You can smell a smoky smell close to the one which you smell while doing barbecue from expired shea butter.
