Smooth and Restore With Shea Butter

Winter
is notoriously harsh on your skin -- dry, cold air and wind cause
cracking and flaking. And while most people choose lotions and creams
based on scent and texture to ease weather-induced charing and
discomfort, Robyn Tisdale Scott, RPh, PharmD, warns that if you're not
buying 100 percent shea butter, you're not doing what's best for your
skin.

"All shea butter products are not equal," says Scott. "Most
commercially available shea butter products are chemically extracted
using hexane, a dangerous petroleum by-product, refined by bleaching,
and neutralized with toxic lye and extreme heat."

Shea butter is popping up in all kinds of personal products.
Scott says the versatile moisturizer is great in lipsticks,
foundations, deodorants, arthritis rubs and baby and pet care products.

Shea butter is derived from a nut that grows on shea trees.
Found only in Africa, these trees can take 15 to 30 years to bear nuts
with enough fatty acids to contain healing properties. The high fatty
acid content of the nut makes it a good ingredient for body lotions,
soaps, shaving creams and cosmetics.

Vitamins for your skin

Pure shea butter contains vitamins A, E and F. Vitamin A is
what helps heal conditions such as dry skin, wrinkles, eczema,
dermatitis, insect bites, sunburn, frostbite and stretch marks. These
are just eight of the 21 reasons to use shea butter listed on the
American Shea Butter Institute's (ASBI) Web site (sheainstitute.com).
Shea butter's hydrating properties also comes from vitamin A, which
acts similarly to the natural moisturizers produced by the skin's
sebaceous glands.

Vitamin F is composed of iinoleic and alpha-linoleic fatty
acids, which contribute to normal cell growth and youthful-looking
skin. Vitamin F also adds shine to hair, so it's often found in
shampoos and conditioners. And the vitamin E in shea butter has
possible anti-free radical properties, which can protect against sun
and environmental damage.

Do take notice of the expiration date on shea butter products.
Shea butter contains cinnamic acid (related to cinnamon), which is
responsible for the nut's healing properties. And according to the
ASBI, the amount of bounded cinnamic acid decreases with age, lessening
the healing effects. Expired shea butters, however, still moisturize
skin just as effectively.

Internal benefits

The same shea nut used to create silky smooth moisturizing
butters can also produce oils for cooking. While Africans have consumed
them for 2,000 years, shea nuts first appeared in Western diets in the
20th century. According to Scott, research shows that shea butter
lowers LDL cholesterol levels and provides good dietary fats. Although
the oil is not common in the United States, those with muscle soreness
and osteoarthritis are increasingly looking to shea nut supplements for
relief.

Label check

You should only buy shea butter products that meet the
following qualifications:

• Product contains 100 percent pure, unrefined shea butter
• Shea butter is listed as one of the top ingredient on the
  label
• Cream is beige colored
• Other seeda or ingredients make up less than 1 percent of
  product
• Extraction date from the shea nut seed is within 18 months
  of purchase
• Product is en endorsed by the American Shea Butter
  Institute
• Product is fair trade

Recommended Products

• Alaffia's Night Radiance Face Cream
  combines shea butter with melon seed oil and kpangan butter to provide
  overnight moisture renewal -- the foundation of glowing, youthful skin.
  Also, the cream's baobab and papaya extracts, green tea and aloe vera
  stimulate cell regeneration.
• Flexnow's Joint Formula contains the
  anti-inflammatory properties of shea nut triterpenes. In a recent
  clinical trial at the Australian Centre for Complementary Medicine
  Education and Research, doctors gave Flexnow to 89 patients with hip
  and/or knee pains. After 15 weeks of treatment, most patients reported
  reduced pain.
• Now Personal Care's Shea Butter Lotion
  combines the healing powers of shea butter with other all-natural
  moisturizing oils, such as aloe leaf juice, sweet almond oil,
  abyssinica seed oil, and grapefruit seed extract. Natural coconut,
  almond, and cedar give it a subtle, pleasant aroma.
• Purely Shea's 100 percent pure,
  unrefined, certified-organic shea butter is never bleached, dyed or
  chemically altered. Try it in both unscented and lavender formulas.

Source: Better Nutrition.
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