Very commonly, shea butter is heard being used in beauty products and cosmetics. All you have to do is flip through the supermarket or an e-commerce website, in order to find the beauty products containing this butter. But do you know the health benefits of shea butter?
Body butter, body wash, face wash, moisturizer, face pack and anti-ageing cream; a vast range of skin products contain shea butter. The main benefit of using this ingredient is to provide an abundant supply of natural moisture to your skin as well as hair. There are more than one benefits of shea butter. But what is this shea butter after all? Let’s find out the same.
Amazing health benefits of shea butter
Facts About Shea Butter
- The nuts of Karite trees or Mangifolia, are used to derive shea butter. These trees grow in semi-arid and savanna regions of west and central Asia. Shea butter is a kind of fatty oil, solid in shape and texture, mostly resembling to hardened caramel
- The nuts of Karite trees are crushed, boiled and then processed to extract fat which is light in color.
- Shea butter is rich in stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and others. This is the reason why it is put into conditioners, shampoos and skin products. These natural ingredients are a boon to your beauty. The butter is available in refined as well as unrefined form.
- This amazing and beneficial butter is known to melt at our normal body temperature. For this reason, it gets absorbed by the skin very quickly and deeply as well.
- Shea butter in its raw or unrefined form is considered to be the healthiest for the skin. This is because when unprocessed, it retains its natural vitamins, minerals and several other nature given properties. Refined shea butter, though beneficial, is not as good as that in its original form.
Heal With Shea Butter
- Shea butter is packed with plant sterols like as, palmitic, oleicstearic, linolenic acids as well as the very essential fatty acids. These ingredients have the nature to dissolve in oil and are hence considered to be oil soluble. They also do not convert chemically into soap when mixed with alkali.
- Shea butter has amazing healing properties, apart from having beauty benefits. When it is in an unprocessed form, this butter effectively heals insect stings, frost bites, skin rashes, sun burn, arthritis and muscle fatigue.
- Various medicinal ointments also contain shea butter due to its soothing and anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, your skin troubles like eczema, scars, skin discolorations, blemishes, chapped lips, dark spots stretch marks and the irritation caused by psoriasis can be healed by shea butter.
- There is a high content of vitamin A present in shea butter which is very effective in guarding the skin against foreign infections. Apart from disinfecting the skin, it also heals chapped, sore and flaky skin with its bountiful, natural moisture.
Packed with Anti-Oxidants
Your body requires its doze of anti-oxidants to function properly, stay away from diseases and also remain protected against free radicals. One of my favourite health benefits of shea butter is that it is rich in Vitamin A, C, E as well as catechins. This protects the skin from getting any kind of inflammation and also heals when the damage caused by environmental conditions like peeling skin due to sun tan, cold blisters and frost bites.
Soothes Inflammation In The Body
Itchy skin, red rashes and stings are very common these days. Shea butter is a powerful antidote to such kinds of skin inflammation. This is because this butter contains cinnamic acid (though not pure cinnamic acid but its derivatives) which makes it anti-inflammatory. One reason to use and why we are explaining the health benefits of shea butter in skin and hair products is also because in heals inflammation and soothes the skin with its natural moisture. It’s such a good natural remedy!
Smooth Skin
A soft and supple skin which with a smooth texture and divine radiance is dream tucked into every woman’s heart. Shea butter is blessed with several constituents like unsaturated fats and also lots of essential fatty acids, non-saponifiable components , allantoin, Vitamin E, D, Pro -Vitamin A, phytosterols and others. These constituents are a boom to your skin, keeping it unbelievably smooth and beautiful. So now, a rough and undesirable skin is the thing of past, as with shea butter you too can achieve the skin of your dreams.
Natural Moisturizer
Vitamin E is one nutrient which makes your hair and skin naturally moisturized and lustrous looking. And looking at the health benefits of shea butter, it has no dearth of Vitamin E. One of the best qualities of this butter is that it tends to pack in moisture into your skin or hair, without giving it that sticky or greasy look. Also, the several hair treatments in beauty salons, consists of shea butter due to its emollient properties.
Natural Sunscreen
Nothing proves to be a bigger turn off for you when your beautiful skin gets that dark tone due to sun tan. The cinnamic acid esters in shea butter acts as a natural sun protection for your skin. It forms an envelope over your skin which keeps away the ultra violet rays of the sun. Also, any kind of sun damage can also be healed effectively with the goodness of this butter.
Keeps The Skin Younger Looking
The presence of protein in shea butter, along with other nutrients which are already mentioned above, helps in keeping your younger looking. It gets quickly absorbed by the skin and boosts collagen which keeps the skin tight and firm for longer periods of time. Applying skin products, which has shea butter, before going to bed, would help your skin stay beautiful with a youthful radiance. Not to mention your skin would stay naturally hydrated.
Shea Butter For Hair
The natural ingredients present in shea butter, make it an ideal choice for treating your hair. Use shea butter to massage your scalp or treat your damaged hair with a shea butter conditioner. You could protect your hair against chemical damage before going for swimming or staying out in the sun for too long. Apart from keeping your hair smooth, lustrous and soft, it also protects your hair against any kind of environmental damage.
So now you know the health benefits of shea butter and I’m sure you’ll be adding it to your skincare routine. Just balance that out with a good night’s sleep!