Shea butter is not a “natural hair only” product; everyone male and female can benefit from it. Shea butter is most commonly known for its aid in healing burns, scars, dandruff, stretch marks and psoriasis. Unrefined Shea butter is the purest form of Shea butter since it retains all of the natural and beneficial vitamins including Vitamins A and E. Unrefined Shea butter smells very unpleasant when you first encounter it, but the smell fades once applied and you can become familiar enough to the scent that it over time becomes unrecognizable. Many health stores and beauty supply stores sell some form of refined and organic Shea butter; the ones found in beauty supply stores tend to have a yellow appearance. Unrefined Shea butter varies in its coloring. Shea butter can be heavy for many types of hair, but it is super moisturizing making it especially beneficial for people with dry hair. It does have a dulling affect when used on hair, so to give the appearance of shine, mixing the butter with castor or olive oil will remedy that.
Shea butter is also a great base for lotions and hair mixes alike. For the body the butter can be used with the addition of various essential oils to give off a pleasant scent. For mixing to use on hair it is all about finding a perfect consistency between ingredients for individual taste. Try mixing the butter with coconut oil, mango butter, cocoa butter, castor oil, olive oil and various essential oils. A recommended combination is 1 part Shea butter, 1 part coconut oil, a tsp of olive oil and an essential oil of your choice (Sweet Orange). When mixing it’s all about trial and error, so the first time may not be a hit but once you find the right mix and consistency it’ll definitely become a product staple.
Sites that sale unrefined Shea butter: Coastal Scents, Butters-n-Bars, Amazon
source: vitaminstuff.com, livestrong.com
