Shea Butter is produced from shea nuts obtained from the Shea nut or karate tree. These trees grow in the nature/wild and are not cultivated. As a result, no applied chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers, toxic or harzardous substances come in contact with these trees and therefore not part of the production of the production function.
It produces its first fruit (which resemble large plums) when it is about 20 years old and reaches its full production when the tree is about 45 years old. It produces nuts for up to 200 years after reaching maturity.
Shea nut butter is a slightly yellowish or ivory-colored natural fat extacted from fruit of
shea nuts. It is known for its effective skin care and its rich content of stearic, oleic acids and natural vitamin E. It is used to treat chapped lips and feet, skin abrasions and blemishes; high nutritive qualities including vitmins A,D,E,F; wonderful pharmaceutical properties.
Shea butter is a highly nutritious and regenerating skin moisturizer. Its specific combination of fatty acids, sterols and vitamins A, D and E, plays a determining role in the health of skin cells, therefore placing shea butter as a choice product to protect, nurture and regenerate the skin.
In order to maintain all of its beneficial proprieties, the shea butter must be carefully elaborated. Indeed, the process by which the shea butter has gone through highly influences the quality and efficiency of the product.
If the shea tree fruit is processed with aggressive chemical substances often used to obtain a whiter, odourless product, or if solvents are used in an industrial process, the shea butter will lose its vitamins and along with it a great part of its efficiency
Pure Shea Butter is available from Kariderm in Canadian stores (check the web for other sources. It is also available from Organic Essence in Crescent City, California
