Shea butter comes from the nut of the fruit from the karite tree found growing in West Africa. The most common species is butyrospemum parkii. Natives have been using shea butter for beautiful skin and hair for generations. The butter has many natural skin benefits including natural sun protection. In Africa it is rubbed all over the body and hair to protect the skin and hair against rough elements. It is also used to cook with. In Europe, shea butter is imported and refined in enormous amounts. There it is often used to replace cocoa butter, which is quite costly. European companies use it in their chocolates and famous skin care products. (picture shows unripened shea nuts in the month of July. The nuts will turn brown when ripe and ready to extract the butter).

Many of our clients have been using shea butter for years. Often our clients have told us they started using shea butter for skin ailments upon recommendation of a friend. We hear remarkable testimonies of how shea butter has helped to heal scars after surgery or even lightened scars many years after they occur. We have also heard testimonies of personal friends who have used pure shea butter to successfully combat eczema. And whether it’s hot or cold, natural shea butter offers optimum skin care protection (not to be used in place of needed sun screen in some individuals).

There are several methods of extracting and cleaning shea butter, which the consumer needs to be aware of. Some suppliers go out of their way to ensure a completely natural product, while others are only concerned with the end product- a high quantity of shea butter. Some butters have been solvent extracted. This means that they are extracted using chemical solvents such as hexane. Our butter is naturally expressed. It is extracted by crushing the nuts and then using heat to release the butter.

The second step of importance is the cleaning method. Shea butter that is not cleaned or "refined" may contain many undesirable impurities and is more susceptible to hazardous growths. Many companies use chemical bleaches and deodorizers to refine their butters. These methods further deteriorate shea butters natural properties, create more environmental instability, and unnecessarily expose the end user to possible carcinogens. Our butter is cleaned using a multi meshing system to take out the dirt and then soaked through fullers earth, a white clay , to take out impurities making the butter a pure, white color. The strong, unpleasant odor of shea butter is then completely removed using a state of the art vacuum extraction method.

Regarding The Costs Of Pure Shea Butter: Pure shea butter, although an absolutely wonderful natural extract, is NOT a highly expensive product. It has been horribly exploited in the US. In fact, pure shea butter, even a high and refined grade such as ours actually cost less than cocoa butter. Sadly, this wonderful product has been highly overpriced, affording less people the luxury of using it. Our low prices do not reflect lack of quality. On the contrary, they reflect our honesty, and desire to serve you in a just manner. Our butter is of very high quality.