What is Shea Butter?

Shea butter is a natural plant butter made from the nuts of the Shea tree.
This product is edible and it can either be used as a substitute for dairy butter or it can be used in the cosmetic industry as an unsurpassed skin moisturising agent.

The Shea nut tree is indigenous to the savannah region in North West Africa. They only begin to bear fruit after about 20 years and do not reach maturity for 45 years. They may continue to produce nuts for up to 200 years after reaching maturity. The Shea nut tree is regarded as a sacred tree by the native tribes in the region and due to its economic, health and social benefits, destruction of these trees are forbidden. The nuts, which are embedded in a soft fruit, (almost like the Marula) fall to the ground during the harvesting period. They are then either eaten or buried in pits, which causes the pulp to ferment and disintegrate. The nuts are dried, cracked, shelled and winnowed by hand to leave kernels, similar to coffee beans. The kernels are then grinded, kneaded, washed, heated and strained. This is a lengthy hand process and it takes about 3 - 4 hours before the end product, which looks similar to dairy butter, is derived from the nuts. The modern way to extract Shea Butter from the kernels is to either press the oil from the nut with mechanical presses or to use chemicals like Hexane in large stainless steel pressure vessels. On average, one Shea tree bears about 15 - 20kg of fresh fruit, which corresponds to 3 - 4kg kernels from which 1kg of Shea Butter is made.

On his second expedition to north western Africa, Mungo Park was the first European to discover the Shea nut tree in 1797 and it was therefore named after him, "Butyrospermum Parkii".

The chocolate industry is the largest consumer of Shea Butter in the world, but in the cosmetic industry, the use of this remarkable natural plant product, with its excellent moisturising properties, is gaining popularity by the day.

Independent laboratory tests all over the world, found unrefined Shea Butter superior to any other natural plant oil known to mankind regarding skin healing and protection. In it's natural unrefined form, Shea Butter is important for improving a number of skin conditions, including blemishes, wrinkles, eczema, and dermatitis. Additionally, Premium Shea Butter cream has properties that treat skin allergies, insect bites, sunburns, frostbites, and a number of other conditions of the skin.

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