100% Shea Butter:

Imported from Africa

Fair Trade

 Unrefined Unscented

White- No coloring added

Not Boiled

Raw African Shea Butter

Shea Butter, Pure & Unrefined

Imported from an African owned producer of traditionally extracted, unrefined shea butter, African black soap and exotic oils. For shea butter lotions, creams and soaps go to Alaffia Shea Butter.

They produce their shea butter and African black soap in Togo under fair trade and organic standards. They direct involvment in the entire process, from gathering shea nuts to distribution in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia, ensures a high quality, fresh shea butter for our customers. Please read more below for information on our shea butter and fair trade practices.

Our pure unrefined shea butter comes from the nuts of wild shea trees scattered the fields and forests of the wooded savanna in central and northern Togo. The moisturizing and healing properties of shea butter have recently been discovered by the western cosmetic industry, but shea butter has been a mainstay of African pharmacology for centuries.

Shea butter has many useful properties and has been traditionally used as a decongestant, an anti-inflammatory for sprains and arthritis, a healing salve for babies' umbilical cords, a lotion for hair and skin care, as cooking oil, and for lamp fuel. However, the protective and emollient properties of shea butter are most valued for skin care. In central Togo, shea butter is applied to the skin and hair as a moisturizer and is also a main ingredient in traditional black soaps.

Moisturizing & Healing Benefits
of our Unrefined Shea Butter

Unrefined shea butter contains an abundance of healing ingredients, including vitamins, minerals, proteins and a unique fatty acid profile, and is a superior active moisturizer. Unlike petroleum based moisturizers, shea butter actually restores the skin's natural elasticity. Shea butter actually enables your skin to absorb moisture from the air, and as a result, it becomes softer and stays moisturized for longer. In addition, shea butter has natural sunscreen properties and anti-inflammatory agents. Because of its amazing properties, shea butter is an excellent ingredient for soaps, lotions and creams. Perhaps it is most effective when applied to the skin in its pure state. Regular users of pure, unrefined shea butter notice softer, smoother, healthier skin. Shea butter has also been shown to help with skin conditions and ailments such as extreme dryness, eczema, dermatitis, skin allergies, fungal infections, blemishes, wrinkles, stretch marks, scars, scrapes, and more.

Fair Trade Shea Butter

Unrefined shea butter is a valuable natural resource for West African and could be an important tool in empowering local communities. However, most shea butter on the market in the United States and Europe is not fairly traded. The women who gather shea nuts and hand craft this remarkable oil receive only a tiny fraction of the final price. It is estimated to take 20 to 30 hours of labor to produce one kilogram of handcrafted shea butter, which is traded at $1 or less in today's market. A woman making shea butter in West Africa will receive only a fraction of this price. Therefore, a person working for 30 hours, almost a week's worth of work, will not receive even a dollar for her efforts. Even if she received the whole dollar, this does not even begin to reach living wage standards. Through our direct involvement of the entire process Ð from gathering the wild shea nuts and crafting the butter, to distribution locally and abroad - our members receive fair and steady incomes. In addition, a large percentage of your purchases will go directly back to our community in the form of community enhancement projects, AIDS and malaria outreach, and educational scholarships.

Only pure, unrefined shea butter has the true healing and moisturizing properties of shea butter. Most shea butter available to the general public outside West Africa is white and odorless, in other words it has been "refined" to remove the natural scent and color of natural shea butter. In the process, the majority of the effective agents are also removed. In addition, refined shea butter has usually been extracted from the shea kernels with hexane or other petroleum solvents. The extracted oil is boiled to drive off the toxic solvents, and then refined, bleached, and deodorized, which involves heating it to over 400¡F and the use of harsh chemicals, such as sodium hydroxide. Shea butter extracted in this manner still contains some undesirable solvent residues, and its healing values are significantly reduced. Antioxidants or preservatives such as BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) or BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) may be added as well. The end result is an odorless, white butter that may be aesthetically appealing, but lacks the true moisturizing, healing, and nutritive properties of true traditional shea butter. In addition, refined shea butter is often hard and grainy, not smooth and creamy like pure, unrefined shea butter. All that can be said for refined shea butter is that it has an extended shelf life, a white, uniform color, and no odor.

Shea Butter is the oil from the nuts of wild Shea trees (Vitellaria paradoxa) scattered throughout the wooded savanna of West and Central Africa. Shea Butter has been used for centuries in Africa and is completely enmeshed within the history and culture of the West African savanna. Shea Butter is mentioned in almost all African historical documents, including a reference as early as Cleopatra's Egypt, which mentions caravans bearing clay jars of Shea Butter for cosmetic use. Funeral beds of kings were carved in the wood of old Shea Trees, and Shea Butter has always been a staple of African pharmacology.

Indigenous Knowledge for Skin Care

Shea Butter has been used for centuries in Africa as a decongestant, an anti-inflammatory for sprains and arthritis, healing salve, lotion for hair and skin care, and cooking oil. However, the protective and emollient properties of Shea Butter are most valued for skin care. In recent clinical trials, Shea Butter was found to help to protect skin against climate and UV aggressions, prevent wrinkle formation, soothe irritated and chapped skin, and moisturize the epidermis. Shea Butter also enhances cell regeneration and capillary circulation, which helps prevent and minimize stretch marks, inflammations, and scarring.

Handcrafted & unrefined Shea Butter contains the maximum amount of healing and moisturizing properties. Chemically extracted and refined Shea Butter is white and odorless and has reduced beneficial properties. Read more about the benefits of Unrefined Oils and Butters.

Try Shea Butter on these conditions:

• Wrinkles
• Dry Skin
• Psoriasis
• Massage
• Hair care
• Stretch marks
• Burns
• Arthritis
• Chapped lips
• Sun damage
• Cracked and dry heels or elbows
• Small wounds and scrapes
• Diaper rash (prevention and relief)
• Insect bites & stings
• Muscle fatigue, aches & tension
• Pets (skin infections, dry skin & coats)

How to use Shea Butter

For direct application to the skin, take a small amount in the palm of your hand. Rub your hands together to warm up the butter until it is smooth and liquid. Then apply to your skin. If you are concerned about an oily feeling, use only a small amount or apply the Shea Butter before going to bed. Shea Butter absorbs quickly into the skin, but there will be a few minutes that it feels oily. Shea Butter can also be applied to your hair. Some people apply it before washing to protect the hair from harsh shampoos. It can also be applied after washing as a conditioner. Apply it in the same manner as to the skin.

Only pure, unrefined Shea Butter has the true healing and moisturizing properties of Shea Butter. Most Shea Butter available to the general public outside West Africa is white and odorless: in other words, it has been "refined" to remove the natural scent and color of natural Shea Butter. In the process, the majority of the effective agents are also removed.

In addition, refined Shea Butter has usually been extracted from the shea kernels with hexane or other petroleum solvents. The extracted oil is boiled to drive off the toxic solvents, and then refined, bleached, and deodorized, which involves heating it to over 400¡F and the use of harsh chemicals, such as sodium hydroxide.

Shea Butter extracted in this manner still contains some undesirable solvent residues, and its healing values are significantly reduced. Antioxidants or preservatives such as BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) or BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) may be added as well. The end result is an odorless, white butter that may be aesthetically appealing, but lacks the true moisturizing, healing, and nutritive properties of true traditional Shea Butter.

The Difference

In addition, refined Shea Butter is often hard and grainy, not smooth and creamy like pure, unrefined Shea Butter. All that can be said for refined Shea Butter is that it has an extended shelf life, a white, uniform color, no odor, and greatly reduced therapeutic benefits from the Shea Butter.

All of our oils and butters are handcrafted and unrefined so they retain their natural healing and moisturizing properties.

Making Agbanga Karite Shea Butter in Central Togo

The shea nuts that we use to make our pure, unrefined shea butter are collected from wild shea trees over a vast area in central and northern Togo, a West African country located between Ghana and Benin. Our cooperative members use centuries old extraction techniques to produce a truly exceptional shea butter. The steps below give a brief outline of the process. Go directly to our shea butter slide show showing the steps in producing our traditional shea butter.

• 1. After the shea fruits are collected, they are steamed to cause the kernel inside to shrink away from the shell. This is done so the kernels are not damaged when the shells are removed.
• 2. Once the shells are cracked and the kernels are extracted, the shea kernels are placed in the sun to dry for a prolonged period. The extensive drying is necessary for the shea nuts to maintain their shelf life of five years.
• 3. The dried shea kernels are inspected and sorted to remove the undesirable kernels before they are brought to our Sokode center. Before we store them in our warehouse, the shea kernels are washed with potable, clean water to remove all dust and debris and dried thoroughly. This step is crucial in making our clean, creamy theraputic grade shea butter.
• 4. After inspecting the dried kernels once again, we crush them in a large, wooden mortar or with an electric grinder.
• 5. The crushed shea kernels are grilled slightly to reduce the water content to a desirable level.
• 6. The next step is to grind the roasted and crushed shea kernels into powder. This is done either with a grinding stone or an electric mill.
• 7. The shea kernel powder is placed in a clean basin and mixed with clear, potable water. The shea mixture is whipped by hand until the color changes. The kneading process takes anywhere from one to three hours. When white spots appear, warm water is added. This causes the shea fats to rise to the surface and separate from the non-oil partition.
• 8. The shea fats are collected and heated slightly to remove any remaining moisture. The clear oil is gravity filtered into clean basins to cool. The time from selecting the nuts until this step takes from 10 to 14 hours.
• 9. After the shea oil has cooled down, it is stirred very carefully to initialize the crystallization process and form the shea butter. This part of the process is very critical and requires a lot of experience.
• 10. The final step is to pour the partially crystallized butter into our containers, where it continues to crystallize. The containers are stored in cool storage rooms until they are shipped to our distribution centers.