Shea Butter is only found in the tropics of Africa. It is extracted from the nuts of the Shea-Karite treewhich begins to bear fruit after about 15 years; and can take up to 30 years to bear a quality crop of nutswith a high content of irremovable fatty acid. It is this irremovable fatty acid that gives Shea Butter itsunique healing properties and makes it far superior to cocoa butter and other vegetable butters.

Traditionally, Shea Butter was extracted by people who picked the nuts, cracked them, grilled them andpounded them. They were boiled in water for hours until the Shea Butter rose to the surface. It was then scooped into gourds and left to cool and set. Shea Butter is solid at room temperature althoughit quickly liquefies right around body temperature. This Shea Butter is called unrefined Shea Butter orraw Shea Butter. Since Shea Butter is an all natural product, it can vary widely in quality, appearanceand smell depending on where it is produced from and how it is refined or extracted. Most Shea Buttercomes from West Africa. Although a more soft and smoother variety from East Africa is beginning toappear on the market.

How can I tell if something is good Shea Butter?

Pure Shea Butter can be found in three types of extractions. Also, recently, Shea Butter has begun to begraded:1. Raw or unrefined- extracted using water. The color ranges from like cream (similar to whippedbutter) to grayish yellow. This is the original form of Shea Butter.2. Refined- is more highly processed. Has many of its natural components still intact.3. Highly refined or processed- solvents are used to increase the yield (hexane is an example). Thecolor is pure white.

How should Shea Butter smell?

Shea Butter has a natural smell, which is not unpleasant to most people. The smell of raw or lightly refined West African Shea varies from nutty to similar to Crisco® or shortening. Over time the smellof the Shea Butter will diminish. If an unrefined Shea Butter has almost no smell, it is probably gettingold. Shea Butter should not stink, not matter how old it is. It is possible for Shea Butter to go rancid. If it does, do not use it. If you do not like the smell of natural, raw Shea Butter, you can purchase morehighly refined Shea Butter that has been de-odorized and filtered through clay. However, we do not recommend ever buying Shea Butter that has been refined using hexane or other solvents.

How do I store Shea Butter?

Shea Butter does not need to be refrigerated. However, over a period of two or three years, the SheaButter will begin to lose some of its effectiveness. As the natural ingredients begin to break down,some of the healing benefits will be reduced, but the Shea Butter will continue to be an effectivemoisturizer. Store Shea Butter is a cool (not necessarily cold) place. If you're going to use it within acouple of years, you should have no problems.

My Shea Butter melted

One of the great things about Shea Butter is its low melting point. When you apply it to your skin, itliterally liquefies. However, one of the bad things about Shea Butter is its low melting point. It's quitepossible it will melt in a hot room. It may even be melted when it's delivered to you in the summermonths. If this happens, don't worry. The Shea Butter is good. Just take the lid off of the container andset it in the refrigerator until it gets hard again. As it begins to cool, you might want to give it a stir tobring the olein (liquid parts) back into contact with the stearin (solid parts) so that the Shea Butter is uniform throughout.