Shea Butter For Hair: Uses, Tips & A DIY Recipe

This was one of the biggest debated topics for a while in the natural hair world – luckily we set the facts straight. Raw organic unrefined Shea butter is originally an ivory colour, but becomes yellow when the Borututu medicinal herbs are added. In Northern Ghana, it is common for the Borututu herbs to be added for healing purposes.

Hibar Moisturize Shampoo Bar

The shea tree is also known as the “karite tree” (which means “tree of life”) because of its many healing properties. Shea butter is a byproduct of shea nuts that are harvested from the Vitellaria paradoxa tree in West Africa. Be sure to use a small amount, especially if you have thin hair – too much shea butter can weigh down your hair. This butter comes in a variety of forms, but all moisturize and protect hair.

Where do all of these benefits come from?

Shea butter is extracted from the nuts of the Shea tree or Karite tree (a.k.a Tree of Life), which are native to West Africa. Most of the world’s shea butter still comes from this region and the butter is therefore sometimes referred to as African shea butter. Certain brands will offer storage solutions, including bags, cork containers, metal containers and self-draining bar storage. What you use to store your shampoo bar is up to personal preference.

Benefits for hair

Shea Butter for Hair: 8 Best Products, DIYS, and How to Use It - Cosmopolitan

Shea Butter for Hair: 8 Best Products, DIYS, and How to Use It.

Posted: Thu, 23 Jun 2022 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Be sure you don’t have a hair texture that’s prone to grease and buildup as shea butter could potentially make that worse. If shea butter is too heavy, shea oil is an excellent alternative. One study tested a cream that contained 5 percent shea butter on the forearms of 10 people. The participants noted that they could feel the moisturizing effects of the cream for up to 8 hours after it was applied. There is evidence that food, skin balms, soaps, shampoos, traditional medicines, cooking, and lamp oils have been made with shea butter in Africa for thousands of years.

Dry skin

Shea Butter Benefits for Skin and Hair - Real Simple

Shea Butter Benefits for Skin and Hair.

Posted: Wed, 08 Mar 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Fragile and coarse hair will benefit from the moisturising properties found in shea butter. It can help to soften ends and protect the hair from split ends. Below, I have listed the believed shea butter for hair benefits. The benefits of shea butter for hair have not been extensively studied and so the benefits listed are not 100% proven. Shea butter is found in plenty of hair care products on the market today, especially in the following categories. A person can combine shea butter with other ingredients to make a hair mask.

Apply It Directly to Your Hair

I will not trust Shea butter coming from anywhere else, only from the source – Burkina Faso, Northern Ghana, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Northern Nigeria. As mentioned above, there are several different grades of Shea butter, and I always use unrefined Grade A Shea butter from Ghana. As I have the privilege to travel to Ghana regularly, I am always able to get the best shea butter on the market. – Shea butter cream is a great styling product to manage frizz and flyaways while adding shine.

Best Body Butters to Deeply Nourish and Hydrate Your Skin

Shea butter has high fatty acid content which makes it penetrate your hair easily in the oil form. It repairs damaged hair by restoring the lost protein in your hair shaft, thus, preventing hair breakage. Shea butter is enriched with fatty acids such as linoleic, stearic, and oleic acids, along with catechins, vitamins, and minerals [2], which have great benefits for your hair. Shea butter, also called karite butter, is traditionally used as a natural ingredient in sub-Saharan Africa for medicinal and culinary purposes. As a beauty ingredient, specifically in hair care, shea butter is thought to have superior moisturizing properties compared to other kinds of vegetable butter.

Using a shea butter mask or conditioning treatment on your scalp and hair may help to promote hair growth. Linoleic acid has shown to improve thinning hair and promote healthy growth. With so many beauty ingredients trending on social media or being touted as the latest thing, it’s hard to weed out what really works. One buzzy ingredient in a plethora of skin care products is shea butter, especially during the colder months. Given the amount of natural hair growth remedies out there, it's only fair to wonder if this hydrator can do the same.

A Defense Mechanism Against Hair Damage

Its use has been documented as far back as the 14th century. Because shea butter is thick, it’s best to use it when your hair is damp or dry instead of wet. Mix together 1 cup shea butter with 2 tablespoons of avocado oil, 2 tablespoons of jojoba oil, 2 tablespoons of rosehip oil, and a few drops of any essential oil.

The seeds themselves are commonly extracted using solvents, such as hexane, and chemicals are also used to speed the separation of the fat. In men and women with AGA, it’s believed that sensitivity to DHT (an androgen) plays a significant part in hair loss. It’s not the only cause – after all, genetics, environment, and lifestyle also contribute – but one that can be easily targeted. There are numerous components of shea butter that lend themselves to preventing (and even reversing) hair loss. As an anti-inflammatory, shea butter can reduce signs of inflammation.

Both unrefined and refined Shea butter is sold in many online stores. If you’re buying from elsewhere, you may need to contact the stores for more details on the grades of the shea butters they sell. You can also buy shea butter from black hair stores in local neighborhoods. I'm Kat and I love all things natural and crunchy (and mango ice cream)! Other essential oils that work great for hair health are also tea tree, ylang-ylang, cedarwood, lemongrass, juniper, and peppermint.