Whats shea butter?
As a natural, plant-based fat, shea butter is obtained by refining the seeds or kernels of the West African plant Butyrospermum Parkii (Bassia Parkii, Illipe parkii: from the Sapotaceae family). Butyrospermum grows in tropical Africa and is cultivated in the Sudan, Chad and Brazil. Indigenous people use it as a cooking fat, for soap, cosmetic purposes and illuminating oil. The fruits from the B. parkii also provide gutta-percha, a type of latex. At room temperature, it is a soft, off-white to yellow-coloured resin-like fat with an aromatic taste. Its chemical makeup is 6% palmitic acid, 41% stearic acid, 49% oleic acid and 4% linolenic acid. The high content of unsaturated fatty acids makes shea butter an excellent moisturiser. In concentrations between 2% and 5%, shea butter is used for cosmetic facial skincare products, hand moisturising lotions, lipsticks, make-up and special products for sensitive dry skin.
