subject: Unrefined Shea Butter vs Refined Shea Butter - Which is Best? [print this page] Unrefined Shea Butter vs Refined Shea Butter - Which is Best?
Shea butter is a natural wildcrafted product that is produced by hand in the villages of west and east Africa. To produce shea butter, wild shea nuts are harvested as they fall to the ground from karite (shea) trees. These shea nuts are boiled in large pots of water to release the oil which floats to the top. The oilthat is skimmed off and left to cool solidifies and becomes unrefined "raw" shea butter.Raw shea butter is light tan to dark beige in color.Pure unrefined shea butter has the highest amounts of vitamins and nutrients and yields the most benefits for skin and hair. However unrefined shea butter also has a characteristic smoky, nutty scent that some find unpleasant.
Refined shea butter is white or ivory in color and is refined naturally via the use ofclay and waterduring aprocess that removes the odor and color. Most of the vitamins and nutrients are lost during the refinement process, however the creamy moisturizing properties of the butter remain intact. Refined shea butter is generally used when an odorless, colorless butter is needed for cosmetic and hair care products and the deeply moisturizing properties of shea butter are desired.
Which shea butter is better? This depends entirely upon the intended use of this product. In the production of lotions, creams and butters that are to be scented with essential oils or other fragrances and a colorless oil is needed for the appearance of the finished product, refined shea butter is usually the best choice. For consumers who desire to use products in their purest and most natural form and for soapmaking and hair care products, unrefined raw shea butter may be the better choice.
Both unrefined and refined shea butters are excellent moisturizers for dry and sensitive skin, and both are used to create moisturizing hair care products. There are many excellent skin and hair care products made with unrefined and refined shea butter. In order to determine which products best suit your needs try skin and hair care products which contain either refined or unrefined shea butter. In this way you will be better able to determine which product best meets your individual needs.
