Shea butter is a emollient — this means it prevents moisture loss and softens and soothes the skin. How does Shea Butter do this so effectively? Well, it contains lineoleic, oleic, palmitic and stearic acids. These are fatty acids that help seal water in our skin so we don’t lose all that moisture to evaporation.
Like most of the super hero ingredients in our formulas, Shea Butter is a wonder at alleviating so many skin and hair concerns. We love it because it helps skin’s appearance, but also serves to calm irritation and protect skin from environmental damage.
Here are some other fabulous qualities of the pure Shea Butter we use in our products:
- Its healthy oils give skin a healthy glow.
- Shea Butter is chock-full of antioxidants like vitamins A and E that fight free radical damage. This helps skin from aging too quickly. We are certainly not ageist here at GLN, but we all want to maintain the healthy, glowing skin of youth as long as we can!
- Did you know that in Africa, Shea Butter is often used for its helpful benefits in handling inflammation? It’s also a analgesic. This serves to make it wonderful in soothing conditions like eczema, psoriasis, rashes, and other skin irritations — even insect bites and razor burn!
- Shea Butter contains high levels of cinnamic acid — yep, it sounds like cinnamon, because it’s also found in cinnamon bark! Cinnamic acid is a inflammatory fighter, which is fabulous because calming our skin makes it healthier more comfortable.
- While Shea Butter should not be used to replace your sunscreen (it’s SPF properties are not high enough for that), it does offer some protection against the sun’s rays. Using it as a moisturizer in conjunction with your sunscreen will increase your skin’s shield against sun damage.
- Shea Butter helps reduce frizz and increase shine in our hair. It also protects against heat damage which is great for anyone out there curling, straightening or using a hair dryer with frequency. It also helps those of us with curly or kinky hair who experience breakage.
We LOVE Shea Butter here at Green Leaf. We use it head to toe — both in its raw form and in our many skincare products.