Shea Butter is quite possibly one of my favourite scents in a cream or lotion (aside form coconut) it reminds me of Caramac bars, a childhood love I shared with my late Grandfather. I first came across Shea Butter back in my teens when I was looking for something to soothe and cure my dry shins, a skin problem I have had for many years now and it drives me insane.
I was recently sent a lovely tin of Pure Health Shea Butter Skin Food to try and as soon as the package arrived, it was ripped open. Inside the package was this 100g tin:
Pure Health Shea Butter Skin Food is sold in quite a funky retro tin and is available for £9.19 whereupon which 10% of the profits are donated to development projects in Africa. The tin itself tells you that this product is 100% pure, meaning it contains no parabens, sulphates or paraffin to irritate the skin. Instead what will you find is something that is rich in Vitamins A, E and F and being so it is not the only kind to your skin but will also be both nourishing and rejuvenating and it has shown to be effective in treating certain skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis add to that it is also said to be effective in reducing the appearance of stretch marks and wrinkles - now where exactly can you get some of this miracle butter?
Right here - Pure Health’s Shea Butter Skin Food (£9.19 for a 100g).
What they say
“From the seeds of the shea tree comes the gift of shea butter. A wonderful natural balm and skin moisturiser appreciated by many with dry, irritated skin. Unlike the white, odourless, refined shea butter that goes into so many cosmetic products today, our shea butter is pure, unrefined shea butter sourced from women's cooperatives in West Africa. In addition, refined Shea Butter has usually been extracted from the shea kernels using hexane or other petroleum solvents, traces of which are often present in the finished product, which also lacks many of the soothing, nutritive properties of unrefined, virgin shea butter.
Like all premium unrefined shea butter, it has a characteristic nutty scent, which disappears after a few minutes when rubbed on the skin. Unrefined shea butter is a very versatile active ingredient for skin and hair care products and has excellent anti-aging, soothing and moisturising properties.”
Shea Butter has been around for many years and it does appear in quite a lot of products, particularly those which are moisturising, hydrating and it even appears in make-up products such as lip balms and lipsticks. I really like Shea Butter as an ingredient for those reasons and it has a lot of uses:
- Helps heal scars, burns, and stretch marks.
- Prevents ashy skin, chapping, and skin rashes.
- An ideal hairdressing that protects the scalp from sores and rashes and prevents dandruff.
- Helps prevent weak hair from breaking, fading, or thinning out.
- Fortifies cuticles and nails.
- Helps bruises to heal.
- Helps drain toxins from sore muscles: perfect for sports participants.
- Helps prevent skin irritation for babies: used for generations to help babies sleep better.
- Use after shaving to prevent irritation and restore skin's natural lustre.
- Ideal for dry skin, dermatitis, eczema, sunburn and athletes foot.
- Rejuvenates skin pores and adds elasticity to skin.
- Firms up ageing skin and helps clear wrinkles.
- Massage Shea butter into areas affected by arthritis, joint pains, or other muscular aches.
- Naturally, contains vitamins A and E.
Upon opening the tin, using a simple twisting action, the first thing I noticed was the creamy look of the Shea Butter, as you wipe your hand across the Shea Butter, which is packed tightly into the tin, it is almost a solid, until the heat from your body touches it and it simply glides onto your finger, then onto you skin and it is so smooth to the touch. As it glides onto your skin, it disappears almost immediately and leaves behind no hint that it was there in the first place, there is no greasiness to the skin, so snail-like trail it was once there, instead all you are left with is soft, smooth skin which is purely delightful.
As for the scent, well it came as a surprise to me that there was no sweet smell, instead there is this soft aroma that had a slightly nutty scent to it, nothing too overpowering, in fact it is so delicate you would almost not notice it, if you weren’t looking for it and it is quite nice.
This Shea Butter is Fair Trade and suitable for Vegans. It also doesn't contain:
- Parabens or other preservatives
- Parafin or other petrochemicals
- Solvents or Perfumes
After using it for a few weeks, concentrating on one area of my body, my shins, there is already a notable difference to the dry skin on my shins, it hasn’t disappeared entirely but I no longer resemble a reptile about to shed its skin. Instead, my shins are soft and smooth to the touch and I am now not as embarrassed by my legs and I will continue to use this product until it runs out because I can see how beneficial it has been and will be.
In the last week, I have been using it on my nail cuticles, which is looking quite haggard in the hope it will soften and soothe them and too.