Winteris notoriously harsh on your skin -- dry, cold air and wind causecracking and flaking. And while most people choose lotions and creamsbased on scent and texture to ease weather-induced charing anddiscomfort, Robyn Tisdale Scott, RPh, PharmD, warns that if you're notbuying 100 percent shea butter, you're not doing what's best for yourskin.
"All shea butter products are not equal," says Scott. "Mostcommercially available shea butter products are chemically extractedusing hexane, a dangerous petroleum by-product, refined by bleaching,and neutralized with toxic lye and extreme heat."
Shea butter is popping up in all kinds of personal products.Scott says the versatile moisturizer is great in lipsticks,foundations, deodorants, arthritis rubs and baby and pet care products.
Shea butter is derived from a nut that grows on shea trees.Found only in Africa, these trees can take 15 to 30 years to bear nutswith enough fatty acids to contain healing properties. The high fattyacid content of the nut makes it a good ingredient for body lotions,soaps, shaving creams and cosmetics.
Vitamins for your skin
Pure shea butter contains vitamins A, E and F. Vitamin A iswhat helps heal conditions such as dry skin, wrinkles, eczema,dermatitis, insect bites, sunburn, frostbite and stretch marks. Theseare just eight of the 21 reasons to use shea butter listed on theAmerican Shea Butter Institute's (ASBI) Web site (sheainstitute.com).Shea butter's hydrating properties also comes from vitamin A, whichacts similarly to the natural moisturizers produced by the skin'ssebaceous glands.
Vitamin F is composed of iinoleic and alpha-linoleic fattyacids, which contribute to normal cell growth and youthful-lookingskin. Vitamin F also adds shine to hair, so it's often found inshampoos and conditioners. And the vitamin E in shea butter haspossible anti-free radical properties, which can protect against sunand environmental damage. Do take notice of the expiration date on shea butter products.Shea butter contains cinnamic acid (related to cinnamon), which isresponsible for the nut's healing properties. And according to theASBI, the amount of bounded cinnamic acid decreases with age, lesseningthe healing effects. Expired shea butters, however, still moisturizeskin just as effectively. Internal benefits The same shea nut used to create silky smooth moisturizingbutters can also produce oils for cooking. While Africans have consumedthem for 2,000 years, shea nuts first appeared in Western diets in the20th century. According to Scott, research shows that shea butterlowers LDL cholesterol levels and provides good dietary fats. Althoughthe oil is not common in the United States, those with muscle sorenessand osteoarthritis are increasingly looking to shea nut supplements forrelief. Label checkYou should only buy shea butter products that meet thefollowing qualifications:
Product contains 100 percent pure, unrefined shea butter Shea butter is listed as one of the top ingredient on thelabel Cream is beige colored Other seeda or ingredients make up less than 1 percent ofproduct Extraction date from the shea nut seed is within 18 monthsof purchase Product is en endorsed by the American Shea ButterInstitute Product is fair trade Recommended ProductsAlaffia's Night Radiance Face Creamcombines shea butter with melon seed oil and kpangan butter to provideovernight moisture renewal -- the foundation of glowing, youthful skin.Also, the cream's baobab and papaya extracts, green tea and aloe verastimulate cell regeneration.Flexnow's Joint Formula contains theanti-inflammatory properties of shea nut triterpenes. In a recentclinical trial at the Australian Centre for Complementary MedicineEducation and Research, doctors gave Flexnow to 89 patients with hipand/or knee pains. After 15 weeks of treatment, most patients reportedreduced pain.Now Personal Care's Shea Butter Lotioncombines the healing powers of shea butter with other all-naturalmoisturizing oils, such as aloe leaf juice, sweet almond oil,abyssinica seed oil, and grapefruit seed extract. Natural coconut,almond, and cedar give it a subtle, pleasant aroma. Purely Shea's 100 percent pure,unrefined, certified-organic shea butter is never bleached, dyed orchemically altered. Try it in both unscented and lavender formulas. Source: Better Nutrition.Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. Powered by Yellowbrix.
