You’ve probably seen shea butter moisturizer when choosing a lotion, and maybe even come across shea butter soaps…but have you ever wondered what shea butter is, exactly?
Shea butter benefits are so great that Cleopatra herself was known to use raw shea butter, so keep reading to find out where this moisturizing substance comes from and what shea butter benefits are.
What is Shea Butter?
Despite its name, shea butter is not a dairy product. It comes from the pit of a fruit that is native to Africa. The pit contains a nut, which is the key ingredient in shea butter.
Shea pits are dried so that they can be easily cracked to reveal the nut, which is then roasted and ground. The final step is whipping the ground shea nuts into a rich, creamy raw shea butter packed with antioxidants and moisturizing properties.
Shea Butter Benefits for the Skin, Face, and Hair
Shea butter benefits for the skin have been known for centuries in Africa, where shea fruit grows naturally. Shea moisture is nourishing for the whole body. Here’s why you should consider shea butter for body, shea butter for face, and shea butter for hair.
Shea Butter for Body
Shea butter benefits for the skin include reducing inflammation and irritation. Clinical studies show that the plant esters in shea butter have healing and anti-inflammatory effects with topical application on the skin, providing evidence for an ancient practice of external use over the whole body.
Shea Butter for Face
There’s a reason ancient Egyptians used shea butter to protect from the intense heat, sun, and wind. The essential fatty acids in shea butter moisturizer help lock moisture into the skin and may even help prevent photoaging. Shea butter contains Vitamin A and vitamin E, which along with the fatty acids help promote collagen production, which helps keep your skin looking firm.
Other natural moisturizers can sometimes be greasy, but shea butter is great for dry skin on the face because it’s not oily. This makes it a great option for all skin types, including those with oilier skin.
Shea Butter for Hair
The non-greasy nature of shea butter moisture makes it an excellent, nourishing balm for dry, brittle hair. The rich fat content and antioxidant vitamins such as tocopherols, a form of Vitamin E, help restore the shine and moisture to your tresses.
Why Shea Butter Soaps Make the Best Natural Soaps
We’ve already seen that shea butter moisturizer and shea butter soaps are great for dry skin thanks to the high natural fat content of shea nuts. But what makes shea butter soaps the best natural soaps you can use? The answer lies in how the soap is made.
The Secret Behind Shea Moisture in Shea Butter Soap
The key to the incredible shea moisture in shea butter soap bars is both the organic shea butter and oils used in the soap-making process. CleanO2 uses superfatting, which means using less lye and more fat, which yields a shea butter soap bar that has leftover oil floating in the soap. These fatty oils moisturize the skin during cleansing.
Why a Shea Moisture Bar Soap Should Be Your Go-To Moisturizer
Now you know why a shea moisture bar soap is a great choice for nourishing your whole body, but how do you choose the best nature-safe soap for you?
CleanO2’s Eco Aloe Body Bar is a shea butter soap that contains other wholesome, moisturizing ingredients like coconut oil, avocado oil, and castor oil to leave your skin feeling silky smooth.
The avocado oil in this shea butter soap bar contains the fatty acid lecithin, which is a natural emollient, meaning it helps lock moisture into your skin. Half of the fatty acids in coconut oil are made up of lauric acid, which is a natural antibacterial great for preventing acne.
As if these benefits weren’t enough, this shea butter soap also contains olive oil, which offers further anti-inflammatory benefits to the skin due to the oleic and linoleic acid. Finally, the castor oil in our soap combines with coconut oil to create a richer, foamier lather.
CleanO2’s Unscented Aloe Soap Captures the Best of the Moisturizing World
You can get all these shea butter benefits for the skin by using our eco-friendly soap that is packed with shea moisture. This is the best natural soap because it not only offers shea butter benefits but also reduces greenhouse emissions due to being made with captured carbon. Plus, shea butter allows our soap bars to harden naturally without the addition of palm oil. Now that’s a shea moisture bar soap you can feel good about!