Shea Butter...Smooth Like Butter

Shea butter is smooth like butter but don’t try to consume it like butter. If you spread it on your bread, you won’t like the taste although some grades of it are edible. Some African countries use it as cooking oil. According to hellolidy.com, “Shea butter is an edible product because it’s a natural oil acquired from the kernels of the shea tree. It’s one of the most ancient edible vegetable oils. Shea butter is not toxic when consumed orally, but some studies suggest that it’s suspected to interfere with the body’s protein digestion.” So, yeah, not exactly at the top of my list for consumption purposes.

Shea butter is, however, at the top of my list for haircare. It’s another must have ingredient Princess Mudd utilizes in one of our haircare products, the Hair Mudd. It’s an essential ingredient for skin as well but since currently it’s only in our Hair Mudd, I’ll focus on the benefits of shea butter on your hair.

Shea butter is exploding with benefits for your hair. As noted by healthline.com, it is a byproduct of shea nuts that are cultivated from the Vitellaria paradoxa or shea tree in West Africa. The shea tree is also known as the “karite tree” (which means “tree of life”) because of its many healing properties. It is produced through an arduous process of harvesting, washing, and preparing the shea nuts from which oil is then extracted.

I remember when the whole shea butter craze started. More people were selling it than were selling Avon and Mary Kay. You couldn’t answer the door without a 50 percent likelihood that it was someone selling shea butter. Every interview you watched on TV where someone was being complimented on their skin, they credited their healthy skin and glow to shea butter. You know I’m telling the truth! But they were mainly talking about how beautiful it made your skin feel then. I don’t remember a whole lot of chatter about the benefits of shea butter on hair. Am I remembering wrong?

Shea butter is a helpful product for curly, coily and kinky hair types including relaxed hair. Many of us still enjoy the luxury of not having to comb through naps all of the time. Hey, not all hair is created equal. Some of us need our “creamy crack.” Don’t judge us! In an interview with Ebony Magazine, celebrity hairstylist and the premiere makeup artist and hairstylist for Revolt TV from 2013 to 2017, Keka Heron, says to keep your relaxed hair healthy and strong you should use products that “include shea, cocoa, argan, jojoba and ginger.” She further advises that when relaxing her clients’ hair, her favorite relaxers contain cocoa and shea butter. Keke Heron says the key to maintaining healthy relaxed hair is, “Condition and moisturize! All of your products should have a moisturizing agent. Healthy hair starts at the shampoo bowl and continues long after you’ve gone.” Those are exactly some of the main benefits of shea butter.

According to hairlossgeeks.com, “As a moisturizer, shea butter is rich in Vitamins A and E, essential fatty acids, as well as some necessary ingredients that can help add moisture to your hair, pre