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About Shea Butter
Shea Butter 101
Shea Butter Uses
Frequently Asked Questions
SHEA BUTTER 101
What is Shea Butter?
Shea Butter is a natural plant extract with exceptional moisturizing properties which comes from the karite or shea tree. The Shea tree, formerly Butryospermum paradoxum, is now called Vitellaria paradoxa. It produces its first fruit (which resemble large plums) when it is about 20 years old and reaches its full production when the tree is about 45 years old. It produces nuts for up to 200 years after reaching maturity. Many vernacular names are used for Vitellaria, which is a reflection of its extensive range of occurrence – nearly 5,000km from Senegal (west) to Uganda (east) across the African Continent. The nomenclature history and synonymy of the Shea tree followed a very tortuous evolution since the oldest specimen was first collected by Mungo Park on May 26, 1797 before eventually arriving at the name vitellaria with subspecies paradoxa and nilotica. It usually grows to an average height of about 15m with profuse branches and a thick waxy and deeply fissured bark that makes it fire resistant. The Shea tree grows naturally in the wild in the dry Savannah belt of West Africa from Senegal in the west to Sudan in the east, and onto the foothills of the Ethiopian highlands. It occurs in 19 countries across the African continent, namely Benin, Ghana, Chad, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Guinea Bissau, Cote D’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo Uganda, Zaire and Guinea.
In Ghana (FAO, 1988a), it occurs extensively in the Guinea savannah and less abundantly in the Sudan Savannah. The Shea tree occurs over almost the entire area of Northern Ghana, over about 77,670 square kilometers in Western Dagomba, Southern Mamprusi, Western Gonja, Lawra, Tumu, Wa and Nanumba with Eastern Gonja having the densest stands. There is sparse Shea tree cover found in Brong-Ahafo, Ashanti, and the Eastern and Volta regions in the south of the country.
Where does Shea Butter come from?
Shea Butter comes from the nuts of the Shea tree, which grows naturally in Sub-Saharan Africa (a stretch from Guinea to Sudan) and a section of East Africa. It produces its first fruit (which resemble large plums) when it is about 20 years old and reaches its full production when the tree is about 45 years old. It produces nuts for up to 200 years after reaching maturity.
What is Shea Butter used for?
Shea Butter is used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and in Europe it is also used in the confectionary and chocolate industry as a cocoa Butter substitute. Shea Butter is also used as cooking oil, and in margarine, soaps and detergents and candles. West Africans have used it for centuries to treat various skin problems including dry skin, psoriasis, burns, blemishes, eczema, wrinkles and stretch marks. Other uses: Adds and maintain moisture to dry and brittle hair, revitalizes, repairs breakage & split ends and promotes hair growth. Will not clog pores or block hair shaft, allowing for easy breathing and stimulating growth.
How is Shea Butter produced?
The 9 major stages of processing include Sorting, Cracking, Roasting, Grinding, Kneading, Boiling, Filtration and Stirring, Packaging, and the final most important stage- Quality Control:
· SORTING: Separating the nut from the unwanted particles (tiny dry leaves, spoiled nut etc and grouping the good nut into different grades.
· CRACKING: An adjusted surface Grinder machine will break the good nuts into the desired size/form to ensure even roasting.
· ROASTING: The cracked nut is roasted in a rotating drum over controlled heat until the nut fully roasted care is taken to avoid burning the nuts.
· GRINDING: The roasted nuts are grinded into a paste (Color—deep brown).
· KNEADING: The paste is cooled, kneaded or beaten adding water until the oil (foamy form) comes up for collection. The collected oil (foamy form) is washed with water until the color becomes light grey. -The best Shea Butter for skin and hair use is prepared either by cold press or a traditional kneading process without the use of added chemicals or preservatives.
· BOILING: The product (foamy form) is boiled under controlled temperatures until all excess water evaporates.
· FILTERATION AND STIRRING: The resultant oil is filtered and stirred until it becomes a pale yellow/cream or beige Butter.
· PACKAGING: Products are packaged in 50lb plastic lined boxes or heavy duty plastic containers in various sizes as per customer’s specifications.
· QUALITY CONTROL: Every batch of Shea Butter is tested for quality by running an analysis on the following values requiring that the results be within the parameters indicated next to the values. These parameters set forth by the UEMOA (Union Economique Monetaire Ouest Africaine).
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