Those of you who have a more creative, experimental nature might be pleased to know that you can now get 100% Natural Shea Butter that comes from a fair-trade, reputable source. Just head on down to The Body Shop!
While The Body Shop has always had a shea butter range of products (I used to use their Shea Butter Body Butters for chronically dry skin – Dad swore by it for cracked heels!) I believe it’s the first time that we’re getting shea butter in its pure form.
So, what can you do with it?
The Body Shop 100% Natural Shea Butter
What you get is a resealable pouch of pure 100% natural shea butter from Ghana. Harvested and made to The Body Shop standards, it is community trade and responsibly sourced and made by Ghanaian women.
Each pouch contains 150ml of shea butter made from 192 shea nuts, and the packaging is 100% recyclable.
Shea Butter is made from the nuts of the Shea (Karite) tree and is rich in Vitamins A, E and F. It is also very nourishing when applied to skin, and helps sooth dry skin.
Benefits of Shea Butter
Shea Butter is commonly used in beauty and body care products to offer a more nourishing, moisturizing effect. It contains a lot of fatty acids, so is very moisturizing.
It usually feels almost oily, and when used in face creams, are usually used in those formulated for dry skin types. Some people do find it too rich for them, or that it clogs their pores and makes them break out. But if you intend it for use on your face, avoid if you do not have dry skin.
Shea Butter is also very nourishing, and helps smoothen skin. It helps to alleviate the problem of dry skin, especially on the body and is commonly found in body butters or body creams.
You also often find shea butter used in lip balms, because it had a thicker consistency, so protects the skin better for longer, allowing the oils to nourish the skin and keep it from drying out.
How to use The Body Shop 100% Natural Shea Butter
The Body Shop 100% Natural Shea Butter is whipped and has a solid creamy white consistency in the bag. It feels almost hard to the touch, like solid coconut oil.
But when you warm it up a little between your hands, and squeeze the pouch, it will become pliable quite quickly.
Then, you can use a clean spoon or spatula to scoop out the amount you need.
Out of the pouch, I find it already ready to use in its natural form. It feels very creamy and moisturising, almost oily in its consistency, and melts on contact with your skin.
You can use it in a myriad of ways:
- On its own – Just melt a little product between your hands and apply directly to skin. It will feel quite thick and moisturising and is a treat for dry skin
- For dry or cracked heels – Apply directly to your feet, pull on some socks and leave overnight for baby soft feet the next morning.
- As a moisturising lip scrub – mix the shea butter with some coarse sugar and scrub your lips to remove flakies and to nourish lips
- As a moisturizing bath melt – Melt the shea butter and place it into some large ice cube trays. Mix with body wash of your choice, and freeze. Drop into bathtub for a moisturising bubble bath
- See more DIY recipes with the 100% Natural Shea Butter here
You don’t actually need to use very much shea butter each time, because it will melt and be quite emollient on skin. So one pack can last you comfortably quite a while, while you run through the various DIY recipes available out there, or maybe even concoct your own skincare 🙂
For DIY skincare enthusiasts, I know how hard it can be to obtain certain key ingredients, so I guess it’s nice to know that you can get this one from a proper, reputable source 🙂
Do you DIY your skin or body care products? Does this natural Shea Butter product interest you in any way?
Personally however, I am not much of the DIY sort, but a friend has expressed interest in trying out some of the shea butter recipes, so I’m going to hand off my pack to her 🙂 Are you the DIY sort?
Paris B
PRICE: RM85 | US$21 | £15.00 for 150ml
WHERE TO BUY: The Body Shop stores or online
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I’m not that into DIY recipes either (except for face masks and I haven’t done a DIY one of those in agggges) so I think I would try and use the shea butter in a hot bath. I can imagine it would leave a beautiful coating on your skin! I love it when oily body scrubs do that 🙂
I’m just wondering if I’d actually use it or if it would go to waste sitting in my bathroom…. I have three little pots of pure Shea Butter from L’Occitane but I keep forgetting about them. I would only really use them for lip balm anyway (I have enough lip balms and hand creams to last me a lifetime!!!).
On another note, the Body Shops Shea Butter Shower Cream is sooooo lovely! I used to use it religiously back in the day. Much more moisturising than a body wash gel, leaves skin soft and comfortable. Plus, no oily residue with that one 😉
I just KNOW it’d go to waste for me LOL! I’m not big on DIY except maybe for household items, or for fixing things. I’m big on fixing things around the house myself 😀 But with skincare, I prefer leaving it to the experts. I mean, my mind is already so cluttered all day, sometimes I just need someone else to do some things for me 😀 Oh and I haven’t tried their shower cream. Sounds lush! I’ll have a go 😀