In the language of the inhabitants of Senegal, this oil is called "karite", the inhabitants of Mali call it "shi", and members of the tribe, who have been collecting and processing the fruits for the manufacture of this oil for many millennia, call it "women's gold". The mention of the purchase of shea butter was found in ancient Egyptian documents from the time of Cleopatra. Wealthy Egyptians actively used it to protect their skin and hair from the scorching sun. Today, scientists confirm that they were not in vain ready to pay a high price for this oil. Read more about its properties at estet-portal.com.
Peculiarities of obtaining shea butter and its types
In order to estimate in general terms the cost of a natural cosmetic ingredient, which we know as shea or shea butter, one must imagine that the – the source of oily fruits could not be grown in plantation conditions, no matter how hard scientists tried. It grows only in the savannahs a little south of the Sahara desert, and can bear fruit for up to 300 years. The first fruits appear only from a 20-year-old shea tree, but the most valuable and nutrient-rich oil is extracted from the fruits of those trees that have passed the 50-year mark. and only women. Therefore, the oil is here called "women's gold." - after all, its extraction has become an industry,
Trees grow far apart, bear fruit during the rainy season, and only fallen fruits can be harvested. About 20 kg of fruits per year are harvested from one tree, about 4-5 kg of oil comes out of this amount. The collected fruits require immediate processing, within a few hours, otherwise they will deteriorate. They are manually cleaned of pulp, the nuts are crushed with stones and ground in mortars, then boiled over an open fire in large pots.
If you manage to get a shea butter with a distinct light smoky flavor – be sure of its natural origin.
• use of chemical solvent – crushed nut mass is poured with hexane and then evaporated; much more oil is extracted this way, but it is of poor quality, because it is not possible to completely evaporate the remains of the chemical solvent.
However, chemically derived shea butter is much cheaper and is widely used in the cosmetics industry.
Properties of Shea Butter Used in Cosmetology
Composition of shea butter – it is a complex complex of unsaturated fatty acids and some unsaponifiable substances (they make up about 7% of the total composition, the rest is fat). Fatty acids are almost half stearic acid, plus about 40% oleic acid and about 6% linoleic omega-6 acid.
Among the unsaponifiable compounds in shea butter, there are unique caritesterols – substances related to skin cell membrane lipids.
These substances help to restore the protective properties of the skin, protect it from the harm of UV radiation, and slow down the aging process.
There are some other unique compounds in the composition of the oil – these are triterpene alcohols, named after the researcher who described the cultivation of shea. These alcohols are able to absorb UV rays and strengthen the skin's defense against them, inhibit the activity of free radicals.
Shea butter contains natural latex that absorbs the sun's ultraviolet rays. So, it was not for nothing that the ancient Egyptians used oil for protection from the sun.
The peculiarity of shea butter is that when applied to the skin, its action reaches a maximum after an hour and lasts up to 8 hours. It nourishes, moisturizes, stimulates cell renewal, improves protective properties and slows down the aging process of the skin. The most pronounced cosmetic effect is given by natural oil obtained in the traditional way or by cold pressing technology. But the price of such funds is quite high. Shea butter obtained chemically is much cheaper, but products with this ingredient have a significantly lower cosmetic effect, and they can also cause allergies.
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