Using Raw Shea Butter Gives You More Benefits
By Ken Walker Sr

When you talk about Raw Shea Butter you are referring to a natural product that has been made from the nut of a Shea tree that is not refined.

Raw simply means that no processing or chemicals have been used on the extracted Butter. 

 

Sometimes Sodium Hydroxide is added to the raw butter to refine it. Although this process will remove some of the aroma from the butter it also removes beneficial proteins and phospholipids. Sodium Hydroxide is caustic.

 

Phospholipids allow water to bond with the oils contained in the butter. Removal of the phospholipids will result in the "water on a ducks back" scenario. You simply can't get the full moisturizing effect without phospholipids.

 

Remember that when chemicals are used, some of the chemicals stay in the final product.

 

There are other refinement methods used to treat the unrefined tree butter with similar results.

 

Extraction of the butter from the Shea tree by the traditional method begins with prayer. The harvesters give thanks for the tree and the fruit it contains.

 

After the fruit is picked the nuts are dried and cracked. The nut is then pounded and a butter takes shape.

 

This product achieved from pounding the nuts is boiled in water until the raw nut butter rises to the surface of the water. This can take up to 5 hours. During which the unrefined Shea Butter rises to the surface.

 

The workers then scrape the butter from the top of the water and allow it to cool.

Another good method of extracting unrefined butter from the Shea nut is a mechanical method. A machine is used to grind or crush the nuts. The pulp is then squeezed by pressure which removes the butter.

 

You can obtain more Butter and in less time with this method. It is my opinion that since this method does not use heat, more of the naturally occurring benefits of raw Shea Butter remains in the Butter.

 

If you prefer an unscented Butter you will want it to be refined. You will still have a product that provides benefits to enhance your skin and hair.

 

But if you want to benefit from all that Shea Butter has to offer, you need pure unrefined raw Shea Butter.

 

Ken Walker Sr. Is a country boy that uses natural products.

Shea Butter for hair is a great product. Ken also uses Raw Shea Butter.

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