Butyrospermum parkii

This unrefined shea butter is from Ghana in Africa and is handcrafted under fair trade and organic standards. The shea butter is of the highest quality. It is a creamy colour and has a very pleasant aroma.

To use, just squish it between your fingers and it will melt, then massage it into your skin.

Unrefined shea butter comes from seeds of wild shea trees scattered throughout the fields and forests of the wooded savanna. The moisturising and healing properties of shea butter have recently been discovered by the western cosmetic industry, but shea butter has been a mainstay of African pharmacology for centuries.

Shea butter has many useful properties and has been traditionally used as a decongestant, an anti-inflammatory for sprains and arthritis, a healing salve for babies' umbilical cords, a lotion for hair and skin care, as cooking oil, and for lamp fuel.
However, the protective and emollient properties of shea butter are most valued for skin care.
In Africa, shea butter is applied to the skin and hair as a moisturiser.

Moisturising & Healing Benefits of Unrefined Shea Butter

Unrefined shea butter contains an abundance of healing ingredients, including vitamins, minerals, proteins and a unique fatty acid profile, and is a superior active moisturiser. Unlike petroleum based moisturisers, shea butter actually restores the skin's natural elasticity. Shea butter enables your skin to absorb moisture from the air, and as a result, it becomes softer and stays moisturised for longer. In addition, shea butter has natural sunscreen properties and anti-inflammatory agents. Because of its amazing properties, shea butter is an excellent ingredient for soaps, lotions and creams. Perhaps it is most effective when applied to the skin in its pure state. Regular users of pure, unrefined shea butter notice softer, smoother, healthier skin. Shea butter has also been shown to help with skin conditions and ailments such as extreme dryness, psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis, skin allergies, fungal infections, blemishes, wrinkles, stretch marks, scars, scrapes, and more.

Fair Trade Shea Butter

Unrefined shea butter is a valuable natural resource for West African and could be an important tool in empowering local communities. However, most shea butter on the market in the United States and Europe is not fairly traded. The women who gather shea nuts and handcraft this remarkable oil receive only a tiny fraction of the final price. It is estimated to take 20 to 30 hours of labour to produce one kilogram of handcrafted shea butter, which is traded at $1 or less in today's market. A woman making shea butter in West Africa will receive only a fraction of this price. Therefore, a person working for 30 hours, almost a week's worth of work, will not receive even a dollar for her efforts. Even if she received the whole dollar, this does not even begin to reach living wage standards.

Through our supplier's direct involvement of the entire process - from gathering the wild shea nuts and crafting the butter, to distribution locally and abroad - the members receive fair and steady incomes. In addition, a large percentage of the income received goes directly back to the community in the form of community enhancement projects, AIDS and malaria outreach, and educational scholarships. We believe in "building African self-empowerment the moral way" and truly appreciate your involvement in reaching our goals. Visit the Fair Trade Federation to learn more about fair trade. Visit the non-profit organisation - the Global Alliance for Community Empowerment and Alaffia Fair Trade Shea Butter and Sustainable Skin Care for more information on what is done to support our communities.