Comments on: Shea Butter Spotlight

By: Christine

Christine — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:50:55 +0000

I never thought about who were affected by the production of shea butter. This makes me want to check the labels of the lotion I have in my bathroom. I will have to check out Shea Yaleen.

By: vianney

vianney — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 05:50:17 +0000

thank you for sharing, what a great program and glad you added links.

By: Mila

Mila — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:50:36 +0000

Thanks Juliana! Shea butter is traditionally processed by hand and it is a time intensive process! In the photos above, the women use the “pile” to grind the roasted nut that is later washed, boiled and filtered. Unrefined shea butter is definitely made with lots love!

By: Mila

Mila — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:35:21 +0000

Hi B! Raw, unrefined shea butter is hand processed over a several week period (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmzHqc8rkKI). Sometimes the nut itself is exported overseas (mainly to Europe) where they are chemically processed and used a cosmetic and chocolate additive. The chemical processing strips the shea of its natural and healing properties which doesn’t happen during traditional processing. In both situations, the shea belt buyers control the pricing and buy at below market prices thus increasing their profit upon export. Perhaps I will demonstrate the at-home whipped shea butter process in a follow-on article!

By: Juliana

Juliana — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:52:06 +0000

Very informative post…I never knew how the shea butter was extracted…
Thanks for this post and hope you are having a great week Mila

By: Belinda

Belinda — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 11:46:08 +0000

Why DOES shea butter cost so much then? Who is making the money…doesn’t seem the women making the butter, does it? Have to say, love shea butter in shampoo – been nicer to hair than more harsh chemical-based ones. Great post – would love to know how your shea butter turned out.