Lately, a lot of people who care about their health are using only natural products for their skin. One of those products is shea butter, a solid fatty oil that comes from the Karite nuts that grow in the regions of central and western Asia. The Karite tree makes the fruits and the nuts inside the fruits hold the shea butter. In order to extract the butter, the nuts need to be crushed and boiled. Out of this process comes a light colored butter-like fat, which we call shea butter. The best kind of shea butter is the pure one, which looks like lumps of hard ice cream. Here are some of the amazing benefits of shea butter.

1. Incredible Healing Properties

One of the known amazing benefits of shea butter is its capacity to heal. This happens thanks to the healthy fatty acids like oleic acid, stearic, palmitic and linolenic. These compounds are oil soluble and do not convert into soap when coming into contact with alkali. It is a known fact that shea butter is number one when it comes to healthy oils and fats. All these compounds make it great for healing the skin. Using raw, unrefined shea butter helps cure skin rashes, eczema, sunburns, stretch marks, frost bites, athletes foot, arthritis, insect bites and stings. Basically, shea butter can be used for any kind of skin problem. Because of its amazing healing benefits, shea butter is often used in ointments and skin moisturizers. Its high content of vitamin A helps the skin heal faster and disinfects it. Shea butter is also a great remedy for skin allergies like seborrheic dermatitis, psoriazis and poison ivy allergy.

2. Shea Butter is a Perfect Antioxidant

Besides being an amazing skin healer, due to its high content of fatty acids, shea butter is  well of antioxidants and vitamins like vitamin A and E. These two essential vitamins protect the skin cells from the damaging free radicals. Shea butter contains cinnamic acid which helps the skin fight against ultraviolet radiation. Shea butter also acts as a natural sunscreen and helps against sunburns. Use it both in summer time and winter time as it will provide the best moisture to keep your skin protected from extreme temperatures.

3. Anti-aging Properties

Shea butter is considered by many one of the best skin moisturizers. Forget about all those chemical moisturizers they advertise on TV. Those creams are packed with toxic compounds that will affect the skin on the long run. Shea butter is rich in vitamin A and E, which help the skin by nourishing it, giving it a supple, firm and radiant look. Shea butter is also very efficient against wrinkles or any facial fine lines. It penetrates the skin fast and it doesn’t clog the pores. Shea butter is recommended for dry skin, normal skin, oily skin and sensitive skin.  The vitamin F from shea butter maintains the skin’s elasticity, gives it an even tone, hydrates it and softens it.

4. Shea Butter is Great for Baby Skin

Another one of the amazing benefits of shea butter is that it’s perfectly safe and recommended for baby skin care. It takes care of the sensitive baby skin and heals eczema or any other diaper rash. It’s delicate and leaves a pleasant scent on the baby’s skin.

5. Amazing for Hair

Shea butter is not only amazing for the skin, it’s also great for hair. It can be used as a natural conditioner and it will leave the hair soft and healthy. It can also be used if you have a sensitive scalp. Shea butter can soothe itchiness, helps against dandruff and it doesn’t leave the hair oily. It’s also great for damaged hair, brittle hair or dry hair. Use it to repair the split ends or soothe a dry, flaky scalp.