Ingredient of the day: We at Butterfly Rose Creations are particular about what goes into our products. We research all ingredients prior to making the decision to use them. One ingredient we love for our lotions is Shea Butter. So, lets talk a little about why we like Shea Butter: Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii): Also known as karate butter is made from the nuts of karate trees in West Africa. The English name Shea comes from its Bambara name sii, which means sacred. As a sacred tree, it is treated with particular respect. Growing up to 60 feet tall, the Shea tree does not flower before it is 20 years old and can live up to 200 years. The Shea nuts are traditionally harvested by women, crushed and boiled to extract the Shea butter. There are so many women in West Africa who are employed in the production of Shea Butter that it is called “women’s gold”. It is said that Queen Cleopatra herself used Shea Butter in her beauty regime. The traditional use of the butter is to reduce the appearance of fine lines, scars and stretch marks, and to ease a variety of skin irritations, such as psoriasis, eczema and sunburn. Shea Butter is emollient, skin softening and is considered by many to be extremely therapeutic, helping to heal cracked, aged and damaged skin. Shea Butter penetrates the skin and leaves it feeling soft and smooth. It has Vitamin A and E and has a high content of unsaponifiables and cinnamic esters, which have antimicrobial and moisturizing properties when in its raw form. The biological activities of triterpene acetate and cinnamate esters, together with the exceptionally high levels of these triterpenes in shea fat, indicate that shea nuts and shea fat (shea butter) constitute a significant source of anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor promoting compounds. The scientific community has long held Shea Butter as a therapeutic agent in reducing inflammation and continue to show positive results in studies regarding the efficacy of use of Shea Butter in treatment of various inflammatory conditions. Three studies of particular interest can be found at the National Institutes of Health web pages listed here: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20484832 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22499721 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19537379 *Unsaponifiables are a large group of compounds called plant steroids or sterolins. They soften the skin, have superior moisturizing effect on the upper layer of the skin and reduce scars. If you have a known allergy to other tree nuts, you may experience a reaction to Shea butter. Consult your physician or allergist before using this product, if this is the case. Environmental Working Group (EWG) rating: 0-lowest hazard rating
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 16:49:04 +0000
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