Vermont Soap is a major importer of bulk natural unrefined raw shea butter into the USA.
The LOWEST PRICE on the Internet. 59lbs of Raw Unrefined Shea Butter at $3.00
/ lb!
 In January and February of 2004, my partner Sandy Lincoln, traveled with me to
a village near Tamale, in the Northern Region of Ghana. There, we studied the hand processing of shea butter, a natural oil used for cosmetic and food purposes in the Savannah areas of West Africa. Because it is solid at room temperature, this natural nut oil has acquired the moniker of shea "butter". Sandy and I traveled extensively through the nearby country of Guinea, teaching and studying the uses and production of shea butter. We visited 11 villages in our journeys, none made shea butter of the quality and consistency made by our co-op.
The Savannahs of Africa are harsh and dry. Water is scarce, and there is only one rainy growing season. Villagers who used shea butter as a daily skin application had smooth, wrinkle free skin well into their 70's. Those who did not, well, it was very obvious. Based on what we saw in two countries, villagers who use raw, wild crafted shea butter on their skin every day looked 20 years younger than their counterparts who did not. They also had fewer skin fungus infections and the scaly "dermatose", so common in that part of the world (especially in non soap making villages).
Raw, unrefined shea butter differs dramatically from the hexane solvent refined product commonly sold throughout the United States and Europe. Solvent refining strips the shea butter of it's natural vitamins and healing properties. Carotene and alantoin are just two of the healing factors found in natural shea butter (and missing from solvent refined mass market products). Only properly made, raw shea butter is suitable for proper use as a hydrolyzing skin treatment.
Our soapmaker Steve Bench has a psoriasis condition we use to test natural products on. We have never seen the kind of results he is getting from the daily application of shea butter to his irritation. Formerly, the best results were obtained from organic aloe. The difference in the speed of healing with shea butter is dramatic by comparison.
We recommend applying shea butter at night, so it has time to soak into the skin. Use as lip balm, ointment, salve base, soap additive, bug repelling candle base (so we were told - you will have to test this one for yourself).
Useful for burns, all dry and irritated skin conditions (except for Poison Ivy, Oak etc., which contain irritating oils that need to be removed with Tea Tree Castile Liquid Soap). Recommended for wrinkle smoothing and prevention, and for the treatment of sun damaged skin.
Add essential oils or herbal infused oils to alter the scent and properties of the shea. Use beeswax to emulsify oils into the shea, and to raise the melt point. 1/3 beeswax 1/3 shea and 1/3 herbal infused oil is a good starting point if you are experimenting with making you own balms and salves. Essential oils are used at 2-3% of the total typically.
Shea butter must cool very slowly or it will become crystally or pilly as different waxes solidify at different rates within the shea. It is also possible to whip the shea butter with a blending device, or by hand, just before it sets up. This creates a creamy texture. Shea butter can be remelted several times, but it becomes tired if you let it melt and solidify too many times.
See Also:
The Shea Butter Process (PDF file)
Making Shea Butter in Ghana and Guinea
West Africa - Issues and Challenges
What to Bring When Traveling in Developing Regions
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