Raw Shea butter took the world of skincare by storm and has more recently been paving its path as a top ingredient in hair care.
Here you’ll learn what it is, its benefits, and why it’s become sought after especially for the curls and coils community.
Raw Shea Butter 101
What Is It?
Native to sub-Saharan Africa, raw shea butter comes from the kernels of shea trees. It has been a staple in traditional African recipes for over thousands of years.
Despite being called a butter, it closely resembles a solidified oil in raw form (like coconut oil). This means it melts to a ‘liquidy’ state when emulsified between your palms or warmed.
The Benefits
Raw shea butter is filled with so much goodness being that it comes directly from our dearest Mother Earth.
Fatty acids, vitamins, and triglycerides are just a few things that make this one of the best multipurpose ingredients to use along your hair wellness journey. Below are some additional benefits you can expect to receive:
It’s Moisturizing
Raw Shea Butter is made up of fatty acids and vitamins that are great for nourishing the hair cuticle through to the core.
An Environmental Protector
Did you know it can protect your tresses from extreme damage due to the sun’s rays? Raw shea butter also defends against other environmental stressors like air pollutants, and water toxins by creating a protective barrier around your strands.
Anti-aging
Your skin isn’t the only part of you to show significant signs of aging.
While it may be less noticeable to those on the outside looking in, your hair can show some telltale signs of aging. This includes change in texture, manageability or even some sparkly grays.
Raw shea butter provides antioxidants like vitamins A and E. Perfect to preserve the youthfulness of your locks!
Great Conditioning Agent
It does the job of both a moisturizing and sealing oil. It adds slip to your strands making it a prime ingredient for conditioners, hair masks, and leave ins.
Strengthens Hair
Wondering if this can help with hair growth? Well, let me explain.
It doesn’t necessarily stimulate the follicles and blood flow in the scalp where your hair grows from.
BUT, it does strengthen the hair and prevent breakage which is a big part of growing your hair long and strong.
So, yes, you could say that shea butter does indirectly support hair growth.
And It’s Great For All Hair Types
There’s a lot of hype surrounding shea butter especially within the curly community- including myself. But I bet you didn’t know that it can be used for all hair types, too.
This is because it can be modified with different oils, butters, and other ingredients. So even if you have hair on the finer side, there’s a lighter variation for you!
How To Use Raw Shea Butter
There’s plenty of ways to add this holistic ingredient into your regular hair rituals. Check out some of the ways I recommend to use raw shea butter below:
Make a DIY hair mask.
If you’re a creative like myself, you can absolutely make your own hair mask that caters to your own individual hair needs.
It’s fairly easy. Just choose a secondary carrier oil, along with a few drops of your favorite essential oils or herbs. Mix all together and saturate the hair, focusing especially on drier zones.
I tend to leave my hair mask in for about an hour. That gives me enough time to tidy up around the house or check off items on my to do list.
Buy premade products with shea butter.
Maybe you don’t have enough time to get creative. No problem.
In that case, you can buy yourself a product with the right ingredients already in it. Many curl creams these days formulate with shea butter, like SheaMoisture, or even Surface Hair Products.
Use as a leave in treatment.
Raw shea butter can be purchased as is (and can most likely found in your local health food or holistic store).
Apply a liberal amount to dry ends, waves or curls, for an ultimate moisturizer. No need to rinse, just go about your day as usual.
It’s such a versatile product, you can even use it for dry skin or chapped lips. Thank me later!
Use as a pre ‘poo treatment.
A little Byrdie told me if you suffer from dry scalp, you may want to use this as a pre-shampoo treatment. Due to its anti inflammatory properties, an irritated, flaky scalp can be soothed almost instantly.
And if you experience dry winters like I do in the Pocono Mountains- this might just be your ultimate scalp savior.
Massage into your scalp and leave for up to thirty minutes. You can heat up the raw shea butter and add a few drops of tea tree oil for an extra luxurious feel!
Make sure to wash thoroughly.
Additional Raw Shea Butter Factors
Has raw shea butter caught your attention? Here’s some additional things you should know if you’re considering giving it a shot.
Know Your Hair Characteristics. Between your hair porosity, texture, density and so on, it’s important to know about your hair.
Low porosity hair has difficulty opening up for products, meaning your shea butter runs the risk of just sitting on top of the hair cuticle instead of going within.
Fine hair can easily be weighed down by shea butter, too. Learn more about your hair story, here.
Wash Thoroughly. There’s a correct way to wash your hair. Need a quick refresher? Read more here.
It’s important you know this, especially when adding raw shea butter to your hair rituals. When not washed properly, it can clog hair follicles which can hinder hair growth. And we don’t want that, do we?
So there you have it. Raw shea butter, while underrated, is super versatile and has been working its way up as a superior ingredient in not just skin care, but the hair world as well.
There are so many ways to work with it, whether you are into making your own products, or just need something more moisturizing for those strands.
Either way, it’s a staple for hair of all shapes, sizes, and textures. Let me know in the comments below how you incorporate shea butter into your hair regimen!