Skin Benefit
Some shea stays as free butter in the finished bar. Why Silky Shea and Golden Oat feel soft.
Spiritual Benefit
Shea embedded in West African skin care, used in butter form long before modern cosmetics.
The record
In use for 1,000+ years, likely far longer
Origin
The shea belt of West Africa, a band of wild trees running from Senegal to Uganda.
Harvested
The nuts are gathered from wild trees, not plantations, then boiled, sun-dried, roasted, ground, and hand-whipped with water into butter. Women have run this work for generations.
Cultural impact
They call it women's gold. The trees are customarily protected, often passed down through mothers, and the butter remains a real income for millions of West African women.
Traditional use
Whole-body protection against the Sahel sun and the dry harmattan winds, massaged into newborns, and worked into hair.
