Using a truly high quality shea butter as a cosmetic product is not a given nowadays, as in cosmetics production the modus operandi is usually: Reap the most profit quickly and cheaply. The result: Quantity trumps quality, mass trumps class – and more often than not that results in questionable properties for skin care.
Unfortunately this is also true for shea butter. Due to its reputation as a beautification product it is an ingredient for many cosmetic products and is advertised as such. But either the product contains much too little of it to be effective in any way, or aggressive industrial extraction has destroyed most of the precious active ingredients. Impurities caused by chemical residue or combination with synthetic ingredients are also a problem.
KARITÉ naturelle only uses highest quality
We at KARITÉ naturelle think: If you’re making natural cosmetics, you should do it right and unadulterated! With all of the shea-typical active ingredients necessary to be healthy for your skin. Without any secondary ingredients that lower, alter, or even nullify its effectiveness.
That’s why at KARITÉ naturelle we only have 100% naturally pure shea butter, in unrefined BIO quality, in cans and vials. And of course: Always in sufficient quantities. Either as a pure butter, or – in mixed recipes – with a shea-part of at least 50%.
Bio-shea butter without supplements: the production makes it possible
If you read the ingredients (|NC|) of cosmetic products and come across the term „butyrospermum parkii“ that does mean „shea butter“, but it doesn’t mention anything about its quality. As in the cosmetics industry the magic phrase is usually „maximising profit“, the production focuses on maximum benefit – at the cost of quality.
Examples:
- Instead of careful, traditional extraction like in Africa, the industry only purchases the shea nuts and then processes them in refineries, where tehy are ground and pressed under extreme heat. Afterwards they rid the butter of fats and acids, bleach and desodorise it in order to remove unwanted fatty acids, natural coloration or aromas.
- Different method: The fat is extracted from the nuts by using chemical solvents. Afterwards they remove unwanted ingredients.
It is thus not surprising when in the process ingredients like vitamins or secondary plant-based agents are altered or lost completely, or when residual chemicals remain in the butter.
- It is unfortunate that even naturally extracted butter, sometimes even BIO shea butter, goes into further processing in refineries. That makes it white as snow and completely odourless, which makes the inclusion in other cosmetic products easier.
That is probably not what a consumer would expect of natural, or even BIO cosmetics. Even so it is not unlawful to advertise a product as such – even if the product is not all that natural anymore.
A propos bio shea butter
As shea butter is made from the nuts of wild growing trees, the term „BIO“ might be somewhat confusing, as in general the term points to controlled biological growing. However, planting groves doesn’t work for shea trees, and due to the long wait for the first yield it wouldn’t be very economical either.
Bio shea butter means:
- It is exctracted from nuts from controlled biological wild gathering – in special, bio-certified regions that are regularly inspected (even in Africa, some gathering regions show signs of chemicals).
- The production follows strict ecological and hygiene guidelines.
Guaranteed shea butter, unrefined bio quality
Even KARITÉ naturelle aims at maximisation in the case of Karité butter – that is, the maximisation of quality and all the precious ingredients nature has given to the shea nut. That is why our butter…
- … is carefully extracted the traditional way in Africa
- … is not additionally processed
- … is left in its naturally pure state during production so the active ingredients take effect for your beauty care
- … is BIO-certified as it is produced following ecological guidelines, and doesn’t contain any artificial ingredients
