Shea Butter for Hair: Raw, Hair Growth, and Natural Hair

It readily melts upon contact with the skin, is vegan and safe. Shea butter doesn’t contain chemical irritants that dry out the skin and won’t clog pores. Its fatty acid content strengthens the skin’s natural barrier and in so doing protects hair and scalp from the sun and other environmental damage. This amazing butter also doesn’t make hair oily but rather sinks into the scalp without leaving any greasy residue behind.

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Below, you’ll discover the humble origins of shea butter and why it’s touted as a gift from Mother Nature. You’ll also learn about the three amazing benefits of shea butter for hair. Last but not least, we’ll show you how to add this natural ingredient to your haircare routine stat. Just like shea butter moisturises dry skin, it is also excellent for dry hair and scalp. The best way is to apply it directly on your scalp all the way to your strands.

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The fact is, when you create your own products at home, you can feel confident about the ingredients. Since some products use preservatives and drying alcohols in their recipes which can be damaging to your hair. When you DIY, you will also be able to customize the ingredients you use in your hair butter to best suit your texture and preferences. The DIY alternative may be more affordable than the jar at your beauty supply store as well. While carrier oils will prevent the butter from hardening, mixing shea butter and essential oils for hair is also good. The latter ones will mask the butter’s specific aroma and bring additional benefits into a shea butter mask for hair.

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I wanted to combine it with other oils (as it doesn’t work so well on hair when used on its own- see more below). Shea butter is reported to have anti-inflammatory properties for the skin, which means that it offers a healing and soothing relief to an inflamed and irritated skin or scalp. Fekkai's Shea Butter Curl Defining Gel Creme hydrates, smoothes, and protects against frizz.

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Another study found that shea butter helps your skin react less to irritants. Researchers believe this is because shea butter contains the chemical compound amyrin, which has well-documented anti-inflammatory properties. Refined Shea Butter – Our bulk refined Shea Butter is most often used for cosmetics and soaps. The process to refine the butter involves extracting it from the Shea nut and filtering out any of the impurities. This results in a creamy off-white color and an extremely pure product.

The recipes are simple and involve readily available ingredients that most women with natural hair have on hand. One of the great things about DIY recipes is that they are flexible and easy to customize so you can always substitute whatever you have or whatever your hair happens to like. Shea butter is available in various forms including raw or unrefined, refined or organic.

Unrefined shea butter means that it has been extracted and prepared without using any chemicals or preservatives. Alternatively, a person can melt raw shea butter and massage it into the scalp and full length of the hair. Raw shea butter will allow your hair to experience all that the butter has to offer and it will give you the best results.

Olive oil can be a little heavy for some hair types and for certain styles. Mango butter is a fantastic, light alternative and paired with the richness of honey, this butter provides a rich finish to any style. Simply combine 1 cup of melted mango butter with a few drops of honey and stir until blended well. Whip for a few minutes until you get a light, fluffy consistency.

It improves the health of the hair from the root to the tip, scalp included. It helps to balance the oil production and it supposedly doesn’t cause any breakouts. However, "Fine hair users need to use it sparingly as too much can actually weigh the hair down, which is not ideal," Yates says. This doesn't mean people with fine hair shouldn't use the ingredient at all; they instead should opt for it in a lightweight blend rather than on its own. Give your hair a refresh with this softening and strengthening mask that leaves a lingering scent that will have everyone dying to know what you put in your hair.

Scoop and store in a glass jar until ready to use as a DIY hair mask, or mixed in with your deep conditioner, or as a body butter—whatever works. SheaMoisture products prominently feature shea butter from West Africa and is popular among women with curly or natural hair types. Using shea butter in DIY recipes is a great way to harness the healing benefits for hair, especially since it can be used in different kinds of DIY hair care products. Certain over-the-counter hair care products (especially conditioners) also contain shea butter.

This makes it excellent for locking in moisture without leaving your hair greasy and heavy. Since it aids in fastening moisture into hair it’s fantastic for keeping your hair protected against the weather. "Shea butter is fat extracted from African shea tree nuts," board-certified dermatologist Dr. Azadeh Shirazi explains to Seventeen. Shea delivers so many benefits because it's filled with fatty acids (linoleic, oleic, and palmitic acid), as well as antioxidants and vitamins D and E to help your skin and hair thrive. "Unrefined shea butter has the highest concentration of antioxidants and bioactive agents to help protect against environmental damage and nourish the hair," Dr. Shirazi says.

Apart from not overdoing it, she also recommends performing a patch test with shea butter first to see whether it's right for you. Because Shea butter is a uniquely therapeutic substance that naturally contains important ingredients that directly improve the cellular structure of the scalp. Therefore, Shea butter will immediately improve the health of hair follicles and improve their ability to generate new hair, and to nourish existing hair.

This can be used for styling and conditioning your hair and it smells amazing. For curly girls, hair butters are a thicker, more controllable alternative to oils. There are a few methods to apply natural shea butter on your hair, depending on what you wish to achieve.

This way, you can gauge how your mane reacts to it without risking greasy, flat hair. With a legion of antioxidants, it’s no wonder why so many people have been using shea butter as part of their haircare routine. More often than not, when using shea butter on your hair, less is more. Sure, that theory might sound easy enough but when put in practice, challenges may arise. "It’s easy to overuse hair products that contain shea butter, as it does not spread as easily as an oil would," notes Chimento.

One human study investigated the role of miracle fruit seed oil in preventing hair breakage. Synsepalum dulicificum, a native West African fruit, also produces an oil. It has a high fatty acid content (just like shea butter), which makes it easy for it to penetrate hair in oil form.