Shea Butter: properties and benefits for cosmetics

Shea butter is one of the best ingredients for moisturizing dry skin, but this is just one of the reasons why it is used in cosmetics. This ingredient is ideal for skin care as it has multiple properties and many advantages in use such as:

• The reduction of facial lines;
• The reduction of premature wrinkles;
• A powerful soothing ability on the skin and on eczema.

Shea butter allows you to have many benefits in a single ingredient and at the same time gains additional potential within innovative formulations that amplify its benefits.

For this reason, shea butter is not absent in products such as LeLang facial moisturizers, including the Alba collagen-boosting face cream and the Nutralight lightweight nourishing face cream made with hazelnut oil.

Let's go discover what the properties of shea butter are and the main benefits for the skin.

What is shea butter?

Shea butter is a plant lipid that comes from the nuts of the African shea tree and is naturally rich in fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamins. Some simply define it as a solid oil, others as gold for the skin.

Shea butter naturally contains five essential fatty acids, including stearic and oleic acid, phytosterols, vitamins E and D, allantoin, ideal for treating skin irritations, and precious vitamin A. It is an almost ubiquitous ingredient in beauty products and is often handmade and can also be used in the food industry.

The benefits of shea butter for the skin

Shea butter is a great moisturizer and soothing agent for the skin. It penetrates deeply and protects the face from temperature fluctuations and extreme temperatures. Additionally, it has a plumping effect on the skin as it nourishes and soothes the skin deeply thanks to hydration. Ideal for dry skin, it makes it immediately softer, more hydrated, and plumped, especially during the winter months.

For this reason, shea butter can be found in various lip balms and moisturizing creams specifically designed to mitigate stretch marks, as its consistency is solid and creamy, easy to spread on the skin. This interesting ingredient is also used to reduce scars caused by acne and to heal sunburned, cracked, and peeling skin.

Finally, its soothing power is an excellent ally that allows formulations capable of healing skin allergies or psoriasis and contact dermatitis. Its main purpose is to soften the skin, making it more vital, nourished, and beautiful. 

Moisturizing and antioxidant properties of shea butter

Shea butter helps to retain moisture in the skin, alleviating discomfort caused by dry skin by creating an effective barrier against the natural water loss of the skin.

Rich in anti-inflammatory substances, shea butter alleviates swelling and redness of the skin: many people choose it for irritations, sunburns, and chapped lips.

Cosmetic companies choose shea butter as an ingredient for its antioxidant properties due to the presence of:

• Vitamin A, essential for skin health. Retinoids, synthetic forms of vitamin A, are often used to firm the skin and reduce wrinkles. Vitamin A stimulates cell turnover and smooths the skin's surface, plumping the skin by stimulating collagen production, the structure that prevents the skin from sagging.
• Vitamin E, naturally found in shea butter in the form of alpha-tocopherol with high antioxidant activity. Vitamin E is naturally present in our sebum, but sebum production tends to decrease with age, and exposure to sunlight also tends to deplete it. Therefore, it is important to use Vitamin E to prevent cellular damage and increase skin hydration.

Shea butter to combat eczema

Eczema is a common skin condition that causes itching and rashes on the skin that makes the skin much more susceptible to infections. One of the main causes of eczema comes from a lack of fatty acids in the skin: the skin barrier fails to effectively repel irritants and germs that proliferate on the skin, causing irritations.

The treatments that counteract the onset of eczema include the application of ointments, balms, and moisture-sealing creams to defend the skin from germs. Shea butter is ideal for reducing the symptoms of eczema compared to other products precisely because it contains a high concentration of linoleic acid, a fatty acid present in the skin that plays a crucial role in protecting and reducing the symptoms of eczema.

Shea butter for everyone, even for those with oily skin.

Not many people know that shea butter contains a natural sun protection, or SPF, equal to 3 or 5. Although this is minimal protection, it can help prevent sun damage and sunburn, and often cosmetic companies tend to create higher sun protections by adding other ingredients to shea butter from which soothing, moisturizing, and anti-aging benefits are derived.

Shea butter is perfectly suited for all skin types because, although it is a nut-based product, it is low in the proteins that trigger allergies. This is because it is mainly composed of fats, making it free of allergens.

However, it is better to opt for refined shea butter since the raw and natural version contains latex that could cause reactions. Regular use of shea butter helps retain moisture and protect the skin, making it soft and smooth. Rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents, shea butter keeps the skin elastic and firm without making it greasy since linoleic acid and oleic acid balance each other out, making it easy to absorb without greasiness.

Shea butter is also great for those who suffer from acne because when the skin is dry, acne-prone skin tends to produce an excessive amount of sebum that can clog the pores. Shea butter breaks this cycle by preventing dehydration.

Cosmetic uses of shea butter

Face creams and cosmetics containing shea butter can be applied both in the morning and in the evening, before going to bed.

Shea butter is an ingredient containing a very powerful combination of healing and moisturizing properties that cannot be found in any other ingredient. It is often referred to as liquid gold for the skin.

With its natural components and moisturizing properties, shea butter is suitable for lip balms, face creams, hair and body care products, but especially for anti-aging and sun cosmetics, including all products indicated for dry skin.

Moisturizing and healing action together allow for the incorporation of shea butter into a very wide range of combinations and, when used regularly, helps to alleviate many skin issues.

"We have selected only organic and controlled origin shea butter for our products and included it in formulations capable of amplifying its natural properties and acting as an emollient, regenerating agent, and natural collagen stimulator."