At Soapbox we’re fans of coconut oil for the skin, but another all-star moisturizer we think is a big deal is shea butter. Even the name sounds super-luxurious, doesn’t it?
At room temperature, shea butter is really thick and solid. But this beautiful ingredient boasts a buttery rich consistency that makes it perfect in lotions. Studies show that it is particularly wonderful at penetrating the skin, and since it contains 60% fat, it is highly soothing.
What Is Shea Butter, Really?
Thanks to a couple other properties, though, shea butter does so much more than just moisturize.
Essentially, shea butter is a superfood for you skin. It’s derived from the seeds of the fruit of the Karite tree that are naturally rich in A, E and F vitamins. What’s more, shea butter offers exceptional UV protection and provides your skin with numerous nutrients and essential fatty acids to enhance collagen production.
People around the world have been using shea butter in their lotions for years, and this ingredient has a long history of medicinal use.
So, why do you need it in your lotion? Here are 5 reasons you’ll love it!
Shea butter is soothing. If you often climb out the shower with razor bumps and irritation, shea butter is your go-to lotion ingredient. You can even apply it the day before shaving to help smooth your skin and make the entire shaving process faster and easier, minus the irritated spots.
Add our Citrus & Peach Rose Lotion to your routine to make shaving a smooth breeze!
Shea butter offers highly moisturizing properties, making it luxuriously ideal for parts of your body that are prone to dryness and need a little boost, like the heels, knees, and elbows. When applying your lotion, use a massaging action to encourage your skin to properly absorb the moisturizer, leaving it feeling smooth and soft long after you’ve stepped out the bathroom.
Shea butter might not replace your daily sunscreen, but it does provide some protection against harmful UV exposure. In fact, it’s been estimated that shea butter offers an SPF of 6. While that’s not quite sufficient for full sun exposure on a summer’s day, it’s perfect for a quick trip outdoors when it’s overcast.
What’s more, with the rising worries over the possibility of chemicals in sunscreens themselves leading to skin cancer, it’s well worth applying your shea butter lotion before applying your sunscreen.
It’s not only the face that gets wrinkles. The suppleness and elasticity of your skin are maintained by the protein collagen that binds your skin tissue together. As you age, and with sun exposure, you lose collagen, leading to wrinkly, dehydrated skin.
Shea butter is high in stearic acid, making it closer to animal fats than other vegetable oils. This allows the butter to easily be absorbed deeper into the skin’s layers to nourish them while encouraging the production of collagen.
Regular application of shea butter lotions also helps protect against the loss of moisture. It’s the perfect way to protect your skin from day to day living.
Shea butter contains a number of derivatives of cinnamic acid. These, in turn, exhibit anti-inflammatory properties which make shea butter beneficial for improving inflammatory skin conditions, such as rosacea and dermatitis. Rashes, scrapes, cuts, and sunburn can all be treated with soothing shea butter.
It can even help with relief from insect bites. Spot application will take the pain of the sting away. When we scratch insect bites, it spreads the poison, worsening the itch. Shea butter’s anti-inflammatory properties reduce the itch and pain.
Isn’t It Time You Added Shea Butter To Your Beauty Routine?
At Soapbox, all of our products contain shea butter. Our coconut oil and sandalwood deep moisturizing body wash is the perfect way to lock in moisture and hydration, making it the ideal accompaniment to your shea butter lotion regime.
Isn’t it time you added shea butter to your beauty kit?
See Soapbox’s wide range of shea butter-infused products!
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