Dull, dry, itchy skin can start to seem like an inevitable part of winter weather that no amount of moisturizing can improve. Yet healthy glowing skin is possible at any age and at any time of the year. But it requires the right moisturizer, especially if you tend to have dry skin to start with. Fortunately, there is an oil from Africa that is ideal for the job.
It is known as Shea butter and it comes from the fruit of the African Shea tree. It is a rich, creamy butter filled with healing and anti-aging nutrients that can rejuvenate even extra dry skin. It is used traditionally in Africa to salve damaged skin and to provide protection from sun damage and other environmental challenges. Dry and cracked skin respond particularly well to it. The butter works by increasing circulation under the skin, improving the moisture content of skin cells, and healing abrasions and dry areas with natural compounds that combat free-radical activity.
Shea butter is high in vitamins A, E, and F, plus plant sterols, and minerals that sooth, soften and heal the skin. Its oils are similar in composition to the natural oils that are present in the skin, so it absorbs easily and deeply, allowing its nutrients and healing factors to penetrate to layers where they can do the most good. You get much more than a surface treatment when you put shea butter on your skin.
That’s why it is helpful to use the very best butter that is available – butter that contains the full complement of antioxidants and vitamins, not an odorless and colorless version that has been created to give a feeling of smoothness to the skin, but not much else. Premium shea butter is a creamy, golden color; it has a subtle, complex earthy smell. The smell goes away once it is in contact with the skin, so it’s not an issue. Shea butter that is white or gray, and odorless has been de-natured.
Shea butter is a highly-sustainable product. The trees grow in the wild in Africa. They yield fruit for upwards of a hundred years and give livelihoods to thousands of people. You might consider looking for fair-traded shea butter, so that the women who gather the nuts and spend hours hand-crafting butter from them are rewarded with fair pay for their work.
With all the healing and moisturizing aspects, Shea butter is excellent for dry, damaged, and irritated skin. It is also a wonderful moisturizer for healthy skin to keep it elastic, stimulated, healthy, and youthful. It is a sensual, exotic, all-natural delight.
You can learn more on my web site about
healing moisturizers and other
simple ways to care for dry skin. Wishing you beautiful skin, Gaelle.
