What is the difference between 'refined' and 'unrefined' shea butter?  What does 'raw' shea butter mean?  Why do I see 'Ultra-Refined' shea butter all over the internet; is it a better product?  Why does shea butter sometimes have little specks in it; is it dirty?

Shea Butter Questions and Answers:

From 'raw' to 'ultra-refined', from 'flecks' to color variations, here is a comprehensive Q&A that offers a brief explanation to the terms that confuse us the most about shea butter!

Q.  HOW IS SHEA BUTTER EXTRACTED FROM THE NUT?

A.  Our shea butter is extracted by cooking the nuts then manually pressing the butter out.  Many shea butters on the market are extracted using chemical solvents such as hexane, because it produces a much larger yield.  We prefer the chemical-free, natural shea butter and we suspect you do as well.

Q.  WHY DOES SHEA BUTTER SOMETIMES HAVE LITTLE FLECKS OR SPECKS IN IT?  

A.  First of all, determine if the specks are actually mold, debris, or harmless flecks of nut skins.  As with all nuts, there is a 'skin' between the nut and the shell which can, and does, get into the shea butter as it is being pressed or pounded out of the cooked nuts.  This can be filtered using a piece of cheesecloth between 2 mesh colanders without losing the natural healing properties of the shea butter, which does happen in refining processes and chemical extraction of shea butter.  Just be careful not to heat the shea butter more than necessary so that the healing properties are left intact.  If it is actual debris, such as rocks, dirt, twigs, etc., I would seriously question the purity and quality of the product and I would not use this product for myself nor for my family.  I would hope that everyone knows the risks of using a product that has mold or bacteria in it, especially on the face, as it can, at worst, cause staph infections, ecoli, even blindness, if there is bacteria in it and if there is only mold with no bacteria present, your best case scenario is flu-like or hay-fever type allergic reactions or rash.  If in doubt, toss it out.  Bacteria can not be seen with the naked eye.  Mold can be anything from fine fuzzy coverings to thick hairy spots.

Q.  WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 'RAW', 'UNREFINED', 'REFINED', AND 'ULTRA-REFINED' SHEA BUTTER?

A.  'RAW':  Shea butter (and African Black Soap) that has been tagged as being 'raw', is in its natural form with nothing added to it or nothing taken away from it.  It is not filtered, formed or further processed after leaving its source of origin.  It has not been melted down and filtered through the cheesecloth, as above, or poured into molds to make it round, square or rectangular in shape.  No chemicals, perfumes, oils, preservatives, bleaches or deodorizers have been added to the raw shea butter, except in the case where the butter was extracted using hexane or other solvents.

'UNREFINED':  To qualify as unrefined, shea butter must not have passed through any meshing or filtering systems using clays, chemicals or other methods that would remove or deplete or reduce the vitamin content or otherwise change its natural properties.  This includes attempts to remove the natural nutty aroma, change the color or texture, add chemicals to or remove qualities or properties from the shea butter.  This does NOT include passing the shea butter through the cheesecloth filter to remove nut skins.  This is raw shea butter that has been processed but done so without changing its healing properties.

'REFINED':  Opposite of unrefined in every sense.  This shea butter has been passed through at least one filtering or meshing system.  It may be deodorized, either by airing, chemical additions, or other process to remove the natural nutty aroma.  It may be bleached, either chemically or as a result of the filtering system used to make it whiter in color.  It may have a preservative added to it to prevent it from going rancid as the natural vitamins that normally do this have been removed.

'ULTRA-REFINED':  This is shea butter that has been refined more than once using a meshing or filtering system.  It is definitely deodorized, bleached and further processed to produce a softer, whiter product that is easier for machines to incorporate into the mass production of commercial lotions.  There is very little, if any, of the vitamins left in this form of shea butter that your skin craves or the healing properties your skin deserves.  This product will have preservatives added because the natural vitamins have been removed.  Although ultra-refined shea butter is overprocessed for my taste, it remains an excellent moisturizer none the less.  However, it does not retain any of the healing properties for skin ailments other than moisturization.

Q.  WHY IS SOME SHEA BUTTER YELLOW AND SOME GREYISH; WHICH IS BEST?

A.  Unrefined shea butter can vary in color from ivory, greyish-white, beige, pale-well, any shade of yellow and any shade of off-white (not pure white and not brown).  Most websites state that the color indicates what region the shea butter comes from, some say it indicates the season in which the shea butter was made, while one website claims the shea butter turns yellow when it is old and has lost its quality.  The latter myth is busted by the fact that I have a jar of unrefined shea butter that I have held onto for a year and it has not changed color.  It is true, however, that refined shea butter will become rancid over time if a preservative such as vitamin E is not used; it may then turn dark.

One can not judge the quality and authenticity of shea butter based solely on color alone.  Sample a product before you buy in bulk.  Check for visible mold, debris, verify the nutty aroma, is it grainy or smooth, does it melt easily on the skin, does it absorb quickly into the skin or does it remain greasy or waxy for hours?  By the way, shea butter will not mold if it has not had anything added to it or it has not been exposed to water.  Also, if it is grainy, it has probably been heated, either to mold it into a shipable shape or to add fillers to it.  If the sample does not pass the above tests, it may have fillers in it; beeswax, vegetable oils, petrolem jelly, etc., are sometimes added to shea butter by unscrupulous vendors to stretch it, make it go further.  Vendors who practice this will generally not tell you they do so.

Our shea butter is yellow, raw, unrefined shea butter with no 'fillers' added.  I only have it listed in bulk but will put up a listing for you if you wish to sample.  Please visit our eBay store and be sure to use the contact seller feature if you have any questions or wish to request to purchase a sample.