Cocoa and Shea butter are two of the best emollients around.  If you suffer from dry skin, like so many seem to do, you can’t go wrong with either one!  Moisture is moisture, I say, so how do you choose?  To make an educated decision, you have to look at the qualities of both and decide for yourself.  Some companies even combine the two in a lotion or body wash, for the best of both worlds.  In my estimation, the two are interchangable and equally moisturizing.  I have made lotions from both, choosing the shea butter for myself… but we shall get to that later.

Skin conditioning is of utmost priority for me.  I suffer from some of the worst dry skin in the

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Shea Butter is the oil from the seed of naturally grown wild shea trees scattered throughout the wooded savanna of West and Central Africa.  Shea Butter has been used for centuries in Africa as a decongestant, an anti-inflammatory for sprains and arthritis, healing cream, lotion for hair and skin care, and cooking oil.  Shea Butter is primarily sold in two forms: raw and refined.  Raw butter uses are generally limited due to the content of free fatty acids which gives bad taste, strong color and odor.  Refined shea butters are used in cosmetics, soaps and cooking.  The refining procedure enhances the recovery of the buttery fatty acids and removes the earthy aroma and the yellow color.  The refined grade of Shea Butter is deodorized and filtered using natural clays to render a butter which is nearly white and odorless, better suited for use in high end cosmetics and skin care products.

Shea Butter melts and absorbs at skin temperatures, making it ideal for skin creams,

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The stuff from which shea butter soaps are made is not actually butter – though it can be used like butter. However, the main ingredient in handmade shea butter soap is actually a kind of vegetable fat derived from the fruit of a tree native to Africa. When shea is used for the manufacture of natural shea butter soap, manufacturers use plant extract from exotic fruits and floral essences to create a total sensual experience – for the nose, the eyes and skin.

The Shea Tree

The main ingredient in shea butter bar soap is imported from the African savannah, where the shea (pronounced “shay”) tree grows. This ingredient, the basis of high quality shea butter soaps, is extracted from the seeds that are found inside the fruit of this tree. The name comes from a language spoken in this region of Africa, known as Bamana. The tree itself is uniquely adapted for the hot, dry climate of the savannah south of the Sahara desert. The fruit of this tree, actually a drupe similar to other stone fruits such as avocado, olive, peach and cherry, has a tart-tasting pulp. The seed, or pit at the center is where the primary

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Gentlemen, does your face feel wonderfully clean and fresh after a close shave, or do you pick up your razor dreading the soreness and unsightly rashes it might cause?

Ladies, do you wish you could have silky smooth legs and underarms but find shaving leaves your skin dry and itchy?

Shaving is the quickest and easiest way of removing hair from any part of the body, but scraping your skin with a sharp blade is not the kindest way to treat it! Shaving removes the very thin but protective top keratin layer of the skin along with the unwanted hairs. The resulting damage can lead to irritation, infections of the hair follicles, razor bumps caused by in-growing hairs, dryness or excessive oiliness. And, once you have a skin problem, further shaving will only make it worse.

If you want to enjoy the benefits of shaving while protecting, and even improving, the

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Who should be using Shea butter? Everyone! Whether you have white skin, black skin, brown skin, yellow skin, or purple skin this product is for you. Down below are three areas where you can benefit from it:

1. Shea Butter for your Face

The face is the main beneficiary of the daily use of the product. Massage your face using a small portion of the butter. Pay attention to the lower part of the nose, to the corner of your lips, ears and finally your forehead. After shaving, apply it again to avoid bumps.

2. Shea Butter for your Hair

A person with beautiful hair can enhance beauty tremendously. To rejuvenate your hair, massage a generous amount of African Shea butter on your scalp and in your hair.

Not only does it act as a good moisturizer for your scalp after you have washed your hair; it improves hair texture and has even been shown to stimulate hair growth.

3. Shea Butter for your Body

Shea butter penetrates deep into the skin to provide a lasting protection against the cold & the sun. Because of its softness followed by its high nonsaponifiable

fraction,it is excellent for a body massage.

Sun & Summer: Apply it in the evening to regain freshness. Refer to the treatment mentioned for your hair which gets dry in the summer. Do not hesitate to oil hair before swimming and to maintain this treatment after the season is over. Your skin suffers during the whole summer.

Regular use of it in addition to sun screen products, before and after sun exposition, leaves you with tanned skin and avoids peeling. It is no longer popular for men to have lined skin.

Use Shea butter after shaving for a healthy and younger feeling skin. Gentlemen, at least once a week, apply a generous amount from head to foot, with special care for joint (elbows and knees), toes, heels and nails.

Sport and Shea Butter: Shea butter is recommended for people who are active in sports. It has been used by African for centuries to relieve muscles tension and stress. Before an effort Shea butter accelerates warm-ups.

Afterwards it helps drain toxins from sore muscles for a faster recovery. If you do experience pain due to strenuous activity such as running, fighting, or heavy lifting, apply a generous amount of the butter and rub in a circular motion to the area that is under pain. Wet a towel in warm water; squeeze the towel until the towel is lightly damp. Gently press the towel over the affected area.

This allows the Shea butter to easily absorb into the skin to perform its job. Within a moment of time, the pain should settle down. Do not throw away your Bengay or painkillers just yet.

If you find that the butter does not do anything to ease the pain, you can always go back to what you were using before.

What an amazing product. If you are not convinced by the benefits listed above, that is fine; there are more benefits associated with this amazing product that apply to everybody, even yourself.

About the Author

Joseph Constant is the founder of A.R. Skincare, a company devoted to community awareness of Premium Grade Shea butter. Please visit http://www.premium-grade-sheabutter.com/Benefits.html to discover what benefits from using the highest quality of this great product.

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Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Who Should Use Shea Butter?

There are many causes of Xerosis commonly known as dry skin. Frequent bathing or showering with harsh soaps can dry out the skin. In the most severe cases the skin can crack or peel. Dry skin is more frequent and pronounced in the winter because the skin looses it moisture.

The dreaded hangnail is also the result of dry skin. Tearing and ripping at a hangnail can cause bleeding and infection. Instead gently trim the dead skin with a nail clipper and use antibiotic to prevent infection in case of a skin tear.

Emollients and moisturizers help soften and reduce (more…)