Shea butter for hair

The oil, which is obtained from the African shea tree, is called the white gold of Africa. This product is very significant in the life of the indigenous people of the black continent. It is used in almost all areas of life.

The benefits of shea butter for hair

The effect of shea butter on hair is due to its unique composition. The list of ingredients of this oil includes valuable fatty acids such as stearic, palmitic, oleic and some others. Also included are proteins and carbohydrates, vitamins and unsaponifiable fats.

Thanks to its rich composition, shea butter, as this valuable substance is also called, is excellent for nourishing the strands and scalp. It can reduce the intensity of aging processes, and also protects curls from the harmful effects of sunlight. This gives rise to many cosmetic brands to include shea butter in their products. It is listed as an ingredient in many shampoos, conditioners and masks.

Shea butter is suitable for:

• Improving the structure of curly hair.
• For nourishing long strands.
• Salvation hair, tired of frequent staining and hot air drying.
• Split tip treatment.
• Protection against aggressive action of sunlight and sea salt water.
• Restores and protects the scalp from bacteria in the event of itching and dandruff.
• Hair loss. In this case, shea butter activates dormant bulbs, activates collagen formation and restores hair structure.

For all its usefulness, shea butter is not suitable for everyone. Due to its dense structure and high fat content, it should not be used on oily strands. Light substances are more suitable for such hair, for example, oil from grape seed, eucalyptus, tea tree or cypress.

You also need to be careful when using shea butter on your dyed curls. It has the ability to wash off the paint or weaken its intensity. For colored hair, it makes sense to use this oil only for emergency restoration of strands that are excessively dry or damaged by unsuccessful dyeing.

Applying Shea Butter to Hair

Valuable shea butter will benefit the hair when applied in its pure form to the surface of the curls, if included in the home masks or add to ready-made cosmetic products in order to enrich them with valuable substances.

Before you coat your curls with shea butter, be sure to warm it up. Then the oil is applied to the strands, rubbed into the root part with massaging movements and distributed over the entire mass of curls. In this case, oil consumption will depend on the length of the curls and their density.

After treating the hair with shea butter, it is covered with cling film and wrapped in warm cloth. Under such insulation, the oil is left to act for 30 minutes, after which it is washed off with shampoo. It is necessary to carry out such an oil procedure twice a week; in total, at least 10 procedures will need to be done.

Shea butter is difficult to wash off; at least two shampoo applications are required. After washing, the curls must be rinsed with a decoction of herbs or water with lavender or rosemary essential oil added to it.

Shea butter masks for hair

To activate the growth of hairs, it is useful to do this mask: Stir and melt 2 large spoons of castor oil and 3 large spoons of shea butter in a water bath. Mix 3 drops of rosemary oil extract into this mixture. After applying to the strands, the oil composition should act for about 40 minutes, and then it must be washed off with shampoo.

To nourish the damaged strands with a water bath, dissolve 3 large tablespoons of shea butter, add 2 large tablespoons of flax seed oil and 1 tablespoon of oil extract from burdock there. Then a small spoonful of an oil solution of vitamin E is poured into the oil mixture. This mixture is distributed over the strands and left to act for half an hour.

To improve the structure of damaged strands, dissolve 30 g of shea butter in a water bath, pour in 5 ml of an oil solution of vitamin A and the same amount of tocopherol. Then add a few drops of sandalwood oil ether. This mixture should be applied before bed and kept on the strands overnight. If it is not possible to keep the mask until the morning, it should be left for at least three hours.

To cure the split ends, 2 small spoons of melted shea butter are mixed with the same amount of almond extract, 3 drops of ylang-ylang oil extract are added and pre-whipped yolk is added there. The ends of the strands are treated with this composition and left to act for 20 minutes. After that, the product is washed off with shampoo.