The Highlights
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Shea Butter: Origins and Crafting
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Shea’s Skin Loving Nutrients
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What Shea Butter does for your Skin
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Some Free Lion Body Care Shea Butter Favourites
Shea butter is a superstar among natural ingredients. For thousands of years, people in the Sahara have used it to protect their skin from harsh winds and sun, and to heal minor cuts and burns. Legend has it that the beautiful Egyptian Queen Nefertiti owed her radiant skin to including shea butter in her beauty rituals. I’m a big fan of Shea Butter myself. It’s been a game changer for my Dry Vata skin. And why I love adding shea butter to Free Lion formulas, especially those for maintaining and protecting skin. But first, the story of shea butter.
Shea Butter: Origins and Crafting
Shea butter comes from the fruit of the shea tree, which thrives in the savannahs of West and East Africa. The name "shea" comes from the Bambara word *sii*, meaning "sacred." Traditionally, these trees were community-owned, and their nuts played a vital role in sustaining local people. In Ghana, it’s customary to say a prayer before gathering shea fruit as a way to thank Mother Earth for her gift. The shea tree itself is remarkable—it can grow up to 60 feet tall, live for 200 years, and won’t even flower until it's about 20 years old.
Turning shea nuts into butter is no small task! The process is often done by women in the community and can take up to 30 hours of labor to produce just 1 kg (2.5 lbs) of unrefined shea. First, the fruit is collected, its pulp removed, and the nut is left to dry in the sun. Once dried, the nut is cracked open, ground, and roasted—requiring constant stirring so that it doesn’t burn. The roasted nuts are then ground into a paste, mixed with water, and kneaded by hand until the oils separate and rise to the surface. These oils are skimmed off, melted, and boiled to remove any remaining water before hardening into shea butter. Phew—that’s quite a process!
Modern facilities help speed things up, but shea butter production still relies heavily on people power. The fruit must still be hand-collected, washed, and dried before the oil can be extracted. Shea butter is truly a labor of love!
My making practice begins by saying a small prayer of my own, thanking Mother Nature and the women who kept this knowledge alive over centuries and who still craft this amazing butter today. Their dedication allows me to incorporate this natural powerhouse into Free Lion Body Care, to share its amazing benefits to you.
Shea’s Skin Loving Nutrients
Oleic Acid 40 - 60 %
A very moisturizing, softening and regenerating unsaturated fatty acid that also offers anti-inflammatory properties. The oleic acid in shea butter is easily absorbed by the skin
Stearic Acid 20 - 50 %
A saturated fatty acid which acts as an emollient and emulsifier. It has been shown to protect skin's surface against water loss by enhancing skin's protective barrier And it helps cells regenerate, too.
Vitamin E 5 - 15%
Vitamin E occurs naturally in human skin, but can become depleted due to constant environmental exposure. Shea’s natural content of E-vitamin helps protect skin from damage, moisturizes, and relieves irritation.
Phytoesterols 5 - 10 %
These give Shea some UV-B absorbing power as well as reparative properties.
Linoleic Acid 3 - 11 %
An Unsaturated omega-6 fatty acid shown to be effective as a skin restorative, an antioxidant and as a skin-soothing agent.
Palmitic Acid 2 - 9 %
One of the most prevalent saturated fatty acids in body lipids. In aging skin, levels of palmitic acid can decrease by as much as 56%. Applying Shea butter topically can help replenish this crucial nutrient
Vitamin A 0.5 - 1%
This is retinol in its natural form, improving the appearance of skin by increasing collagen production and cell turnover. It can also help with acne, dark spots, and signs of sun damage.
Allantoin 0.5 - 1%
Highly regarded for its skin soothing and softening properties. It allows skin to absorb more moisture; and is particularly effective at healing wounds, burns, skin ulcers, eczema, and any other abrasions.
What Shea Butter does for your Skin
Shea Butter is a skin care multitasker. It’s the kind of butter that plays well with other butters and oils, from face to feet. And it has something for every skin dosha. It is healing to Oily Kapha Dosha skin eruptions, and Dry Vata and Combination Pitta itchy, red irritations from dryness. It helps to bring skin doshas back into balance, with continued usage, past the initial detox period skin goes through when you switch to natural skin care.
We love Shea Butter for its ability to:
🌿 Protect skin from UV sunlight, harsh climates (hot or cold), dehydration, and pollution.
🌿 Stimulate collagen production, keeping skin youthful and supple.
🌿 Smooth wrinkles and fine lines.
🌿 Revitalize very dry or damaged skin.
It's excellent for winter and after-sun skincare, providing extra moisture, vitamins, nutrients, and protection. Shea butter is also perfect for keeping lips soft and protected from cold and dry weather.
Some of our Favourite Shea Butter Things
At Free Lion, we harness the power of shea butter in several of our products to provide your skin with the nurturing care it deserves. Here are some of our best loved offerings:
Body Butter
A nourishing blend that does everything from nourish and protect skin (lips included), prevent stretch marks and bring out tattoo art colour. It also works as a beard balm to take beards from wild and wooly to tame and urbane.
Irritated Skin Balm
Soothes, repairs and protects irritated skin–especially red rashy, itchy conditions.
Sun Balm
Every good relationship needs boundaries, space and repair. Shea butter works with other natural and non-toxic ingredients to moisturize, calm and soothe sun-soaked skin.
Face Chai Moisturizing
A gentle face cream that moisturizes, hydrates and revitalizes dry and sensitive skin.
Foot Salve
Softens and heals rough, dry feet, leaving them smooth and refreshed.
Shea Butter Soap Curated Bundle
A smooth, creamy, rich detergent free soap. Carefully formulated with skin-nourishing plant-derived ingredients, and shea butter to provide a gentle cleansing experience that keeps your skin hydrated, moisturized and soft.