African shea butter [http://www.africansheabutter.blogspot.com/] is obtained from Shea tree, which grows widely in Savannah region of Africa. The fruit of the tree, which is small and almond like was traditionally picked from the trees by the locals and ground and pounded and then heated for hours in water to get a film of shea butter.

This is obviously the crude and unrefined form of shea butter. It was used for various purposes like cooking and moisturizing, etc. African shea butter that was produced like this had no fix texture or color, as it would depend on the way it was manufactured and on how refined it was. In today's world,african shea butter has found many more uses and applications.

Popularly, shea butter is supposed to be anywhere between a dull yellowish-white to ivory white in color. It is a natural, fatty product that is extracted from the fruit of the shea tree by boiling and crushing. It is used as a major component in leading moisturizing agents and other skin care products. Shea butter is edible and is also used as a cooking base. It has also substituted cocoa butter in a lot of products including the chocolate industry.

African shea butter is most popularly known for its moisturizing properties. It is also helpful for the treatment of swellings and inflammations. Various ailments like arthritis, stiff muscles, skin eczema, sunburn etc, can be treated by Shea butter.

It is also effective against early signs of aging, stretch marks, and blemishes. African shea butter is also an effective, natural sun-blocking agent although there is no standard SPF, the most common being 6. The good thing about shea butter is that it gets absorbed into the skin without leaving a greasy film on your face.

In Nigeria, it is also used as an antidote for sinusitis or congestion of the nasal passage. The reason for this is that it has emollient properties that help in expansion of skin cells, easing the respiratory canal and unclogging the nose. Just take a liberal dab of shea butter and put it on your nose, around the nostrils and see it work its magic.