How To Use Shea Butter For Hair Care

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      Shea butter for hair is one of your best natural alternatives to store-bought hair care products when you consider that some of these contain formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.
      Plus, these commercialised products often address just one or two of your hair concerns, compared to shea butter’s numerous hair-care properties—strengthening, protection, moisturising, and even anti-inflammatory for the scalp.
      It’s also easy to apply, making it a great part of your hair care regimen!
      The good news is…
      The many benefits of shea butter for hair are now within your reach. And you can actually DIY your own shea butter hair mask!
      Read on to learn how.

What is Shea Butter?

      Shea butter comes from the oil in the nut kernels of the Vitellaria paradoxa tree typically found in West Africa.
       Researchers confirm that this natural ingredient contains Vitamins A and E, palmitic fatty acids, triterpenes that enhance wound healing, and unsaponifiable fraction containing potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Fast Facts

Main benefits: moisturises, repairs damage, reduces frizz, protects hair, and enhances shine
Hair type: those who want to target hair dryness, dullness, and/or damage.
How to use: you can have 3 options: as a hair mask, a leave-in conditioner, or in scalp treatment
When to use: before or after showering, once a week at most
Blends well with: essential oils, coconut oil, aloe vera gel

3 Benefits of Shea Butter for Hair

      Because of its rich profile of vitamins and nutrients, shea butter for hair can transform your locks and strands.

1. Deep Moisturisation

      Shea butter’s fatty acid content allows lipid restoration and rapid moisture generation ; simply put, these fatty acids add moisture to the strands, which you can maximi se if you apply shea butter to wet hair to enhance moisture absorption for a more lustrous finish.

2. Strengthening Hair

      Heat, humidity, pollution…
      These are all constant threats to your hair!
      So, it definitely needs the extra protection it can get.
      Shea butter’s fatty acids can nourish hair follicles, prevent split ends and brittleness, and promote overall hair health. In addition, the Vitamin E in shea butter can protect your hair strands from free radicals and damage, especially if you use heat tools, such as hair iron and blow dry, regularly.

3. Reducing Frizz and Enhancing Shine

      The moisturising and strengthening benefits of shea butter for hair can also promote softer and shinier strands.
      Plus, it can control hair frizz and tame those annoying flyaway strands, more effectively when applied to dry hair, leaving you with silky smooth hair.
      Take it from Dawn E., one of our customers: “I have only used this for a few weeks and I cannot believe the difference in my hair… I was never able to brush my hair after it dried because it would frizz. Now it is not frizzing at all. Unrefined Organic Shae Butter will be my staple. “

DIY Shea Butter Hair Mask

      Let’s take the cat out of the bag. Here’s an easy 4-step shea butter hair mask recipe you can follow.

1. Take ¼ cup of shea butter and slightly warm for a lighter consistency.
2. Blend a scoop of avocado flesh for 2-4 minutes.
3. Add your shea butter to the blender and blend until the mixture smoothens.
4. Transfer it to a bowl, apply, and leave for not less than 30 minutes before rinsing.

Additional Ingredients for Specific Hair Needs

      Your DIY shea butter hair mask allows you to choose and combine other raw and natural ingredients to target specific hair care issues and needs.
      Combining avocado with shea butter for hair care can address hair damage, dullness, brittleness, hair loss, and frizz.
      And have we mentioned that shea butter “whips up beautifully with carrier and essential oils” according to our dear customers? When paired together, shea butter and lavender or rosemary essential oils can help repair and strengthen your hair, as well as enhance its shine and improve hair growth.
      Meanwhile, you can improve your hair moisture levels by adding eggs, coconut oil, or aloe vera gel—also great for dandruff—to your shea butter hair mask.

3 Ways to Use Shea Butter for Hair

You can use shea butter for your hair in three different ways.

• As a Leave-In Conditioner or Treatment

      Put a tiny amount of shea butter on your hair—preferably damp or dry—targeting the ends and dry parts.

• In a Hair Mask

      Apply shea butter generously to cleansed hair, leave for at least 30 minutes, and then rise.

• As a Scalp Treatment

      Apply slightly heated shea butter on your scalp, massage it in circular motions, and leave it on for at least 10 minutes before rinsing.

      You can also use it to make homemade moisturiser cream, hand cream, and even shaving cream. One of our customers, Julie C., “absolutely love[s] this product. I use it to make moisturiser for the face and body, as well as lip balm,” she says.

Tips for Best Results

      For best results, combine shea butter with other ingredients to target your specific hair concerns and maximise shea butter’s hair care properties.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Over usage

      To avoid pore clogging, use shea butter for hair once a week at most or when your hair feels dry or brittle.

• Excessive application

      If you have thin hair, avoid using too much shea butter for hair as this can weigh down and flatten your hair. If you have oily skin, the excess oil may also find its way to your face, shoulders, and back, causing breakouts.

• Using the wrong type of shea butter

      Know the difference between the two types of shea butter to know which one to purchase based on your hair care needs or personal preferences.

       Unrefined shea butter has the highest quality of properties and has a distinct and strong nutty smell, which one of our customers adore—"It has a beautiful earthy fragrance,” says Jodie E. But we understand that it may not be suitable for all types of formulations, particularly when smell, colour, and texture are a decision factor.

      So, if you want an odourless alternative, you can opt for refined shea butter, which is “perfect for lip balms and hand creams,” as our customer  Bronwyn from NSW said.

Switch to Natural Hair Care Today!

      There are many benefits of shea butter for hair given its moisturising, strengthening, protection, and anti-inflammatory properties, which you can get with DIY shea butter hair masks, leave-in conditioners, or scalp treatment.

      For optimal results, combine shea butter with other hair care ingredients, know which type you need or prefer, and avoid overusing or excessive application to prevent pore clogging.