The production of Organic Shea butter is a key driving force behind the economy of several West African nations. However, most of the shea butter sold in the United States and Europe is not fairly traded. Countless women labor daily to...
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The production of Organic Shea butter is a key driving force behind the economy of several West African nations. However, most of the shea butter sold in the United States and Europe is not fairly traded. Countless women labor daily to produce quality organic shea butter, yet they receive less than a penny of the final retail value. In fact the average woman will be paid less than $1.00 for a full days work.
When consumers make a conscious decision to buy fair trade organic shea butter products we send a strong message to those who would profit from the exploitation of the vulnerable.
Did you know that unrefined shea butter is
edible? In the shea growing regions of West Africa, shea butter is used
as a cooking oil. We all know that Europeans make some of the finest
chocolates, did you know that a certain amount of shea butter is used
as a substitute for Cocoa in these exquisite treats? Asia is catching on and Shea Butter is used
as a margerine substitute. If it's good enough to eat, it's certainly wholesome enough to pamper your skin.
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And to get the process started I ordered the following products today:
Unrefined Shea butter:
This raw unrefined butter is derived from the vegetable fat of the Karite Tree. The first choice in natural skin care and fine body care products, this butter forms a breathable, water-resistant film and is the leading natural product for moisturizing. A wonderful base for cosmetic recipes or used as a stand alone application, this comes highly recommended for those concerned about... Read Full Story
This light and soothing facial lotion is designed for allergy-prone and highly sensitive skin. Shea Butter Lotion is expertly formulated with a minimum number of genuine natural ingredients. The lotion provides soothing, smoothing, and moisturizing support. Shea Butter lotion smoothes and moisturizes, making the skin soft and elastic. Calms and soothes irritated skin patches. Like all products produced by Martina Gebhardt, the lotion is free of synthetic preservatives, surfactants, mineral... Read Full Story
The traditional peoples of West Africa, know the healing and anti inflammation properties of Shea Butter. In many villages in eastern Nigeria, when kids play soccer at school, the first line of defense against muscle fatigue is (okuma) shea butter rub. It is wonderful to be able to use natural remedies from nature. Older people with and arthritis and joint aches, ease the pain by rubbing raw shea butter on the joint area.
Scientific research now confirms what our elders have known... Read Full Story
We had a wonderful time at the Takoma Park Festival this weekend. For those who do not live in the Washington DC metropolitan area, Takoma Park is a wonderful little enclave that boasts of a very diverse group of citizens from ex hippies, Baby boomers, Gen Xers, Young families and a diverse group of people from every conceivable corner of the world.
We had a great time meeting lots of interesting people at our booth. Lot's of Peace Corpers who had worked in Africa... Read Full Story
I love hearing my husband talk about life growing up on the farm in rural Ekiti, Western Nigeria. My Father in law is a cocoa farmer and my husband grew up working on the farm. There were not many hospitals in the rural area when my husband was young and his family like most others depended on natural remedies that had been passed down for generations.
My husband tells of a time when on a dare from his fellow 10 year old friends, he sprained his ankle after they took turns jumping... Read Full Story
We are very excited to have formed a business relationship with Ah Shayh to aquire Pure unrefined Shea Butter directly from Ghana. This Shea Butter has greatly raised the nuturing quality of our healing balms, creams and butters. We are proud to support the vision that Ah Shayh displays and find intercontinental encouragement in their goals. Ah Shayh mission statement is: " Ah Shayh is a collective owned and operated by women of color who are committed to maintaining a partnership with the... Read Full Story
African Products that do Double-Duty - Part 1 One thing that I love about African health and beauty products is the practicality of everything. Almost every African butter or oil has multiple practical uses. For example, did you know your shea butter can make a great diaper rash cream? What about neem oil as an insect repellent? Get more out of your products and have more to offer to your customers when you know some of the many uses of your products. I will be updating this regularly, but... Read Full Story
Making sure that you are hydrated, that you’re protecting your skin from the sun with moisturizers such as Shea Butter, and limiting the amount of time you spend in the water are some great precautions to take. This way, you can really enjoy your vacation, but you will know that your body and skin are taken care of as well!
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Blogsphere: Technorati Feedster Bloglines Bookmark: Furl Blink Digg feed for comments on this post | TrackBack for this post... Read Full Story
Here are some simple yet basic facts about the power of unrefined Shea butter. Shea Butter has a significant fraction of unsaponifiables (3-12%) that includes a number of chemicals credited with a range of therapeutic benefits including
Ultra Violet protection
Moisturizing
Cell regeneration
Anti-eczema
Anti-wrinkle properties
We spent the last couple of posts discussing ways to work with unrefined shea butter, how to deal with the nutty scent and the occasional... Read Full Story
