This shea butter is a wonderful butter, ideal for formulating your own cream. It is produced the way it is done for thousands of years. Each nut is singly selected, the production is done with care and we sell it with proud because it provides important income for the people in Northern Ghana.
Refined in The Netherlands
Crude shea butter is being fully refined in The Netherlands. After refining the shea butter is white and has no fragrance. Refining is done at ZOR, Europe's No 1 contract-refiner. No chemicals are used to refine the shea butter.
Although refined, this shea butter is an outstanding butter. Refined shea butter is often preferred as base for formulating lotion and creams, not only because the consistent color (white) and absence of fragrance, but also because refined shea butter is a more stable butter.
Compare the Specifications of unrefined and refined shea butter to find out which suits you better.
Traditional hand-crafted
We get our shea butter straight from Ghana. For thousands of years, women have extracted shea butter from the nuts of shea trees (Vitellaria paradoxa) that grow across Africa’s Savannah. The trees don’t grow on plantations, the nuts are wild picked. This traditional production method results in soothing, moisturizing pomades and soaps that treat and restore skin unlike any other product.
Organic certified
This traditional hand-crafted natural shea butter is organic certified by Skal. It is the highest quality you can find. The shea nuts grow in area’s with no human activity that can harm or contaminate the shea trees. For example The Wechiau Community Hippo Sanctuary: a large area in the north of Ghana that is organic certified specially for the shea. Also the production done by hand is organic certified. Learn more about the difference between organic and not organic certified shea butter here.
Socially responsible
All our shea butter is produces in a socially responsible way. We ensure value addition at source is maximized: this shea butter provides jobs for women in poor rural areas of Northern Ghana, the women who collectively harvest the shea nuts themselves and produce the shea butter.
An exceptional butter of the highest quality
This shea butter is of a high quality. The butter contains fatty acids such as oleic acid, stearic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, behenic acid and palmitic acid. The unique fatty acid profile of this shea butter coupled with the butter’s high level of non-saponifiables makes a highly effective emollient, especially for very dry skin. Shea butter is also known to enhance skin elasticity. It is rich in vitamin F, a vitamin for repairing skin. It is therefore shea butter is more and more used in the cosmetics industry. And like cocoa butter, shea butter is also a healthy edible fat and used in food preparation.
With the melting point ranging from 31˚C – 45˚C, this shea butter is solid at room temperature.
Because the material is refined this shea butter has no fragrance and is white.
Product |
Butterwise Organic Refined Shea Butter |
FFA (as oleic), % Peroxide value, meq/kg Color (Gardner) Color lovibond red (5¼ inch) Color lovibond yellow (5¼ inch) Refractive index (as ND40) Moisture Content (Karl Fisher) iodine value (wijs method) Fatty acid profile |
Specification 0,2 max 2,0 max 1.462 max 0.10 max 72 max |
Method NEN 660:2009 AOCS Cd8b:90(09) NEN 27608:2010 NEN 27608:2010 NEN 27608:2010 IUPAC 2.102 AOCS Ca2e:84(09) NEN 3961:1999 NEN 5508:1995 |
Extraction method |
Solvent free traditional extraction method by hand |
Fatty Acid Profile Lauric Myristic Palmitic Palmitoleic Stearic Oleic Linoleic Linolenic Arachidic Gadoleic Behenic Erucic Lignoceric |
Notation C 12:0 C 14:0 C 16:0 C 16:1 C 18:0 C 18:1 C 18:2 C 18:3 C 20:0 C 20:1 C 22:0 C 22:1 C 24:0 |
Composition 2 – 6 38 – 47 42 – 49 4 – 8 0 – 1 1 – 2 0 – 1 0 – 1 0 – 1 |