Wink Soap: Benefits of Shea Butter

Shea Butter in handmade soap nourishes the skin with Vitamins A, E and F. Vitamins A and E help maintain the skin and keep it clear and healthy. They are particularly helpful for sun damaged skin and help prevent premature wrinkles and facial lines. Vitamin F acts as a skin protector and rejuvenator by soothing rough, dry or chapped skin. Shea Butter is high in fat, around 7-12% are unsaponifiables. For comparison, avocado oil, a well known skin conditioner, has between 2-6%. This high level of unsaponifiables in shea butter is one of the properties that makes Shea Butter so invaluable in treating the conditions listed above. Also, Shea Butter easily penetrates the skin allowing the skin to breathe and not clogging pores. Shea Butter in handmade soap has a high level of cinnamic acid, a natural sun screen. So, it provides some degree of protection from the sun. Shea Butter in handmade soap is also anti-inflammatory making it useful in treating rheumatism.


While there are no medical claims about the benefits of Shea Butter, there is anecdotal evidence that it is very useful in treating minor skin conditions. Several users who have used Shea Butter for eczema and/or psoriasis have said it works as well as steroids at a fraction of the cost and without the side effects. One customer with an allergy to the sun proclaimed that after using shea butter lotion she discovered that it prevented the rash she normally would get from even a small amount of exposure to the sun.