I've read a lot of comments about shea butter and I wish to help out with a few tips.

Shea butter is full of nutrients, including vitamin A, which has many healing properties and has been known to aid in treating blemishes, wrinkles, eczema and dermatitis, promotes even skin tone, as well as burns and even stretch marks. Shea butter is also packed with antioxidants like vitamin E , as well as polyphenols and phytonutrients. These ingredients make shea butter an anti-inflammatory, which is why it works so well at moisturizing and soothing all types of skin (and can be found in skin and hair products galore).

For dark skin, and for us who live in a tropical climate where the sun is usually scorching on a daily basis, there are a few things we will need to be wary of. First of all, Shea butter is not a sunscreen and will not act as such. In fact, the combination of its oily properties and the sun may give you an unwanted tan (make your skin darker). Secondly, Shea butter acts best when used at night just before bed. As you go to sleep and your skin gets rejuvenated, the Shea butter absorbed into your skin will act on all unwanted blemishes on your skin as well. Thirdly, apply only a thin layer of shea butter. You certainly do not want to clog your pores as this may result in an outbreak of other blemishes. If you think you have applied too much, just wipe the excess with a mild tissue. Fourth, before applying Shea butter on your face, clean off all makeup or residue oil (you may use a facial cleanser or exfoliating lotion) or it may hinder the absorption of the butter by your skin.

I use Shea butter every night on my face before going to bed (some nights I feel too lazy though..lol) and have been doing so for a little over a month now. My skin feels more supple and glows better than I can remember and I have less blemishes on my face (there are pictures of me attached). Shea butter is a natural healer and moisturizer and has amazing benefits if you endeavour to use it as prescribed.

There are a few things you should note from this post;
*Never apply Shea butter if you are going out in the sun, use a cream containing some sunscreen instead.
*Use Shea butter only if you are in a cool environment (most advisedly at night, few hours/minutes before bed)

For proper skin care, make sure to exfoliate at least twice a week, clean all facial makeup before going to bed, steam your face as regularly as you can and beware of using any creams whose contents you cannot completely verify on your face. I, for one, prefer natural home-made remedies in facial skin care.

Below are a few pictures of my face devoid of makeup, after using Shea butter for about a month.

U have beautiful natural hair too! I hope mine will be like that when I big chop

beautiful skin nd hair too. I just chopped off ma hair, pls could u share ur hair regimen nd products?
@topic, do u melt d shea butter?

mysteriouxx: beautiful skin nd hair too. I just chopped off ma hair, pls could u share ur hair regimen nd products?
@topic, do u melt d shea butter?

Thanks for the response. Yes, you can. But, you really don't need that much for your face though. I might do another post on my hair regimen but, the key is to keep it moisturized as often as you can.

Nice article, very well written, learnt some new things from this. The pictures were a nice addition

mysteriouxx: beautiful skin nd hair too. I just chopped off ma hair, pls could u share ur hair regimen nd products?
@topic, do u melt d shea butter?

I'd like to add this as well. If you're melting your Shea butter, use very slight heat because you do not want its healing properties to be lost to the heat. Before it all completely melts, remove it from the heat source. It will continue to melt. Shea butter requires very little heat to melt. And one other addition, it is amazing for your hair as well.

Rute: U have beautiful natural hair too! I hope mine will be like that when I big chop

Thank you! I wish you all the best with BC. Natural look is so amazing and once you get the hang of it, it's practically effortless. You go, girl!
Stay in touch and I'll post some amazing tips on natural hair regimen soon.

OlumideOlasope: Nice article, very well written, learnt some new things from this. The pictures were a nice addition

Thanks a lot! Please, remember to keep me posted on how this works for you.

A well written article from a person who preaches what she practices. I can attest to the fact that this shea butter regimen works. Good work, Star-x.

Nice article, thank goodness I found dis thread... My face is so rough, I use facial cleansers n I also just started using exfoliating soap 3days ago... Someone told me to use Shea butter as my facial moisturizer at nights but i was kinda scared cos i heard it darkens d skin n clogs pores but i will try it out now n see how it goes.... I have dis bad tiny rashes on my face, will d Shea butter help me clear it up and smoothen my face I need ur advice ASAP

Hello dearie, I'm sorry I'm only replying you now. Just saw your post.
How's your face now? I find that most over-the-counter facial treatments tend to only suppress issues and as soon as you stop using them, the breakout is crazy.
For the rashes, I will suggest a very helpful home remedy that I often use myself. It is a facial mask that you can make by yourself.
What you will need:
*Oats
*Honey
*Unadulterated Shea butter
Any brand of oats is great. I find that "Good morning" oats is quite cheap so I use that more often. You will need to blend the oats in a clean, dry blender until it's in a powdered form. I often blend about a cup at a time and store it in a dry, airtight container.
Use about 3-4 drops of honey to half a tablespoon of powdered oats. Add some water until you get a thick paste. You don't want it too runny so it dries better and is less messy.
Cleanse your face with a mild soap, wipe or any other cleanser that does not contain harsh chemicals (actually, I prefer not to use anything containing any sort of chemicals at all). Rinse your face with some warm water and pat dry with a clean towel. Try not to rub at your skin, the friction produced isn't very good for your skin.
Apply the mask on your face. Leave for 20-30 minutes. You will feel a tightening of your skin pores as it dries. This is great, smaller skin pores lead to smoother skin.
Rinse your face with lukewarm water after the mask dries/or the time allocated is over. Dry with a clean towel.
Apply the Shea butter (a pea-sized amount is adequate) on your face, rubbing in circular motions with your finger tips. This ensures that your skin absorbes the butter and it doesn't just lie on top of your skin, clogging your pores.
And, there you have it :-)
Exfoliating your facial skin at least once a week is great for your skin. But, be careful not to exfoliate too often, it triggers your skin to produce more oil which may cause breakouts.
Keep me informed on how this works out :-)
Steaming once in a while also does wonders for your face!
NOTE: This is a great night routine. If you decide to do this before going out, be careful not to use Shea butter if you're going out in the sun.

I once used shea butter to clear spots on my legs. It actually cleared the spot but it darkened my skin

Mprex:
I once used shea butter to clear spots on my legs. It actually cleared the spot but it darkened my skin

Sorry to hear about that, dear. It sounds quite unusual. Did you use it during the day? I mean, while going out in the sun? I've been using Shea butter almost every night (sometimes I get lazy) for about 6 months now and my face is even brighter than ever. I'll attach a photo.

Starx:


Sorry to hear about that, dear. It sounds quite unusual. Did you use it during the day? I mean, while going out in the sun? I've been using Shea butter almost every night (sometimes I get lazy) for about 6 months now and my face is even brighter than ever. I'll attach a photo.

i used it @ night too

Yea, shea butter, not only leaves ur skin fresh, but it works well for pimples
I used yday afternoon and by this morning, I can feel some pimples gone already....I recommend it for pimples-filled face

Mprex:

i used it @ night too

Great. One more question, were you sure to use pure, straight up Shea butter?

Nice post@ op. Pls m havin sm issues wif my face most especially my fore-head as regards pimples. I used 2 ve 1 of smoothest n spotless face den. My frnds used 2 ask me wat cream I used 2 gve me dis spotless face,buh I always told dem dat it was natural. Buh nw d reverse is d case.m currently battling wif pimples on my fore -head.i ve used skineal,formbat A all 2 no avail.it only works 4 sm period, n after dat it cms bk in a full force .pls op,I rily need ur help as 2 hw 2 get my spotless face bk.wat exactly m I 2 do 2 achieve dat.fnks 4 ur reply

Nice post.. I use shea butter for my hair more often . But am still experiencing slow growth. Pls What do I do?

Starx:


Great. One more question, were you sure to use pure, straight up Shea butter?

the one i used was the local type. Wasnt refined

pretydiva:
Nice post@ op. Pls m havin sm issues wif my face most especially my fore-head as regards pimples. I used 2 ve 1 of smoothest n spotless face den. My frnds used 2 ask me wat cream I used 2 gve me dis spotless face,buh I always told dem dat it was natural. Buh nw d reverse is d case.m currently battling wif pimples on my fore -head.i ve used skineal,formbat A all 2 no avail.it only works 4 sm period, n after dat it cms bk in a full force .pls op,I rily need ur help as 2 hw 2 get my spotless face bk.wat exactly m I 2 do 2 achieve dat.fnks 4 ur reply

Great to hear from you.
First of all, you need to stop using the creams (skinneal, funbact A and so on) at least for the time being. They strip the utmost layer of your skin and cause dependency. Which is why you noticed an outbreak with you stopped using them. I have used those creams in the past as well and they left my face in such terrible state that I had to research into more natural remedies for skin care.
I'm going to recommend steaming to get your skin back on track and reverse the harmful effects of the creams.
To start with, you will need to steam your face every night for the first couple of weeks (or for as long as you can).
What you will need (for steaming)
*A bucket (any size is great)
*A low stool
*A heavy towel (you can pile on more than one light towel to get the heavy effect)
Steps:
Bring about 1-2 liters of water to boil.
Pour in the bucket prepared.
Place the bucket on the low stool.
Bend your head over the stool.
Cover the top of your head and the surface of the bucket with the towels. Do this in such a way that steam does not escape.
The steaming process should take about 10-15 minutes. If you can handle longer, go for it.
When you're done steaming, pat your face dry with a soft clean towel and apply the face mask recipe that was in my previous post.
NOTE: In your face mask recipe (for acne and pimples), you will need about 2-3 drops of lime/lemon (either will work perfectly) to act on the pimples.
Follow the process to the end and rub a pea-sized amount of unrefined Shea butter into your face until it is properly absorbed by your skin. Be careful not to rub too much. A little goes a long way.
Keep me posted on your progress. Best regards
One more thing, do you exfoliate regularly?

iamord:
Nice post.. I use shea butter for my hair more often . But am still experiencing slow growth. Pls What do I do?

What is your hair regimen like?

Fnks so mch@starx..pls wat do u mean by exfoliate?

pretydiva:
Fnks so mch@starx..pls wat do u mean by exfoliate?

You're welcome, love. In skin care, to exfoliate means to get rid of impurities such as dead skin cells that may clog spores. When skin pores are clogged, breakouts are more likely to occur as the skin cannot "breathe" as well as it should. In my first post, I recommended exfoliating twice a week but once a week is great as well.
There are a number of exfoliating creams out there. They are commonly referred to as facial scrubs. As usual, I prefer to use a home recipe for my facial scrubs.
What I use:
*Brown sugar
(Brown sugar has the right granules that are perfect for scrubbing and not too huge as to cause abrasions, plus it also contains honey)
*Coconut oil
(Coconut oil has antibacterial properties and lots of great vitamins to nourish your skin)

Half a tablespoon of brown sugar with 4-5 drops of coconut oil.
Scrub your face in a circular motion.
You can apply it with a dry makeup pad or your fingertips.
Leave for 15-20 and rinse off with warm water.
There are other recipes for facial scrub you can check out on the internet but this is my favourite because it is so simple

Mprex:

the one i used was the local type. Wasnt refined

Yes, that's about the most effective. If you can, please buy from a different seller if you notice any problems with your Shea butter. On the plus side, you can use the unused Shea butter for your hair. Shea butter is great for the hair so it never has to go to waste

Fnks so mch@ starx. I wil put dis tips 2 use. As per d brown sugar,where can I get it frm?

pretydiva:
Fnks so mch@ starx. I wil put dis tips 2 use. As per d brown sugar,where can I get it frm?

You can get brown sugar at any provision store or the grocery section of a supermarket. Keep me posted on your progress.

Hello starz . Pls does shea butter spoil? If yes how long should it stay b4 been disposed of.?

mysteriouxx:
Hello starz . Pls does shea butter spoil? If yes how long should it stay b4 been disposed of.?

Shea butter does not "spoil" in the general sense but, the longer it's left unused, the more its potency reduces. Try to use up your Shea butter within 6 months after purchase. Also, asking your seller about when he/she made a purchase of his/her stock would be a great idea.
However, don't rush up the use of your Shea butter if 6 months has nearly elapsed. Little goes a long way for facial care. Your hair can always benefit from any remaining Shea butter in store.
Was this helpful?

Dramaquine:
Nice article, thank goodness I found dis thread... My face is so rough, I use facial cleansers n I also just started using exfoliating soap 3days ago... Someone told me to use Shea butter as my facial moisturizer at nights but i was kinda scared cos i heard it darkens d skin n clogs pores but i will try it out now n see how it goes.... I have dis bad tiny rashes on my face, will d Shea butter help me clear it up and smoothen my face I need ur advice ASAP

I know what really works for pimple but you have to be willing to try.

Starx:


What is your hair regimen like?

I had a hair growth cream, I can't remember the name. Cos I threw it away after weeks with no result. Now I use pure shear butter only . but my hair still grows slow.. Am open to any idea thatt could b of help

@starx, u said smtin abt oat,pls is it quake n oat?

Mprex:

the one i used was the local type. Wasnt refined

where can i get the original type cos there are so many fake ones out there.