Shea What?
by Kristin Underwood, San Diego, CA on 02.17.07
That’s right, shea butter. Ya know, as in that wonderful lotion that clears even the driest skin. (Perfect for all of you girls new to the west coast who are still getting acclimated to living in the desert. Ahem.) Shea Terra Organics offers products free of fillers, artificial fragrances/colors, sulfates, parabins and 99.5% natural, and if that wasn’t enough, Shea Terra was formed in part to offer local cooperatives in Africa a way to earn steady income without depleting resources or harming workers.
Shea Terra is located in Virginia, but the products all come from Africa where she works to ensure that suppliers are paid fair-value for their products and are not exposed to hazardous chemicals or conditions in the process. In addition, by using shea butter, Shea Terra is providing local cooperatives in Africa a chance to have a reliable income. Shea butter is squeezed from shea nuts (shea what?) which only grow in the very dry savannah in Africa. Shea butter, when used, offers a very high absorption rate and is the ultimate in moisturizing thereby giving customers exactly what they want – a lotion that ACTUALLY moisturizes. And the philanthropy doesn’t stop there as Shea Terra just sent an update to customers that Shea Terra is sponsoring children's education in Togo.
I personally love their chap stick, which is perfect for a girl who spends her days in the sun. While they feel a little gritty in the tube, once applied they make your lips silky smooth (and they smell good enough to eat). Orders also typically come with samples of other products, so you can test out items that you may be wary of trying. In addition, each jar comes with a distinct shea nut, which can be worn as jewelery for those
Their website has a wealth of information on shea butter, the company and social responsibility. Visit them online at Shea Terra Organics.
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The addition of such meaningless market-drivel as "99.5% natural" makes all the other claims sound bogus, too. My opinion, anyways.
Actually, the owner admits that materials in her products are 99.5-100% natural/organic. I felt it was more responsible for her to be honest that her products are not 100% perfect, rather than just use ambiguous words to confuse the customer. There is more information on her website explaining exactly why she cant always use 100% organic products and how she is working to get this to 100% as new resources become availalbe.
Thanks for your comments and input.
There are actually more health benefits to unfiltered shea butter, rather than this "refined" version. There are plenty of places that sell it online.
If you live in a decent sized city with a Muslim or African population, you can get a huge quantity of straight Shea butter for very cheap. I bought a small Tupperware container's worth for $5 in Brooklyn.
I LOVE shea butter. i use unfiltered shea my mom bought me for ultra cheap (in a small african shop), but it doesnt really smell nice and leaves me feeling greasy for a little while, so i only use it at night. i also bought the product above that the article links too and it smells and feels sooo great that i use it during the day.
I've shopped at this company before and only purchase their raw/unfiltered shea butter, which is excellent. It's worked much better on my ezcema than hard, filtered shea butters from my health food store.
I love Shea Terra products. I bought from them for quite a few years. Lately their customer service leaves ALOT to be desired. After waiting a month, The last order I placed had to be canceled. The owner told me they were having problems and were short handed. Its so frustrating that they offer such great products, but Lord knows when and if you will ever receive them. Too bad there isnt somewhere else to get them from.
I really love shea terras products. I love the fact that the fragrance is all natural. Yes, you can buy shea butter elsewhere at a cheaper price, but this quality is very good and it smells fabulous. I love the spray oils especially vanilla and the tropical mango.
Their customer service is horrible but I've bought their products from b-glowing and was very pleased. Then I found you can buy shea terra products at amazon at a discount and get free shipping.
Personally I think 99.5% natural is pretty darn good.
I'm not sure how 99.5% natural is meaningless market drivel. What is meaningless drivel is companies who call their products organic, yet they contain sulfates, parabens, coloring, etc., and the company will claim the products is made with 80% organic ingredients, yet will really contain only one contain natural/organic ingredient such as 80% aloe vera. The list of companies that do this goes on and on. That is deceptive. I've used Shea Terra products and the quality is unsurpassed. Some of the products aren't 100% natural because they contain a preservative to prevent things from growing in the creams/lotions (although some of their products are 100% natural including the black soap). Because I don't want to keep my products in the refrigerator, this "99.5% natural with a preservative situation" is a better option. Also, there are many grades of shea butter; a lot are really waxy and smell burnt. Whole Foods carries some very low-grade shea butter brands. Shea Terra has excellent raw, unfiltered shea butter, as well as East African shea butter, which are soft and really moisturize and heal the skin.