Why Shea Butter Cream Helps Heal Stretch Marks

By: Susan Applegate ... Click on author's name for more of their articles

Everyone knows what cocoa butter cream is and the power it has to minimize and prevent stretch marks, but few people know of it's close relative: shea butter cream. Shea butter cream is a common product used throughout the cosmetics industry, especially in moisturizing creams. As a finished product it is yellowish in tint just like cocoa butter, however it is derived from the African shea tree. Chocolate companies actually use shea butter for chocolate sometimes instead of cocoa butter!

It is a complex process to take the raw shea tree seeds and turn them into a rich-textured shea butter cream that we can use daily to prevent stretch marks. Because shea trees are most commonly found in Africa, the majority of this amazing product is still made in Africa.

How It's Produced:

First, the seeds must be separated from the tree and cracked open. The women of tribes gather around in circles and crack the seeds upon rocks. Traditionally, shea butter cream is produced by the women of African tribes.

After the shea nuts are extracted from the seeds, the women must crush the nuts into a powderlike state. It is extremely tough work, and a mortar and pestle is used in order to crush the nuts. It usually takes hours to finish crushing the nuts to get them ready for the roasting process.

Large pots are then set up over wood fires, and the women pour the crushed shea nuts from the mortars into the pots. If the women don't keep the pots stirred constantly, the crushed nuts will burn and the whole pot will be ruined. This work is done outside in the open African sun, so it is extremely hot and grueling work. Once the shea butter cream is heavy and hot, they can move on to the next step.

The pot of roasted nuts is then ground into a cream that is much smoother. As they grind the nuts, they add water and mix it in by hand to give it an extra creamy texture. The next step is to put the paste into large tubs and add even more water. This is necessary in order to separate the oils. They float to the top of the water and are scooped out.

By now, the shea butter cream looks similar to the end product, but there are two steps left. It must be boiled to remove any remaining water, and then hardened in a cool, dry place. After this is done, it becomes shea butter cream and is ready to treat stretch marks worldwide!

Use as a Stretch Mark Remedy

Because of its incredible moisturizing power, shea butter cream is used as a way to both prevent stretch marks and practically make existing stretch marks invisible. Most of our stretch marks are much darker than our skin tone, so they stand out and look quite ugly. Because stretch marks are tears in the second layer of skin, there is nothing that will make them completely disappear, but shea butter cream has been proven to turn dark, purpleish red stretch marks into smaller stretch marks that match your skin tone. This makes them practically invisible and gives you a great self-confidence boost.

In order to use this product, just take a bit and rub it in a circular motion over your problem areas. Do this once in the morning, and once in the evening, and after a few weeks you will notice a serious improvement in your skin tone.

Other Uses

Besides being used to moisturize skin and prevent stretch marks, shea butter has many traditional uses. In Africa, it is used as cooking oil, for candles, hairdressing, and even as an ingredient in medicine. Interestingly enough it is also used to moisturize wood so African instrument makers can use it for djembes, gourds, and marimbas.

In the industrial sector, shea butter cream dominates the cosmetics industry as an ingredient in moisturizers, emulsifiers, and hair conditioners. However, it's most famous use (and my personal favorite!) is its extreme effectiveness in preventing stretch marks, as well as lessening the appearance of already existing stretch marks.

Article Source: ABC Article Directory

About The Author: Hello, my name is Susan Applegate and I am a beauty and skin care writer and product reviewer. My specialty is in stretch mark remedies and cocoa butter cream. Without knowledge of these amazing products, I was left with hideous stretch marks after my three pregnancies. When I finally learned these wonderful products, I gave them a try and my skin returned my skin to it's former beauty. Visit my site at www.cocoabuttercream.org to learn more!

Note: The content of this article solely conveys the opinion of its author, Susan Applegate

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