With all the high tech synthetic stuff in skincare products today -all promising a ton of benefits & miraculous results it’s easy to get lost in the ingredient list. However, there is one underappreciated ingredient that’s been around for ages that can beat the crap out of all the current contenders for skincare supremacy with its hydrating and healing properties- Ladies and Gentlemen on the left corner: Shea Butter!

Shea butter, an edible fat extracted from the fruit of the Shea tree which grows in several regions of Africa- provides non-greasyhealing hydration like no other ingredient out there. My love affair with Shea started with a frenzied search for the perfect lip balm. Having tried everything  from Burt’s Bee’s beeswax-based balm to petroleum jelly and even the ever reliable Kiehl’s Lip Balm # 1 only led me to suffer from luscious lip letdown. Skin salvation arrived when one day my mother handed me a tube of Nivea’s Repair & Protection Lip Balm which she bought on the checkout lane at the local grocer. Skeptical but desperate, I tried it and has   since never wanted another-like a loyal lip balm lover. Curious about how it stands out from the competition I compared its ingredients to products I’ve tried and narrowed down the difference to its high Shea butter content which heals broken skin and protects it from dryness and the elements. It provides matte moisture- so both guys & girls can use it.

Since then I have tried other products with Shea butter with the same brilliant results. The list includes the nourishing and non-greasy Body Shop Shea Body Butter which helps you do away with bothersome re-applications as it leaves your skin moisturized for up to 24 hours- even in dry air-conditioned environments.

There is also the very versatile, MacGyver of skincare, the Rodial Glam Balm- a hydrating potion which can be used in more than a hundred ways, from lip plumper to hair frizz tamer and yes it’s packed with the highest grade of fair-trade Shea butter.

Shea also brings shine and softness to hair, a perfect example of which is Philip B’s African Shea Butter Shampoo, packed with Shea butter & B vitamins to nourish even the coarsest chemically-treated hair ( a close friend’s savior when she decided to bleach her black hair to peroxide blonde).

No one wants parched, peeling predicament (NOT SEXY) so pave the way for Shea! Have a great weekend!