Shea Butter ??

[cereal]

After all these years of using Eucerin and Aquaphor and Aveeno lotions I'm finding that these products are causing me to itch and there is soooo much pain and burning when I use them. So I began yet another quest to find something that is soothing, doesn't itch, doesn't burn and doesn't leave me feeling greasy. I remembered someone mentioning shea butter. I found a small container at Wallyworld but it's got additives, I went to the health food store and they had a tester for 100% shea butter, I smeared some on some of my spots and it didn't burn or hurt, I was happy till I found out they were sold out and don't know when their getting more in. They did tell me it was 8.00 for a little (as in tiny) container.

If you use pure shea butter where do you purchase it? I have tried every store in the area and no one had it. Does anyone buy it online? Wanna share where you get it? I'm thinking it would be best if I could get it like by the pound and keep it in the fridge cause one small container wouldn't last me two days.

TIA
pat

[cordiod]

Pat~

I know The Body Shop (http://www.the-body-shop.com/bodyshop/browse/sub_category.jsp;jsessionid=W45FMGJTRMP2JULSIIWVAF OROJBC2UP4?cm_re=default-_-Navigation-_-Body-Body_Butter&categoryId=cat20065) carries Shea Butter, under the name of "Body Butters"...but I am sure that there may be others who may come along with other suggestions. I just figured I would chime in since I didn't see a response yet ;)

[MikeK]

Hi Pat,

One of my biggest fears of shopping online is the fear of the unknown when it comes to online retailers. (Can me paranoid, but you can never be too careful!) That being said, I just googled "pure shea butter". Here's what I came up with:

Nordstrom sells a product called L´Occitane 100% Pure Shea Butter (http://store.nordstrom.com/product/product_brandboutique.asp?styleid=2885813&boutique=l-occitane&category=2377897~2377899~6004855~6004857&cm_ven=froogle&cm_cat=datafeed&cm_pla=skin%2Fbody%5Ftreatment%3Aunisex%3Ahand%5F% 26%5Fbody&cm_ite=l%27occitane%5F100%25%5Fpure%5Fshea%5Fbutte r%3A6789). Talk about pricy! It's $36.00 plus shipping and tax for 4.5 ounces! :eek: (The closest Nordstom to you is in Columbus -- which I know is NOT exactly around the corner!

Nordstrom Easton Town Center (#234)
4000 Worth Avenue
Columbus, OH 43219
(614) 416-7111.

O.K., so back to the drawing board.

Amazon.com sells (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00021DSQA/104-5486300-5039127?v=glance) and drugstore.com (http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=148532&catid=12963&aid=334918&aparam=sespider) both sell the same product for the same $36.00 plus shipping. :eek: Grrrr. (I've ordered from both of these sites and haven't had any problems!)

Another search took me to a site that sells something called Pre de Provence 100% Pure Shea Butter for $15.00 (plus shipping) for 2.5 ounces. What is this? A conspiracy? Grrr. (I know nothing about this site.)

Finally, this site (http://store.africansheabuttercompany.com/sheabutterjars.html) sells something called Purely Refined- Certified Organic Shea Butter for $10 (on sale) (plus shipping) for 6 ounces. They're having another sale -- 3 6 ounce jars for $25. The regular price is $10.95 for 6 ounces. The sale ends February 28th. The good news is that this is probably the best price you're going to get. The bad news is that I know nothing about the site.

To add insult to injury, like anything else, none of us know how we're going to react to something until we try it! :rolleyes: :mad:

I've tried Palmer's Shea Butter Formula (http://www.etbrowne.com/products/Collection.aspx?CollectionID=33). (The one in the bottle.) I bought it at CVS. I don't remember it being that expensive. I didn't have any problems with it.

I hope this helps.

Mike

P.S. I always remember something after I click "submit". :rolleyes: I just remembered that Tara (TLd327) once sang the praises of a shea butter product called "Cocohut". Here's a link to the ancient (circa 2003) where we discussed it: http://www.psoriasis.org/forum/showthread.php?p=37884&highlight=Cocohut#post37884. I couldn't find a website for it.

[spotsz]

how about Burts Bees products , suposed to be all natural. :rolleyes:

[cakp12]

I have bought both the pricey l'occitane and an inexpensive type at the healthfood store- no problem with irritation from either one- the pricey one is smoother and lasts longer but I only use it on my hands so I don''t have to use a lot. If you search massage therapy supplies they have many pure oils lotions and "butters" available at bulk pricing. Good luck in your search

[barbieh11]

http://usa.loccitane.com/product/product.asp?product=01BK150KA&variant=&&

I use the L'OCCITANE 100% Shea butter on my feet every morning, and then cover with 2 pair of cotton socks. It is very thick and lasts all day. It is expensive, however I imagine you could seach ebay and I also noticed that QVC carries this line. I have a store in my city, but the link above is to their website. When I take my socks off in the evening my skin is very soft and hydrated.

They have a lot of shea products, but if you order be sure to get the 100% butter. Their olive oil products are very nice also.

[catng1]

I thought I'd re-invigorate this Shea Butter thread. Have any of you used unrefined, pure shea butter? If so, where have you bought it and has it made any material positive impact on your P?

A quick google search will show lots of websites that sell this, but it is so hard to determine whether they are selling authentic products or not. I have recently been looking in a few drug stores and health shops for shea butter products, and it seems like most stores sell mixtures, not the pure, unrefined stuff.

The only two brands I've found that seem to be the most legitimate are L'Occitane en Provence and Purely Shea, both of which are pricey. The Purely Shea website boasts that it is USDA Organic certified.

Any thoughts on these brands or others and any success stories? Thanks very much.

http://usa.loccitane.com/product/product.asp?product=01BK150K6&
https://www.purelyshea.com/shop_products.html

[SandyS]

I actually purchased unrefined Shea Butter from a seller from e-bay "coastalscents" 5 lbs for $34.95 + shipping....this has been about 6 months ago, and it is one of the moisturizers that I use commonly, I have only gone through about 1/2 of it so far....I have been very happy with it. I will say, though, it is completely unrefined, so I do have to work with it quite a bit to get it nice and soft to apply to the plaques..

Much less expensive than most places.

[TJM718]

I used to use the Body Butter from the Body Shop. I used Shea and this other nut. I forgot the name. I loved both of them but my skin was clear at the time with UVB and injectables. Not too pricey but not as cheap as the stuff you can get in the drug store. The had lots of sales and a membership card with discounts. I have had different favorites over the years. There was Vaseline Intensive Care in a white bottle with mineral oil in it that I loved. Now I use Aveno or the Target version, green bottle. I avoid scents and things with menthol in it. I also like creamy vaseline for my face. But I hate to moisturize and usually only do it after a shower or bath. I'm hairy so it's not fun.

[catng1]

Thanks to all for all the replies so far!

I just found another product online. Now Foods has a 100% pure Shea butter product, and you can check their website to see if there are any stores near you that sell it. I found out one of my local health stores sells a 7 ounce jar for about $10. You can get it cheaper on Amazon and on other sites. I just e-mailed Now Foods about the product and they told me that it is "refined" Shea butter with a shelf life of 2 years. Because it is affordable, I may pick one up to try it; let me know if any of you guys use it.

http://www.nowfoods.com/?action=itemdetail&item_id=3283

Also found another brand http://aaasheabutter.com/. Their stuff is sold on Amazon too.

Please share if you've tried any of these products. Thanks!

[MadCat]

I would say that if you are going to purchase a shea butter, make sure you purchase a certified organic (preservative free) one.

Personally I would avoid The Body Shop, as I have been told that they use cheap ingredients from China. I don’t know how true this is but the person who told me has years of experience in this field.

Badger products seem particularly good: http://www.badgerbalm.com

I don’t know if they are certified organic but they seem to be quite pure.

I have posted this information previously but I am re-posting it here because it directly relates to your question regarding body butters:


I have had psoriasis for 37 years (my whole life)

In that time I have pretty much tried everything, including a two week hospital stay and hypnosis. I even tried eliminating certain trigger foods from my diet (i.e.) cheese and other dairy products, alcohol, chocolate but it was a dull existence and did not seem to work.

Over the years I have had psoriasis on my scalp, in and behind my ears, on my face, on my elbows and arms, on my legs, feet and knees.

Many treatments have helped to a certain extent and many have been a complete waste of time and money.

I stopped using steroid creams and tar treatments a few years ago. To be honest, I would rather have psoriasis than ever use these particular treatments again.

However, I am currently psoriasis free and have been for the past twelve months.

There are two things that have worked for me:

1) Organic Australian Virgin Cold Pressed Hemp Oil

2) Natural Salmon Oil Tablets

This discovery was a complete fluke. My naturopath had put me on salmon oil tablets to help with my Ulcerative Colitis. A woman at my evening college class had started selling her own homemade organic body care products and told me that hemp oil was good for psoriasis. As I needed a body butter for after the shower, I decided to give hers a try.

Anyway after about three months of using the body butter and taking the salmon oil tablets, the large psoriasis patches on my eyebrows, ear, elbows and arm, had completely disappeared. They have not reappeared since.

The hemp oil is contained within an organic hemp body butter. The other ingredients are organic beeswax, ORGANIC SHEA BUTTER, organic cocoa butter and organic essential oils.

If you decide to try my method yourself, make sure you get pure organic virgin cold pressed hemp oil. Apparently a lot of the commercial brands of body butters use Chinese non-organic, non-cold pressed hemp oil, which is not very pure and so does not work very well.

Also make sure you purchase salmon tablets that are low reflux, mercury tested and sourced from natural wild cold water (as opposed to farmed).

My husband found that using both products together everyday has helped his eczema disappear. He has also noticed that if he only uses one of the products, he will have a flare up. So using them together seems to be the secret. Since I have been using both products everyday, I have had a new lease on life (i.e.) wearing short sleeved shirts in summer is now a pleasure, not an embarrassment.

The body butter has been fantastic for the rest of my body too, lovely after a shower.