All-natural pure shea butter is a potential source of essential moisture for your hair. Shea butter is used as an ingredient in conditioners, leave-in conditioners and shine enhancers, but you can opt to use unrefined shea butter as a conditioning treatment or hair product on its own. Shea butter is best suited to dry hair types, rather than naturally oily hair.
Types
Pure, unrefined shea butter differs in color from cream to yellowish gray and has a distinctive, but typically not offensive, odor, reports TreasuredLocks.com. Whipped shea butter has a lighter and fluffier texture, but no added ingredients. Refined shea butter products are somewhat more processed, but still have many of the benefits of shea butter. Highly refined shea butter is typically pure white in color, has no odor of its own and may contain other ingredients.
Benefits
Shea butter contains both moisturizing and healing fats, according to the American Shea Butter Institute. The moisturizers in shea butter are similar to the natural oils produced by the sebaceous glands on your scalp, making them ideal to add gentle moisture to your dry hair. NaturallyCurly.com reports that emollient ingredients like shea and other nut butters soften the hair and give it shine.
Function
Use shea butter as a deep conditioning treatment on your hair. Liquefy shea butter by placing a container into a bowl of hot water or gently warming in a double boiler. Mix the warmed shea butter with one-fourth part coconut or olive oil, recommends the Hair Styles Secrets Revealed website. Apply the oil to your hair, concentrating on the ends and shaft. Wrap your head in a hot towel or sit under a hood-style hairdryer for 30 minutes, and then wash the oil out of your hair.
Considerations
Pure shea butter works best on dry hair types in need of additional moisture. Try shea butter if your hair is damaged from chemical treatments, environmental exposure or is naturally curly, according to SheaButterforHair.org. If you have healthy hair, you may find that rich conditioners, like shea butter, are unnecessarily heavy and weigh your hair down.
Warning
Read labels when purchasing shea butter, and choose a product labeled pure shea butter without additional ingredients. While shea butter has many beneficial properties, the American Shea Butter Institute recommends that you avoid using any shea butter product if you have nut allergies. Check with your physician or health care provider if you have concerns regarding the appropriateness of shea butter as a beauty product for you.
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