by Precious of Precious Curls
Here is a mix I did just a while back. It acts as both a sealant and a styler! Since shea butter has some great benefits, I decided to make it shea butter based! Enjoy!
You’ll need:
– 6oz (3/4 cup) of your favorite butter
– 2 teaspoons of your favorite oil
– 1 teaspoon of another one of your favorite oils (optional)
– Three teaspoons of aloe vera gel
– A few drops of fragrance oil (optional)
I used 100% unrefined shea butter, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera Gel, and Vanilla Fragrance Oil. Click the links to see where I purchased each product from.
I also used an empty 8oz container to mix everything in.
I first scooped out the shea butter and put it into the empty 8oz container. If the butter is too hard to scoop, submerge the container under hot water for a few minutes to soften it. Be sure that NO water enters the container.
Submerge the transferred shea butter container into a pot of hot water for 15 minutes to soften it down even more. This will prepare it for mixing everything else in.
Again, make sure no water enters. Note that the butter does not have to be melted to liquid, but should be soft enough to mix easily.
Now you will mix in your first oil. I used coconut oil, which I had to melt into liquid first. I placed the container into the bowl of hot water. It only took about a minute for the coconut oil to melt enough for two teaspoons. If your hair appears easily greasy with oils, try using just one teaspoon or just a few drops.
I then used a teaspoon of my second oil (I used olive oil). Again, use less oil if you need to.
I then used three teaspoons of aloe vera gel.
Finally, to mask the strong nutty scent of the shea butter, I used a few drops of vanilla fragrance oil in the mix. The interesting thing is, it did not make the mix smell like vanilla, but instead, the combination of the strong shea butter scent and the vanilla scent made the mix smell something like chocolate! Yummy!
All done! Use this mix after moisturizing your hair with your favorite water-based moisturizer, or just plain water.
I’m in love with this mix! The butter helps to seal in moisture and the oils help to further seal and give my hair shine. The aloe vera gel provides hold, making it a great styler for holding styles like twists and twist-outs! I am more than pleased with this mix and I hope it works for you too!
At Butters n Bars.com.
i never put aloe vera gel in my mix because the oils alone give my hair enough hold. hth
Hi curlitas,I'll really love to try this as a mix. I make use of all the ingredients above but one at a time. I heart Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera gel and use it head to toe when the weather's really hot…I read the comment from Nix,a fellow Nigerian natural…I've not really come across the cream sheabutter, the ones I buy are usually yellow but love sheabutter irrespective of color…really keep the moisture in and is also good for zits…
Hey curlfriends! Someone mentioned above that they do not use alor vera gel in this mix during other seasons…is this because aloe vera gel can cause dryness?
The butter used above is not yellow. it is a creamy color similar to the color of cream corn. Shea butter ranges in color from light beige, tan, creamy beige, creamy yellow, and very pale yellow. I order pure unrefined fair trade Shea butter directly from an importer and the color varies by harvest. It is a high quality butter and the quality is not affected by the color. Truth is the only way to know is to order certified fair trade butter, but from the look alone it aappears to be authentic Shea butter and not kpangnan butter, or African butter which is a true yellow, like a school bus, or stoplight.
Thanks everyone!
Anon 4:50, I have no idea. Give it a try!
Tristesse Casimier & Megan, I guess the links did not appear. I got the shea butter from here.
Anon 11:37, I would call the hold mild to medium. If you want more hold, I would suggest using more aloe vera gel in your mix.
Does it have a strong hold?I hope so, I'm really curious..
I got a tin of L'Occitaine Shea butter as a gift which I've been using on my skin, has anyone used it in their hair and would it be considered "authentic or refined" (or both) Shea butter for our hair? The tin dsecribes it as organic &fair trade attested Shea butter. Got to admit it is pricey but wonderful on my skin.
I never used pure Shea butter only the raw shea butter mask from Shea moisture. I am scared to use it because I heard so many natural complained that it made their hair dry and greasy, but they did not have it whipped. I might try it but I do not know where to find Shea butter is it online or at your local beauty supply store?
Megan Montgomery
Where can you buy this unrefined shea butter?
This gives me a reason to go out and purchase another scented oil to add to the recipe! Can't wait to try this one. I haven't used shea butter in a while, so it would be nice to try something inexpensive and different since I'm now feeling like a product junkie!!
Just a thought…what if I add olive oil ecostyler instead?…
I love this mixture. I saw this recipe a year ago and its just what the doctor ordered. My hair is a thirsty, thick 4a and nothing really moisturizes it but this does the trick!
I can't wait to try this recipe it looks to be very moisturizing with all of those good ingredients.
Brooke B.
Sounds good! Will def try this! Thanks!
Oooohhh I want to try this recipe. I recently made a shea butter mix and added…wait for it…HONEY!!! Just a little bit and the mix worked great as styler- great hold, great shine…I was very pleased. But because I like trying new things, I want to try this out too!
I'm transitioning (7 months) I use 3 tablespoons of unrefined shea butter, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoons of sweet almond oil and melted it all, completely melted its a great oil mix and helps seal my hair. (I make small batches at a time) I also let the mix sit and dry for a day, after its completely dry I microwave it for about 30 seconds and it turns into a pudding. I add a teaspoon of sweet almond oil to give it more of a whipped look if needed, I put it in my hair with 2 big twists before bed and "bag" my hair.
It also works as a deep moisturizing conditioner for me when its whipped, since I have extremely dry hair it moisturizes it; My scalp also feels invigorating when I wet my hair with or without adding shampoo and conditioner to my regime. It's now soft, bouncy and light. Shea butter is awesome for dry hair!
The reason you got the grittiness is because after you melt shea butter it tends to form crystals (which is still safe). The way to combat this is to refrigerate the shea butter mixture right after you melt. After it turns buttery again in refrigerator it will not crystallize so you can keep it out after that and it will stay smooth and buttery. So always refriderate after melting shea butter before it hardens again at room temperature.
@Shea, shea butter isn't a generic term for "African butters." It needs to be from the shea nut to be called shea butter. The shea nut/tree name varies from language to language, so maybe that's where the confusion lies. I'm Nigerian and use shea butter (in various self-made mixes) for my hair, skin, and lips. Also, my mom remembers people in her Eastern Nigerian hometown making shea butter from the nut when she was growing up in the 1950's and the process isn't different from the process used today. I live in Nigeria and haven't come across the yellow stuff, so I'm not sure what it is, but all the shea butter I buy from different sources is regular cream colored. CurlyNikki's might be mixed with other stuff. Hope that helps!
@BreukelensFinest, turmeric is widely used in Asia but isn't widely used in Africa (at least, not traditionally). It's used in South Africa to cook, mostly curries and similar dishes because of its color (and maybe taste).
I like that you have illustrated your post as you went along. I also like your recipe. I have tried it myself and I liked it, however I did alter it a little bit. Thanks for your detailed work.
Sonya in GA.
it is shea butter. yellow shea butter just has tumeric in it, which is believed in africa to have preservative properties.
missdeeplyrooted.blogspot.com
Thanks everyone for your comments! Maybe the "yellow stuff" is or isn't shea butter, I don't know. But what I do know is that it works great on my hair and it was relatively inexpensive.
2KinkyKonscious, I am actually not sure if aloe vera juice would work the same as I have not tried using the juice instead of the gel, but as shamigreen said it would probably need to be refrigerated and it would make the mix much more "liquidy."
Thanks again all!
precious-curls.blogspot.com
I have been doing some serious research =) because I mix my own hair and body oils.
And after a batch of really nutty smelling "Shea" butter for me and my naturally curlly kiddo I have found that Shea butter is a loose term that many people use to describe butters and oils made from the nuts of trees from african. What she has is African butter most likely east Africa.
There is a difference between east african Shea butter and Western africa "Shea butter"
The nutty smell and color(should be lighter creamy tan to ivory) varies and also is due to the type of nut used, How the mix is prepared, how the cooks make it and cure" it.
Also I have found that if you place you butter in a glass or ceramic bowl while melting the heat is even you won't burn it (even if you nuke it) And you can add all ingrediants to a warm batch to get a more even and complet mix that smell good enought to eat and you can feel the difference.
My favorite scents are vanilla, jasmine, orange blossum and tea trea and lemon – kinda smells like a cookie 🙂
Add sugar for a foot scrub or even corse salt!
Real "Shea" or Karité Tree Butter.
Vitellaria paradoxa, also classified as Butyrospermum parkii and B. paradoxa, commonly known as shea tree, shi tree, vitellaria or karité is mostly found in Africa, occurring in Mali, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Togo, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Burkina Faso and Uganda.
Shea-
I do this same mix in my summer shea butter mix….n the other seasons, I do not include the aloe vera gel.
Ive done this several times and one tip, would be to definitely let the shea butter melt all the way! Then put it in the fridge for about 6 to 8 hours…..trust me, it gets rid of that grit feel and makes it super smooth and creamy….don't know why :), but give it a shot!
Also you can use any essential oils…just go to your local whole foods or even GNC, to find other essential oils that can give your shea butter a great smell!
Hope this helps someone.
-Keyz
this is almost my exact recipe however I don't use the vanilla. I also put a little glycerin and a few drops of tea tree. Then I use a hand mixer.
@Anonymous 3:58
That would be African butter, not shea butter. It's still a nice butter option but isn't as beneficial as unrefined shea butter.
DuchessGabrielle has a nice series explaining the difference between african butter and shea butters on YouTube
Hope this helps! 🙂
that yellow stuff isnt real shea butter. i cant find the name of it, but its a close realitve to the shea nut. soooooo yeah.
What a great post. I love that you took the time to detail the measurements…I need a recipe!
And the pictures are wonderful too. I am inspired!
This sounds like a great recipe… I definitley have all of these items around the house, so I'll probably give it a go 🙂
@ 2KinkyKonsious: you probably could sub juice for the gel, but it might require refridgerated storage. I would also use less juice than the gel in her recipe, b/c using the same amount of juice could make your finished product more runny (which is not necessarily a bad thing, depending on what you desire).
Great recipe! Can I use aloe vera juice instead of the gel?
I have these ingredients already (minus the aloe vera gel will need to buy some) I will have to try this tonight, I have worn this protective style way past it's due date..LOL. And my hair needs some major TLC.
Thanks for posting all of this information
Great detail! More people should post recipes with pictures like this. Well done!
This sounds like a really great recipe! However, i'm not too crazy about the chocolate or vanilla smell in my hair. maybe I could substitue the vanilla oil with another scented oil. I will try this though.
Thanks for the recipe!! It looks very moisturizing!
Thanks for posting the recipe. Too many people (especially on YouTube) do not post actual measurements. Too much "A little bit of this, a little bit of that." Splashing products in a bowl willy-nilly not giving us much information.