It is amazing what you find with a little reading.. So the problem is which one is "actual" shea butter... According to my research, yellow "shea butter" is from Togo, from the African Butter Tree (Pentadesma butyracea), correct name Kpangnan butter. White or Ivory shea butter, is the real shea butter(Butyrospermum parkii), the kind that has all the properties with the most benefits. While the yellow shea butter I purchased works wonders, I can't help to think what the white one does, definitely ordering some soon. Don't be quick to throw your old yellow Shea butter out, because it may just be dyed yellow.
I had the same concerns regarding white vs yellow Shea. I had purchased 5 lbs of a golden colored Shea to make butters creams and soaps. I read what you had read about the yellIow shea being from the butter tree so I emailed my supplier. He said the yellow color from his raw unrefined Shea came from the addition of ground root from the tree and I actually found a couple of different sites that backed that up. I think Wikipedia was one. Who knows!
ReplyDeleteI had the same concerns with white vs yellow and had read the same thing. I had also read on three different sites and this is also what the vendor claimed where I obtained my golden colored grade a raw Shea -- the yellow turmeric color comes from adding the root of the tree. I believe Wikipedia was one source that backed that up. Who knows.
ReplyDeleteYou know I need to do an updated post about this. I just came back from Africa. Went to Nigeria, and went to Ghana. It seems we are not the only ones confused on yellow vs. white. My grandmother said that the yellow one has palm oil in it. I actually for some reason prefer the yellow one, even though the white is know to have more benefits. I went to Ghana(The motherland of shea butter), I asked the locals, and they stated the yellow ones have "medicine" in it... They couldn't tell me what the medicine was, but I ended buying the "original" Ivory one, which can be purchased in america.
DeleteI have been using the white unrefined shea butter for years and just recently found the yellow in a shop called the Sheabutterman. It is amazing. I think I like it better and bought it even though I still have lots of white shea left. I also LOVE black soap. If you haven't heard of it, try googling it. It's amazing as well.
ReplyDeleteI have tried both yellow and white, I prefer the white even though the yellow is softer. But the way I mix the white works well for me. I have used black soap, I actually get a pretty bad reaction to it on my face, so I stopped using it. I have heard it works well for most people. Thanks for your comment!!
Delete