Shea Butter Types (Butyrospermum parkii)

Unrefined Shea Butter:

Source: Unrefined Shea Butter

Extraction:It is extracted naturally without the use of any chemicals or additives. It is the pure form and its properties are unaltered.
Touch/Feel:It has a very soft feel and creamy in texture.
Color:It varies in color depending upon the nut. It ranges from ivory white to Light yellow color.
Smell: Mild nutty and fades away in few minutes once it is applied to the hair/skin.
Usage/Properties: It is the more pure form and has both healing and moisturizing properties.It is even used on babies on some African countries.The moisturizing effect on the skin can stay even after  12-15 hours. ( I have personally tested on my hair, It is amazing. How I used on my hair deserves another blog posts)




Refined Shea Butter:

Extraction: It has been filtered at least once to remove the scent and color sometimes using chemicals like hexane or petroleum solvents . The state of the Shea has been altered.
Touch/ Feel: It is slightly harder than refined Shea butter.
Color: It  has been bleached to remove the color. Mostly it is white in color.
Smell: It has been deodorized to remove the nutty flavor.
Usage/Properties: Its healing,moisturizing properties has been greatly reduced.During the refining process about 75% of the bioactive nutrients can be lost.( Source: SheaInstitute )


Highly Refined Shea Butter

Extraction: It is extracted using with most chemicals. It has been filtered chemically, bleached, deodorized, and then chemically treated to soften it for addition to beauty products.
Touch/Feel: It is very fluffy and soft to touch.
Color: It is pure white in color.
Smell: It  doesn't have any smell.
Usage/Properties:This Shea butter has been treated to take out almost all of it healing qualities, but it is still a very good moisturizer.