Natural Shea Butter is one of the most effective, gentle and versatile moisturisers you can buy, but if you want the very best Shea Butter skin or hair care products it's worth seeking out the smaller producers. There are exceptions of course, but small, cottage industries often offer Shea Butter creams and lotions that are superior in many ways to those produced by large multinational companies.

The best Shea Butter

All Shea Butter comes from the nut-like seeds of an African tree, but the way the butter is extracted and processed makes a big difference to the quality of the finished product.

Unrefined Shea Butter is extracted using traditional manual methods. These take a long time to produce small quantities and are labour intensive, but the resulting Shea Butter retains high levels of vitamins, anti-inflammatory agents and other ingredients that are so good for the skin. Pure Unrefined Shea Butter is always chosen by cottage industries that are passionate about giving their customers the very best quality.

Large companies tend to use Refined Shea Butter because it is cheaper and produced in bulk. It is extracted using chemical solvents and high temperatures that destroy some of the butter's beneficial ingredients. Refined Shea Butter can also contain traces of chemicals left over from the processing.

Best for Shea Butter producers

A steady demand from cottage industries for top quality Unrefined Shea Butter has enabled groups of African women to form cooperatives run on fair trade principles. By controlling the business themselves, the women can retain more of the profits from their hard work. As well as being an important source of income for individuals, many of these cooperatives are able to fund local development projects that benefit their whole community.

Best for the environment

By supporting the eco-friendly production of Unrefined Shea Butter , cottage industries are doing their bit for the African environment. But many of them are also committed to reducing their carbon footprint at home and have introduced energy saving, recycling and waste reduction measures into all their business operations.

The best added ingredients

Unrefined Shea Butter does wonders on its own, but it can be blended with other skin care ingredients to create products designed for specific uses and skin types. A cottage industry that prides itself on using the finest Shea Butter won't want to spoil its reputation (or its products) by adding any artificial chemicals. It will take care to source only natural, plant-based ingredients, choosing organic options wherever possible – even if they are more expensive. How many large companies can make the same claims?

Best for the customer

A cottage industry values every one of its customers. It welcomes feedback so it can improve its range of Shea Butter products and is happy to answer any questions. With the owner being closely involved in every aspect of the business a cottage industry is able to provide a highly personalised service.

In contrast, managers of large companies usually have to put shareholder's concerns first and their customer service departments rarely have the flexibility to respond constructively to individual requests.