Soothing my skin this winter: Shea butter

Not long ago I realised I had a bit of a theme happening in my body and beauty products. Over time I've been buying more products with shea butter as the wonder ingredient. In my own experience it's a really effective rich moisturiser and soothes my sensitive skin including the eczema that flares up every winter.

 

I did a little research on shea butter and found the following list on www.sheainstitute.com.

"21 reasons to use shea butter:

Shea Butter will provide improvement in all the conditions listed below. As you use this multi-purpose cream you are likely to discover additional uses. The amount of time required for optimum results with various conditions may vary with each condition. Wrinkles, for example, require 4 to 6 weeks of daily use. Itching is relieved immediately.
1. Dry skin
02. skin rash
03. Skin peeling, after tanning
04. Blemishes and wrinkles
05. Itching skin
06. Sunburn
07. Shaving cream for a smooth silky shave.
08. Small skin wounds
09. Skin cracks
10. Tough or rough skin (on feet.)
11. Cold weather,
12. Frost bites
13. Stretch mark prevention during pregnancy
14. Insect bites
15. Healthy skin
16. Muscle fatigue, aches and tension
17. For before and after strenuous exercise
18. Skin allergies such as poison ivy or poison oak
19. Eczema
20. Dermatitis
21. Skin damage from heat (hot grease while cooking, radiation treatment for certain medical problems, etc.)

The information provided here or elsewhere on this site is not intended to constitute professional medical advice for treatment. We encourage you to consult your personal physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition..."

So, here are the shea butter products I'm currently using:

Hand care products

Bloom shea butter hand cream - This bottle is on my bedside table and I use it every night. It's rich without being greasy and I love the soft natural geranium and lavender oil scent.


L'Occitane shea butter hand cream tubes (original & vanilla) - These little tubes fit easily into my bag or purse.  This cream is very rich so a small amount goes a long way.  This can also be used as an overnight treatment for extremely dry hands. (See here for a full review.)

L'Occitane Lavender Liquid Soap with shea butter - I'm a bit compulsive about washing my hands so I  use this because both lavender and shea butter are recommended for sensitive skin.  The lavender scent is quite fresh and this product doesn't dry out the skin on my hands.  This bottle holds 500ml of liquid soap which lasts me a long time and 400ml refill sachets are available.

Body care products

Palmer's Skin Smoothing Lotion with Alpha/Beta Hydroxy & Shea butter  - I love this product (see my full review here ) and it's a repeat purchase.  It's a great dual-purpose exfoliating and moisturising lotion.

Palmer's Shea Butter Concentrated Cream - This is a new purchase for me.  It's a very thick cream for use on extra dry skin on the hands, elbows, knees and feet.  I've been using it to deal with scaly knees and elbows and it absorbs well and provides long lasting moisture.

Lip products

Tom Ford lipstick - this luxury lippy contains shea butter as one of its many ingredients.  This is my treasured lippy and I'm only using it for special occasions at the moment because it's still looking new! Click here
for a full review.

L'Occitane Ultra Rich lip balm - this is a waxy clear lip balm containing 10% shea butter. It can be worn on its own or under lipstick if my lips need extra moisture.

That's it for my collection.  Do you have a go-to skin care ingredient?

Until my next post.

Vita :)