DIY: Whipped Shealoe Butter Cream

Shea butter is a staple in our household… I first caught the “homemade” bug when little madam was in cloth diapers and I had to make a natural-based barrier cream. Our Shealoe mix is very similar to the diaper cream with the exception of beeswax and aloe vera gel, Shea butter being the base for both.

One main thing I love about Shea butter is the creamy feel it has plus it works really well when mixed with other oils, it’s no coincidence it’s included in many natural-based hair products. Also it’s cheap and cheerful when bought from back home “Nigeria” (comes with a pungent smell though). Another feature of unprocessed Shea butter is that it can get quite hard especially in the colder months.

Ingredients

• 8oz raw/unrefined Shea butter
• 4oz Coconut oil
• 1/2 cup Aloe Vera gel
• 1 tbsp Jamacian black Castor oil
• 1 tbsp Jojoba oil

I play around with the oils depending on what I have available. E.g. Might swap coconut for olive oil or jojoba for grape seed oil.

Preparation

Place the Shea butter in a container (preferably glass) and melt over a pot of boiling water – you don’t want to overheat the butter so it doesn’t lose its beneficial qualities. Once melted, set aside and allow to cool down and solidify a little. Add in the other ingredients and mix. Simples!

Result is a creamy texture that isn’t greasy and almost feels like water to touch. Us girls use the Shealoe butter mix as part of our LOC/LCO method [a very essential term in the natural hair world – L for Liquid or Leave-in conditioner, O for Oils and C for Cream] after we’ve cleansed our hair and in our night routine sometimes; this whipped mix being the heaviest of the LOC method really seals in the moisture required by our natural kinky hair. I also find that it helps to blend little one’s texturised ends with her roots and helps to restore her ends when they are really dry.

Apart from the above, this Shealoe mix is really good for the winter months when our hair gets extra dry especially with Aloe Vera gel in the mix which conditions the hair even further; NaturallyCurly has a breakdown of it benefits.

I will definitely do other posts on our daily/nightly hair routine/regime, tips we’ve learnt over the last couple of months and different bloggers/vloggers who have influenced our haircare regimen, so stay tuned and happy reading!

xoxo

Temi♥