Reviewed by: Kacie La
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Using shea butter for hair can revolutionise your hair care routine in ways that your other store-bought products may fail to achieve.
It has hydrating, smoothing, strengthening, and protective benefits all rolled in this one amazing ingredient!
Learn how you can incorporate this ingredient into your hair care routine, plus some DIY hair care with shea butter, and watch your strands transform into the best they’ve ever been!
What is Shea Butter?
It is a fat produced from the nuts of the shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa), which is native to West Africa. It is an excellent source of vitamins (A, E, and F) and fatty acids, including palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, and arachidic.
Because of its vitamin and fatty acid composition, this ingredient is highly moisturising, easily absorbed by the skin, with easy-to-spread consistency, and thus widely used in cosmetics, skincare, and personal care products.
Is Shea Butter Good for Hair?
Absolutely! Itgives your hair and scalp moisturising, strengthening, and protective benefits—just among the many benefits of shea butter for hair!
Plus, this amazing ingredient is highly versatile and applicable to all hair types, especially dry and damaged strands.
Benefits of Shea Butter for Hair
1. Highly moisturising
This ingredient has fatty acids that add moisture to the hair. Applying this to wet hair further maximises moisture absorption, creating long-lasting moisture for your hair.
2. Addressing dryness and frizz
The moisturisingbenefits of shea butter for hair help with dryness, combat frizz, and add extra shine, leaving you with softer, shinier, and more manageable strands.
3. Strengthening
The vitamin E it contains provides extra protection from free radicals and damage, especially if you use heating tools regularly. It also nourishes your hair follicles, prevents split ends and brittleness, and promotes overall hair health.
4. Anti-inflammatory
It also helps soothe scalp irritation.
How to Use Shea Butter for Hair
1. As Hair Mask
Whip the butter into a lotion consistency and comb it through your hair. Leave it on and wash it after 1-2 hours.
2. For Deep Conditioning
You can use it as a hair conditioner by applying a generous amount to damp hair after your shower. Leave it on for 30 minutes to an hour and rinse thoroughly.
3. Leave-In Conditioner
After showering, place a small amount on your hair, focusing your application on the ends of your strands to provide long-lasting hydration.
4. Scalp Massage
Its soothing and anti-inflammatory benefits also extend to scalp massages, creating both a hydrating and nourishing experience.
Use a pea-sized amount to massage your scalp, providing a nourishing experience and hair moisturising benefits.
5. Mix-In Ingredient
You can also create a DIY hair care with shea butter by mixing it with other ingredients. Melt a considerable amount of this ingredient and combine it with your conditioner then apply it to your hair.
6. Daily Styling
For regular use, apply it to dry strands. Using a small amount of this butter, warm it between your palms and apply it to your hair, focusing on the ends to reduce frizz and add shine.
How to Create Shea Butter Hair Mask
Creating your DIY hair care with shea butter allows you to use your preferred methods and raw ingredients to target your specific hair needs. Among the most common uses of shea butter for hair is as a hair mask.
Ingredients:
- Unrefined shea butter(USB) for maximum moisture or refined shea butter(RSB) if you prefer an odourless, colourless mixture
- Mango butter
- Your preferred carrier oils
Procedure:
- Melt 1-2 tablespoons of unrefined shea butter and mango butter together in a bowl.
- Transfer the mixture to a separate bowl and add 3 ounces not more than 90ml of your preferred carrier oil(s).
- Let the mixture cool.
- Make sure your hair is damp. Section your hair and comb from root to tips.
- Let it sit for 30 minutes before rinsing it off.
Fast fact: This hair conditioner targets the outer layer of the hair, making it smoother and shinier, while your DIY hair care with shea butter hair masks offers much deeper nourishment.
How to Create Shea Butter Conditioner
Another DIY hair care with shea butter is using it as a conditioner.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of unrefined shea butter/refined shea butter
- 2 tablespoons of your selected hair care carrier oils
- Coconut or castor oil for hydration
- Avocado or castor oil for strengthening
- Argan carrier oil for extra protection
- Jojoba oil for balancing oil production
- Sweet almond carrier oil for improving scalp health
- 10 drops of your preferred essential oil
- Lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil for improved scalp health
- Ylang-ylang and cedarwood for balancing scalp oil
- Ylang-ylang and geranium oil for hydration
Procedure
- Melt your butter, add in your oils, and mix.
- Store your mixture in the fridge until it solidifies, and then whip it using a hand blender to create a creamy consistency.
- Apply the whipped mixture and wait an hour or two to maximise its benefits before rinsing it off with shampoo.
Pro tip: Use shampoo to wash your hair after you’ve applied the conditioner, not before. This ensures a cleaner rinse, eliminating excess ingredients that might cause your hair to feel heavy or greasy.
Don’t be afraid to make your DIY mixtures at home using this product. Take it from Laura, one of our customers, who’s also new in DIY mixtures but absolutely loves our shea butter with her concoctions!
“This is the first time I triedy to make my own beauty products at home and I am amazed at how good this is! I mixed it with a carrier oil (jojoba) and essential oils (lavender and tea tree) and I use it for face and body.”
FAQs
Why is butter good for hair?
Given its rich vitamin and fatty acid components, this ingredient is considered a natural moisturiser used for hair care and skincare. One of the primary benefits of shea butter for hair is deep moisturising, along with frizz management, hair strengthening and protection, and scalp health improvement.
What hair types can this ingredientshea butter be used on?
This ingredient is suited for all hair types. Using it for straight hair helps maintain its smoothness and shine and provides additional protection and hydration. When used in curly hair, it can give extra hydration, address frizz, and help define the natural curls.
Which shea butter is best for hair?
Unrefined shea butter has the optimal amount of nutrients for hair, but it is known for its distinct nutty smell that some might not prefer or might interfere with other added fragrances. If you prefer an odourless, colourless alternative, opt for refined shea butter.
How to use shea butter for hair?
You can create your DIY hair care with shea butter, using it as a hair mask or conditioner, or combine it with other hair care products or oils for a targeted hair care mixture. You can also use it to massage your scalp or style your hair regularly.
