Thank you for your continued support of Alaffia. Your commitment to our mission and your trust
in our products has enabled the economic empowerment of communities in West Africa and in the US.
As the market evolves and Alaffia continues to grow, we must continuously look for ways to better
support our mission and optimize our product assortment.
We will no longer be offering bulk ingredients for sale through the Agbanga website,
but encourage you to explore our packaged goods offered at Alaffia.com.
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Shea Butter, Pure & Unrefined
This site offers pure, unrefined shea butter, virgin coconut oil
and African black soap at wholesale quantities.
Our Alaffia shea butter, shea butter lotions, shea butter face
creams and shea butter soaps are available at
Alaffia Fair Trade Shea Butter.
We handcraft our shea butter and African black soap in Togo
under fair trade and organic standards. Our direct involvment in
the entire process, from gathering shea nuts to distribution to our
wholesale customers, ensures that our shea butter is of the
highest quality and guaranteed to be fresh. Please read more
below for information on our shea butter and fair trade
practices.
Our pure unrefined shea butter comes from seeds of wild shea
trees scattered throughout the fields and forests of the wooded
savanna in central and northern Togo. The moisturizing and
healing properties of shea butter have recently been discovered
by the western cosmetic industry, but shea butter has been a
mainstay of African pharmacology for centuries.
Shea butter has many useful properties and has been
traditionally used for hair and skin care, as cooking oil, and for
lamp fuel. However, the protective and emollient properties of
shea butter are most valued for skin care. In central Togo, shea
butter is applied to the skin and hair as a moisturizer and is
also a main ingredient in traditional black soaps.
Moisturizing & Healing Benefits
of our Unrefined Shea Butter
Unrefined shea butter contains an abundance of beneficial
ingredients, including vitamins, minerals, proteins and a unique
fatty acid profile, and is a superior active moisturizer. Unlike
petroleum based moisturizers, shea butter actually restores the
skin's natural elasticity. Shea butter enables your skin to
absorb moisture from the air, and as a result, it becomes softer
and stays moisturized for longer. In addition, shea butter contains
natural antioxidants.
Because of its amazing properties, shea butter is an excellent
ingredient for soaps, lotions and creams. Perhaps it is most
effective when applied to the skin in its pure state. Regular
users of pure, unrefined shea butter notice softer, smoother,
healthier skin. Shea butter has also been shown to help moisturize dry skin and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Fair Trade Shea Butter
 Unrefined shea butter is a valuable natural resource for West
African and could be an important tool in empowering local
communities. However, most shea butter on the market in the
United States and Europe is not fairly traded. The women who
gather shea nuts and hand craft this remarkable oil receive only
a tiny fraction of the final price. It is estimated to take 20
to 30 hours of labor to produce one kilogram of handcrafted shea
butter, which is traded at $1 or less in today's market. A woman
making shea butter in West Africa will receive only a fraction
of this price. Therefore, a person working for 30 hours, almost
a week's worth of work, will not receive even a dollar for her
efforts. Even if she received the whole dollar, this does not
even begin to reach living wage standards. Through our direct
involvement of the entire process - from gathering the wild shea
nuts and crafting the butter, to distribution locally and abroad
- our members receive fair and steady incomes. In addition, a
large percentage of your purchases will go directly back to our
community in the form of community enhancement projects, AIDS
and malaria outreach, and educational scholarships. We believe
in "building African self-empowerment the moral way" and truly
appreciate your involvement in reaching our goals. Visit our
non-profit organization - the Global Alliance for Community
Empowerment and Alaffia Fair Trade Shea Butter and Sustainable
Skin Care for more information on what we do to support our
communities.
Refined & Unrefined Shea Butter
- the Difference
 Only pure, unrefined shea butter has the true beneficial and
moisturizing properties of shea butter. Most shea butter
available to the general public outside West Africa is white and
odorless, in other words it has been "refined" to remove the
natural scent and color of natural shea butter. In the process,
the majority of the effective agents are also removed. In
addition, refined shea butter has usually been extracted from
the shea kernels with hexane or other petroleum solvents. The
extracted oil is boiled to drive off the toxic solvents, and
then refined, bleached, and deodorized, which involves heating
it to over 400¡F and the use of harsh chemicals, such as sodium
hydroxide. Shea butter extracted in this manner still contains
some undesirable solvent residues, and its healing values are
significantly reduced. Antioxidants or preservatives such as BHA
(butylated hydroxyanisole) or BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) may
be added as well. The end result is an odorless, white butter
that may be aesthetically appealing, but lacks the true
moisturizing, healing, and nutritive properties of true
traditional shea butter. In addition, refined shea butter is
often hard and grainy, not smooth and creamy like pure,
unrefined shea butter. All that can be said for refined shea
butter is that it has an extended shelf life, a white, uniform
color, and no odor.
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Copyright © 2003-2011 Agbanga Karite/Alaffia ~ all rights reserved. | Updated Monday, April 8, 2024
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