USDA Certified Organic Nilotik’ Shea Butter is the queen of all shea butters. 100 percent pure and natural, it is nature’s gift to dry skin. This shea butter is superbly soft and luxuriously creamy, it blends to the skin like a dream. Packed with nourishing pro vitamin A and vitamin E, it softens the roughest of skin and helps eliminate hard patches and scars like stretch marks. Despite the many products introduced to the beauty market every year, the most effective by far in softening and protecting the skin is shea butter. Our Nilotik’ Shea Butter is proudly raw, unprocessed and fair-trade. It is never heated to extreme temperatures nor refined, which result in its higher concentration of vitamins. Most shea butter moisturizers contain no more than 5 percent shea butter. In order for a shea butter product to be effective, it has to have a minimum of 20 percent shea butter. That’s why 20 percent virgin, cold-pressed and non-deodorized Ugandan shea butter goes into every bottle of our rich and creamy lotion. Our lotion envelopes the skin with a soothing, silky cocoon so your skin is protected from dehydration and chapping all day long. Genuine cold-pressed mongongo oil and real banana extract both give a soothing and relaxing aroma, delivering stress relief and relaxation while rejuvenating your skin. The oil is derived from the fruit of the Manketti tree (which has the ability to thrive in extreme weather conditions in Sub-Saharan Africa). The Manketti tree fares particularly well in the deep sands of the Kalahari and is tough in nature, as it can survive droughts and massive ranges in temperatures even on the same day. The egg-shaped fruit is not only extremely nutritious, but also has many useful properties as a super emollient and protectant for both skin and hair. Each seed contains a good amount of vitamin E, an antioxidant that helps stave off skin damage and signs of aging, as well as nutrients like calcium, copper, and zinc. Mongongo oil is also high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are known to remain on the skin longer than saturated fatty acids. Mongongo Oil has a high content of Linoleic acid, Alpha Linolenic acid and Oleic acid, vitamins and minerals, which help aid in skin hydration. The fatty acids deliver a protective, emollient layer on the surface of the skin and act as a barrier to prevent moisture from escaping through the pores. These fatty acids can retain moisture and keep the skin glowing, while smoothing out rough texture and diminishing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. Its exceptionally high Linoleic acid content makes Mongongo Oil an excellent anti-aging and anti-inflammatory ingredient. When applied, skin is revitalized and soft to touch. Tammie Umbel, Shea Terra’s founder, has been exploring remote villages throughout Africa for the rarest, power-packed ingredients on the planet since 2000. Shea Terra works with indigenous tribes to discover these potent ancestral plants and minerals and offers these Superhero Ingredients through our concentrated formulas. Shea Nilotik’ Shea Butter Cold pressed, never boiled, this rare East African shea butter is much creamier and softer than its West African sister. The nuts of this differing species produce a butter that is higher in olein and tocopherols. This unrefined butter is exceptional for aging skin and after sun care. Unlike West African shea butter, which can build up in hair, Shea Nilotik’ Shea Butter is also ideal for damaged hair. Mongongo Food of the iKung tribe of southern Africa, the wild growing nuts are packed with protein. They are also brimming with a nutritious skin care oil high in g-tocopherol. The oil is mostly comprised of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The oil is also high in linoleic acid (omega 6) and linolenic acid. Although it is a rich, emollient oil it soaks deeply into the skin providing protection and softening. The oil also contains eleostearic acid which makes it an ideal oil to protect hair against heat damage. Since 2000, Shea Terra has been on a quest for natural beauty wisdom throughout Africa, exploring remote villages, trekking through miles of desert on camel back, and sailing into the depths of Nubia. Our journey has allowed us to tap into a wealth of indigenous knowledge and share these remote beauty secrets with the world. Through our diverse line of skin and hair care products, you can embark on this journey of beauty wisdom with us. East African Shea Nilotik’ Butter is Better for your Skin and Your Soul USDA certified organic Shea Nilotik’ Cold Pressed Shea Butter is superior compared to other shea butters on the market. That’s because shea trees in Uganda produce a different variety of shea butter than shea trees elsewhere. The butter produced from these nuts is softer and has a pleasant, earthy aroma. While both West African and East African (Nilotik’) shea butter offer many benefits, East African Shea Nilotik’ Butter has higher essential fatty acid contentcompared to West African shea butter. The essential fatty acid oleic, which is greater in Shea Nilotik’ Butter, is what gives the butter its smooth texture and moisturizing abilities. It also has a lower melting temperature making it easier to apply to the skin and hair. Shea Nilotik’ Butter is creamier and smoother in consistency and its aroma is sweeter-smelling compared to other varieties. West African shea butter is known for its pungent aroma, so it is often refined, bleached and deodorized, using very high heat, which destroys the beneficial skin properties of shea butter and results in a shea butter that is white. This white butter, often listed as certified organic, is found in most shea butter products today. Because Shea Nilotik’ butter doesn’t need to be bleached, our butter has a natural yellow color. Apart from the comparably better benefits the East African variety of shea butter can do for the skin, its harvest and production is much more ethical and hygienic.In Uganda, shea butter trade follow fair-trade and strict hygiene practices. The mill in Uganda that press the butter is food-grade, therefore, in its raw state, the butter can be considered edible. It never goes through refinement or deodorization. The wild nuts are collected by women from communal lands and sold to Ugandan-owned mills where it is cold-pressed under meticulous conditions. The women engaged in this trade earn a decent wage, which then enable them to support their families through this livelihood alone. This is in stark contrast to shea butter from West Africa, where production is uncontrolled, unhygienic and strips the butter of its beneficial properties.After harvest and manual processing that require intense human labor, which isn’t fairly compensated, West African shea butter undergo harsh processes like boiling and frying before they get shipped to Europe where they are put under extreme conditions to deodorize and bleach them. The result is the refined white butter we often see in many popular skin products.Sadly, the unfair trade and questionable production involved in the West African variety of shea butter enables this variety’s popularity due to its low cost of production. Moreover, even though shea butter products derived from West African have strayed far from its original raw state, they are still often listed as “certified organic”. To us, this is misleading. Brands that use shea butter from West Africa are also able to obtain Fair Trade certification when retailing relatively low is evidence to the contrary. In conclusion, if you’re looking for shea butter that boasts of superior quality and benefits, as well as true support fair trade practices, opt for the East African variety—Shea Nilotik’ Butter. Is Your Skin Care Product Made with Natural Spring Water? How natural is your skincare product? Almost all skincare products available are made with recycled municipal water.That's water from the tap which is recycled from sewage and bathrooms. In order to clean up polluted water, several harsh chemicals like chlorine are used.This is the water used in most products. A believer in natural products since she was a child, Shea Terra founder Tammie Umbel formulated Shea Terra's very first products with pure spring water and continues to use only pure spring water when water is required today. We have years of records from the Virginia spring water companies that we have purchased from over the years. If natural products are not made with pure spring water, they are far from being natural. Yes, our spring water cost us far more than tap water, but your health is worth it to us. Shea Terra is founded by Tammie Umbel, an enterprising super mom, who built the company while homeschooling 14 of her children. Shea Terra grew out of Tammie’s vision to develop natural skin care treatments that would not only heal and beautify those who use them, but also empower and enrich the lives of many impoverished villages and families throughout Africa. Since early 2000, Shea Terra Organics has been working with cooperatives and conservation groups to source natural, organic ingredients in a sustainable and ethical way that would create economic opportunities and preserve wildlife. We share these indigenous, time-tested healing ingredients through our breadth of product lines, which include facial care, body treatments, hair herbals and maternity & newborn remedies. Cold Pressed Virgin Shea Butter Collection Mama & Baby Collection Facial & Body Cleansing Collection African Black Soap Bar Collection Shea Nilotik’ Body Oil Collection Kigelia Collection Add to Cart Add to Cart Add to Cart Add to Cart Add to Cart Add to Cart Customer Reviews 4.6 out of 5 stars 379 3.8 out of 5 stars 52 4.3 out of 5 stars 763 4.0 out of 5 stars 130 4.4 out of 5 stars 70 4.4 out of 5 stars 35 Price $19.00$19.00 $8.92$8.92 $19.00$19.00 $9.99$9.99 $19.00$19.00 $10.50$10.50 Free of Nasties (Parabens, SLS, Sulfates, Phthalates, Mineral Oil, Petroleum, & Alcohol) ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Cruelty-Free, Conflict-Free, & Fair Trade ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Floral Beauty Waters Collection Serum Collection Herbal Hair Care Collection Lip Savior Collection Moroccan Mud-Poo Collection Camel’s Milk Collection Add to Cart Buying Options Buying Options Buying Options Buying Options Buying Options Customer Reviews 4.3 out of 5 stars 184 — 3.9 out of 5 stars 64 4.2 out of 5 stars 11 — — Price $15.00$15.00 — no data — no data — no data — no data — no data Free of Nasties (Parabens, SLS, Sulfates, Phthalates, Mineral Oil, Petroleum, & Alcohol) ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Cruelty-Free, Conflict-Free, & Fair Trade ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓