A search for shea butter will turn up a lot of results
Lots of people use it and link to their suppliers.
First of all I have no idea where this should be placed so if it's not here, please forgive me and feel free to move it!
I am thinking of trying shea and cocoa butter. I'm wondering how they would react in my hair. I usually use jojoba oil in my hair and coconut oil on my skin. Once in a while I use coconut oil in my hair but then I usually feel like an oil slick till I wash. I am thinking the same might be true with shea or cocoa? Though it's not supposed to feel greasy.
Also I'm considering making my own lotions or solid perfume sticks. I'm obsessed with sweet food scents but I hate all the chemicals in most of the lotions I generally see. I figure if I use some lotion/candle fragrance oil in pure shea or cocoa butter that is at least way *less* chemicals. Unless someone knows a way to get scents like cotton candy, carrot cake or buttercream using essential oils. I'm investigating BPAL but the ones I've smelled so far have too much musky or...I'm not sure what it is...perfumey, not just food like scents.
So does anyone have experience with cocoa or shea butter? And where is the best/cheapest place to buy it?
A search for shea butter will turn up a lot of results
Lots of people use it and link to their suppliers.
Even though I'm in Australia, I'm prepared to pay the extra (freight) to buy mine from Chagrin Valley. The lotion bars containing shea butter for the face and the whipped shea butter for the end of my braid.
Oooh, check out the Hillsboro Farmer's Market! There is or at least was a booth there with some marvellous shea stuff. They had the most awesome solid bars that are just perfect for rubbing my hands on and then smoothing out frizzies along with whipped shea. In fact when I run out I'm likely to start begging people to send me more
CV has lovely whipped shea and cocoa butter but you can likely find stuff just as good locally. I've seen cocoa butter at the Saturday Market too. You can buy sticks of pure cocoa butter for very cheap at drugstores and Grocery Outlet, but I never have much luck with it in that form, stuff is hard as a rock.
I would say to get fair-trade shea butter. I've found most plain shea butter to be very similar. I looove my Cococare cocoa butter stick. I dream about it. I've used both in my hair. Just keep it away from your roots if you are worried about the oil.
You might want to try Oyin Whipped Pudding. It is made of shea and smells like chocolate pudding. So yummy. I use it every night on my braid tassle, and I think I've only used half of the tub (that sounds bigger than it is) in two years.
~Princess Goblin~This illustration perfectly captures how I spend dream time with my Lily
My favorite shea butter is from www.agbangakarite.com
My favorite place for cocoa butter and other stuff for home-made lotion sticks is www.organic-creations.com .
Oooh thanks for all the suggestions!!!
How chocolaty does cocoa butter really smell? Or would that depend on brand? And what's the deal with the deodorized? My husband HATES chocolate so I would either have to get something that doesn't smell too chocolaty, or only use it on weekdays when he first leaves for work so it's worn off by the time I see him next lol.
OGM can I have my husband come smell yours to see if maybe he doesn't hate it?
Chromis, are any of those pure you think? I am wanting to make my own lotions with them so I'm thinking if I can melt them and then let them re-harden that might be perfect! In fact I think I will drag my friend to Grocery Outlet tomorrow! You think the one on Murray is likely to have them? And let me know when you need more of anything you can't get there and I'll send some up for you.
It depends on the brand a bit. The Palmer's stuff in the stick is pure cocoa butter and should be too hard to pry out of it's twisty thingy. I think the one on Walker should have, I got mine from the one on 1st, but it seems like a pretty standard item for the store...but of course being Grocery Outlet it's "A treasure hunt with every trip!"
I do believe Turtlelily had both pure and blended whipped shea butter and I think theirs was even fair trade. The bars are blended and some have fragrance oils and others EOs. They make them themselves though so they were happy to tell me which were which.
Speaking of things I can't get here, I shall have to take you up one that next time you go to New Seasons. They have my favourite mascara!
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