Unrefined shea butter/ *dirty* is normal?

[SHELIAANN1969]

Ok folks, I was running low on Shea Butter so I decided to buy 10 pounds in bulk. I bought 10 pounds about 3 years ago and it has lasted that long, I keep it in a 3 gallon bucket, in a bag, tightly sealed and have never had any issues with it except for it being a little on the dry side after all this time. After it gets warmed up though, it's all good.

When I bought that Shea butter, it came in a box, in a block and was creamy and clean.

This new shea I got, came in 4 separate ziplock bags, all chunked up, messy looking, dirty looking and just plain not appealing to the eye.(it was all messy, sticking to the bag, very unprofessional looking)

Maybe the one I got before was refined, I don't remember, I don't even remember where I got it from.

I did try the shea, smoothed it on, it melts easy and smells wonderful and is very silky on my skin :D yay But it looks nasty, dirty, smudgy and funky.

Since I have only ever had one other batch, I am unsure if this is the norm before I leave feedback or contact the seller. I don't want to complain if it's normal, but if it's unacceptable, I will be emailing soon.

Thanks for any info.


ETA: I just looked at the listing again, it says Pure UNRefined Raw, but I don't think it's raw, raw means unprocessed in any way.

The pictures they have do not depict what I received either. :rolleyes:

[Opal25]

Hi Sheliann, I don't think this is normal for Shea Butter. I have ordered shea butter for the past 5+ years & never once received dirty looking Shea Butter thank God. From what I know Shea Butter is suppose to be a creamy, very light hint of yellow with a nutty smell if it is unrefined.

Hope this helps.

I am about to purchase some more Shea Butter & in bulk this time from a new source. If you'd like I can PM you their info.

[SHELIAANN1969]

I knew it, I knew it...arghhhhhhhh.


here are pics

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c54/SHELIAANN1969/New%20Pics/myshea.jpg
this is the last of my old batch

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c54/SHELIAANN1969/New%20Pics/newshea2.jpg
new batch, put into bucket instead of ziplock bags

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c54/SHELIAANN1969/New%20Pics/SHEASTREAKS.jpg
streaks of ?

[Hedera]

That's pretty much what the unrefined shea-butter looked like that I bought a few years ago - and it's excellent stuff!
(although my skin likes it better than my hair)

If you melt it, it tends to get creamier and more even-looking when it hardens up again.

[LutraLutra]

My virgin shea is pretty, erm, 'funky' looking.
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i80/princessaldatma/sheaoct08.jpg
Some areas are white, some are sort of stringy less opaque yellowy. It smells pretty strong too, but I love it.

[SHELIAANN1969]

Ok, thanks for the posts, I was wondering what the deal was. It has dirty streaks and looks nothing like my old shea. ack.

I love the smell and feel of it, but I was afraid it was unsanitary or contaminated in some way.

So, do you all think it's ok? It seems fine by smell and touch, but I am concerned about the streaks.

[Euphony]

I buy mine from Agbanga Karite (http://shop.agbangakarite.com/category.sc?categoryId=2), it's incredible stuff! This is the best I've ever found. But part of why it's the best is because the ladies stir it for hours and hours and hours over an open fire, the open fire can cause some problems :wink: We've found the occasional twig and ash in it. We melt the stuff down to a liquid and then strain it into containers.

Another reason it's the best is because the owner is from Togo and the yummy stuff they get from Togo is totally fair trade, they support that community and pay well for their stuff!

ETA: Pure refined raw would be an oxymoron. There's no way it can be refined and raw. If it is refined it will be white (very white, not just off white) and have no scent.

[LutraLutra]

I think you're probably fine. You could try a patch test from one of the most funky chunks (!) and see how that goes, also maybe email the person you bought it from just in case it was a bad batch, although I's say it's just natural variation.

[SHELIAANN1969]

euphony, it was UN refined, grrrrrr, I mis-spelled it! :D

Thanks LutraLutra, I did email the seller and now she says she has white/off white/ and yellow, but that wasn't the case on ebay, I don't care about the color, I was afraid of contamination or dirt.

If you all say it's ok, I'm cool with it, it's contained in a bucket and it does smell ok and feel ok, it just looked funky.

[freznow]

Mine looks a lot like that. It has black specks, not streaks, but it's all clumpy and such just the same. I love it, and see no reason that the black specks/streaks mean anything bad.

[Opal25]

It doesn't look too bad I imagined something much darker.... Ask the seller what they used to store shea butter in (maybe it was just a dusty container) or maybe he or she could explain the what the streaks are from.

[SHELIAANN1969]

It doesn't look too bad I imagined something much darker.... Ask the seller what they used to store shea butter in (maybe it was just a dusty container) or maybe he or she could explain the what the streaks are from.

I did email her and she said that it has not been strained, the top of the bucket wasn't really a total representation of the amount of streakiness that was in the shea.

She said some people melt it then strain it, which is what Euphony said too, so I decided since it smells and feels yummy, I will just deal with it and it may be the best thing I have ever used. ;)

I got 10 pounds for 60.59 with shipping, so it was a pretty good deal. She was really nice when I emailed and was willing to take it back, but I decided it was ok in the end.

:D

[Anje]

The stuff I bought a while back looked a bit like that, with that slightly darker color. No streaks, though, but if they're not gritty like dirt when you melt it with your hands, I wouldn't worry. I did notice that when it started to get lighter in color (especially around the edges), it started to smell a little nasty, too, so I suspect that shea butter normally gets pale when it's going off.

[Dolly]

I buy mine from Agbanga Karite (http://shop.agbangakarite.com/category.sc?categoryId=2), it's incredible stuff! This is the best I've ever found. But part of why it's the best is because the ladies stir it for hours and hours and hours over an open fire, the open fire can cause some problems :wink: We've found the occasional twig and ash in it. We melt the stuff down to a liquid and then strain it into containers.

Another reason it's the best is because the owner is from Togo and the yummy stuff they get from Togo is totally fair trade, they support that community and pay well for their stuff!

ETA: Pure refined raw would be an oxymoron. There's no way it can be refined and raw. If it is refined it will be white (very white, not just off white) and have no scent.


Agbanga Karite is absolutely the BEST unrefined shea on the market! And, I used to re-package and re-sell shea that I had bought in bulk......I went through A LOT of suppliers before I found AK......their shea is top-notch.

[curls2grow]

Just wanted to pop in to say that I have whipped unrefined shea butter that I bought a while ago and it's the color of yours, works great, smells fine (for unrefined). I was looking at your pics and thinking your batch looked good to me! I hope it's all still working well for you.

[Twitter]

That looks exactly like the shea butter I got from Organic Creations, it's great stuff.

[SHELIAANN1969]

I just scraped one of the streaks off, I believe it's ashes, lol. Derrrrrrr (that's what it smells like)

I am sure it's fine, geez, am I a dweeb or what? :rolleyes:

I may try melting some and straining it to see what results I get, there are quite a few chunks of nut shells and some ashy stuff, it isn't totally nasty, but when something looks ashy/streaky/dirty, it makes me *think* it's not up to par. I guess it's all about perception.

I mean, am I crazy? It smells wonderful and melts like silk! I need to learn to NOT judge something by the outward appearance, I almost sent something back that will most like be better than the shea I had before.

Thanks for all the replies! :D

[Opal25]

I did email her and she said that it has not been strained, the top of the bucket wasn't really a total representation of the amount of streakiness that was in the shea.

She said some people melt it then strain it, which is what Euphony said too, so I decided since it smells and feels yummy, I will just deal with it and it may be the best thing I have ever used. ;)

I got 10 pounds for 60.59 with shipping, so it was a pretty good deal. She was really nice when I emailed and was willing to take it back, but I decided it was ok in the end.

:D

Sounds like a good deal; am glad the seller provided some explanation.
:D

[Norai]

Yep, sounds totally normal for unrefined shea butter - it has more "good stuff" in it than refined. Don't ask me what the "good stuff" entails though, lol. You could probably melt it all down and strain it through a cheesecloth into old jars or tupperware or somesuch if you wanted.

[sheddy1]

I've seen this. I would hope brown streaks are ash and not a biohazard, if you get my drift.

[reilly0167]

I like my Shea butter refined i can't take the smell of it unrefined. I find no difference between the two as far as how it make my hair feel. With the refined I can also use it as a body butter and add a scent if I wanted to, with no funky smell.