How to "soften" Shea Butter

[rock007junkie]

Right now I am loving what Shea Butter is doing for my hair but I'm not loving scraping it out with my nails. I wish I could make it softer somehow. Do you guys have any tricks to make Shea Butter more manageable?

[Shermie Girl]

Have you tried keeping it in a warm spot? Maybe on top of your fridge?

[rock007junkie]

I haven't tried that. I don't want to necessarily melt it but just make it softer so it's easier to take out.

[Diamond.Eyes]

I put mine on my kitchen window sill. Where I live, it usually melts down to the consistency that I want within a half hour. I'd rather do that then throw it in the microwave; which you could technically do if it saves you time. I just choose not to do it that way because the microwave can kill the nutrients in the butter, or so I've been told.

[rock007junkie]

I put mine on my kitchen window sill. Where I live, it usually melts down to the consistency that I want within a half hour. I'd rather do that then throw it in the microwave; which you could technically do if it saves you time. I just choose not to do it that way because the microwave can kill the nutrients in the butter, or so I've been told.

yes, that's exactly the reason why I'm looking for another alternative. I'm trying to avoid the microwave.

[Tia2010]

I whip mine with my small hand held blender. I put about 1/4 cup of Shea butter into a container and use the whisk attachment on my blender...It makes it fluffy and easy to spread. I like to add other oils to it also.

[MegaMystery]

If you melt it (by putting the container over a pan with boiling water) and add liquid oils to it, it should be softer afterward :) Try it with your favorite liquid oil (so no coconut oil unless that's liquid where you live)!

[Cirafly24]

I whip mine with my small hand held blender. I put about 1/4 cup of Shea butter into a container and use the whisk attachment on my blender...It makes it fluffy and easy to spread. I like to add other oils to it also.

I second this. I heat my shea butter in a double boiler until it's soft, but not completely melted, then use my stick blender to whip it so it's light and fluffy. If you want it even more of a "whipped" texture, alternate whipping it for 5 minutes, then putting in the freezer for 5 minutes, and repeat until it's the texture you want.

[longcurlygirl<3]

I whip mine with my small hand held blender. I put about 1/4 cup of Shea butter into a container and use the whisk attachment on my blender...It makes it fluffy and easy to spread. I like to add other oils to it also.

I second this, plus I whip mine with grapeseed oil, and here's a link if you need it :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3Ok14CgADM

[Sillage]

You can add 20&#37; oil by weight to give it a softer, body butter like consistency. Melt the oil and shea in a double boiler and then pour it into a metal container in an ice bath. Whip with a stick blender until light and fluffy and cooled. The rapid cooling of the shea helps prevent grains from forming.

If you want a softer shea butter, get West African shea which is much creamier and softer than it's East African counterpart.

[Lilhypsy]

I scrape it out using the back of my thumb nail...lol maybe that'll work better for ya =)

[dRummie]

Is my house warmer than everyone else's? I can get it out just by pressing with a finger pad.. this gets even easier once you've got a hole going in the tub :P

[Sillage]

dRummie, shea butter can vary a lot consistency wise. Another oddity of shea is graininess-- some are extremely grainy and will stay that way even after tempering, others are very smooth and creamy. It's just a highly variable product.

[rock007junkie]

I scrape it out using the back of my thumb nail...lol maybe that'll work better for ya =)

That's what I'm trying to avoid. This shea butter is so hard that when I do that my nail hurts.

[rock007junkie]

I whip mine with my small hand held blender. I put about 1/4 cup of Shea butter into a container and use the whisk attachment on my blender...It makes it fluffy and easy to spread. I like to add other oils to it also.

I really like the idea of whipping the butter. Would I still be able to get it to be "fluffy" if I don't add any oils to it or do I necessarily have to add oils in order to be able to whip it?

[Tia2010]

I really like the idea of whipping the butter. Would I still be able to get it to be "fluffy" if I don't add any oils to it or do I necessarily have to add oils in order to be able to whip it?

Yes. You can just whip the Shea butter on its own. It makes a very nice whipped consistency that's very easy to work with... I just add other oils because my hair seems to love them :D

[rock007junkie]

Awesome! I'll definitely give this a try this weekend, thanks.