Though used for many decades, shea butter has risen in popularity in recent years. Raw shea butter comes from shea trees native to West Africa. Fat is extracted from nuts on the tree, resulting in the ivory, easy-to-spread product we call shea butter. 

Shea butter is most recognized for its role in skin care. The product contains several fatty acids, vitamin A and vitamin E, making it a great choice for maintaining your skin's health. One of the most popular shea butter products on the market is lotion. 

Today, Wow Skin Science will be explaining shea butter lotion and its potential advantages.

Table of Contents:

• Benefits of Shea Butter Lotion
• Great Moisturizing Effects
• Safe For Every Skin Type
• Oily Skin
• Dry Skin
• Combination Skin
• Sensitive Skin
• Normal Skin
• Combats Premature Aging
• What We Recommend

Benefits of Shea Butter Lotion

There are many reasons why you should consider using shea butter lotion, body wash, bar soap, or body cream to help maintain your skin. 

• Great Moisturizing Effects

Shea butter lotion contains various natural oils that include linoleic acid, stearic acid, and palmitic acid. After applying your body moisturizer to your skin, these ingredients absorb into the skin and work to support your moisture barrier. 

Your moisture barrier is essentially the wall that is meant to keep bacteria, dirt, and other unwanted grime out and away from your skin. 

When you have a weak moisture barrier, these external environmental stressors have an easier time reaching the skin's surface. These stressors may even contribute to the clogging of pores or can infect blocked hair follicles. The result is typically dry skin or the appearance of acne.

The oils in shea butter lotion work to help retain moisture and support the hydration of dry skin.

• Safe For Every Skin Type

Perhaps the top draw of using shea butter lotion is that it is safe for every skin type. 

Oily Skin

Oily skin is characterized by overactive sebaceous glands. Sebaceous glands are the glands attached to your hair follicles that produce a fatty oil called sebum. It lubricates your skin and hair naturally. If your glands tend to naturally produce sebum at a fast rate, you will find yourself left with oily skin. The excess oil can result in a shiny appearance and unwanted breakouts. Non-greasy cleansers work best on oily skin.

Dry Skin

On the opposite end of the spectrum, dry skin is characterized by underactive sebaceous glands. Most people believe that dry skin is caused by environmental stressors like high wind levels or very cold temperatures.

While these factors can surely cause or exacerbate dryness, it is possible to have naturally dry skin. When you have a low production of sebum, your skin will tend to lack the lipids necessary for retaining moisture. The result may be flaking, tightness, itching, irritation, and the appearance of fine lines.

Combination Skin

Combination skin is probably the easiest to understand but one of the trickiest to identify. It is exactly what it sounds like, a combination of other skin types, specifically oily and dry skin. 

Since it features dry and oily skin characteristics, people sometimes struggle to determine what category of skin type they fall under. Most commonly, however, you will find that your T-zone (forehead, nose, and chin) shows visible signs of excess oil, while the rest of your skin is at risk of dry patches and flaking.

Sensitive Skin

Sensitive skin is the most vulnerable skin type and typically requires the highest level of care. If you have very easily irritated skin, you may have sensitive skin. This skin type does not often respond well to external substances. You must be very conscious of the products you are putting on your skin. 

Certain ingredients, particularly synthetic ones or those with added fragrances, could cause irritation. Sensitive skin often appears red and has a burning, itching sensation.

Normal Skin

If you have read through this entire list and find that your skin does not relate to any of these categories, you may have normal skin. 

Long story short, normal skin is characterized by its lack of characteristics. Scientifically speaking, normal skin is the most balanced, meaning that it is not dry, oily, or sensitive. This skin type rarely struggles with breakouts and usually has a smooth texture.

Knowing your skin type will influence the products you choose to use on your skin. Not every product is right for you. Sensitive skin may prefer unscented or fragrance-free products. 

For those with dry skin, shea butter does not contain chemical irritants known to cause dry patches. Shea butter lotion's high levels of linoleic acid and oleic acid provide a good balance and could help support the skin barrier. 

For those with acne-prone skin, shea butter lotion can help reduce the appearance of blemishes. Plus, the product's high concentration of fatty acids can help promote a smoother complexion.

Additionally, although shea butter does come from a tree nut, it is very low in the proteins that trigger allergies or sensitivities for those with sensitive skin. 

• Combats Premature Aging

One of the top goals of skincare is to prolong the physical signs of aging. Our skin is usually one of the first signs of getting older. While aging is inevitable, aging quickly does not have to be. Shea butter lotion can help reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. 

Collagen is the central structural protein in the body's connective tissues. Two of the many things that it is responsible for are skin elasticity and hydration. The production of collagen is necessary for strong, youthful-looking skin.

As time goes by, the collagen in your skin will begin to break down, and it will become increasingly more difficult for your body to produce more collagen naturally. This can result in weaker, saggier skin.

Thankfully, shea butter contains a naturally occurring chemical compound called triterpene. Triterpenes can help deactivate the destruction of collagen, resulting in the appearance of supple skin and a reduction of fine lines. 

This reduction in the appearance of wrinkles is also mainly due to the hydrating body lotion's ability to promote a brighter complexion. Your body is constantly naturally producing new skin cells. For this production to run smoothly, you also need to get rid of thousands of skin cells daily. 

Since skin cells form at the bottom of the upper layer of the epidermis, the old, dead skin cells will often be pushed up to the top. Issues arise when the dead skin cells stay there and are not shed or removed. This sometimes happens if your skin does not have a healthy moisture balance. 

Using shea butter body lotion consistently could help maintain a healthy moisture balance on your epidermis, leaving your skin feeling hydrated.

What We Recommend

Wow Skin Science offers our own shea butter lotion. We love to combine time-tested ingredients from nature with innovative formulations backed by science to deliver 100% vegan beauty products that work miracles for your skin.

One of many examples of this is our cruelty-free, sulfate, and paraben-free WOW Shea & Cocoa Butter Moisturizing Lotion. This 10.14 fl oz product is both convenient and effective. It contains Moroccan argan oil and is a fast-absorbing moisturizer designed to suit all skin types struggling with dryness.

The formula contains many natural vitamins and nutrients that work together to provide you with the appearance of smooth and supple skin. Our lotion can help maintain your skin and soothe inflammation.

One of the top features of the Shea & Cocoa Butter Moisturizing Lotion is its hydrating effects. The product potentially offers deep hydration to nourish skin, supports smoother, youthful-looking skin, and can help aid in hydration. Use the lotion daily to see the results of the long-lasting and intensive moisturization that shea butter can provide.

Along with being safe for all skin types, shea butter lotion is versatile and could support your skin's health regardless of its stage. Whether you want to minimize your acne or wrinkles, shea butter lotion has the properties necessary to help.

After finding the right shea butter lotion for you, remember to apply the directed amount daily to help support your skin barrier for a more even complexion.