| You have probably heard of shea butter. If you haven't used it for your skin problem, we encourage you to try it. The reason shea butter is being talked about so much today by skin care experts is that its healing fraction -- the percentage of shea butter's composition that is a natural medication -- is much higher than the percentage in any other moisturizer. | Use only pure, unrefined shea butter Shea butter can be processed in several different ways. Be sure to use unrefined shea butter and be sure to avoid shea butter processed using chemicals (eg, hexane). High quality, unrefined shea butter is available from many sources. If you are having trouble finding a trustworthy source, one website that sells products made from naturally extracted, unrefined shea butter is www.KariteGold.com. |
| There are two types of moisturizers: petroleum-based moisturizers and active moisturizers. Petroleum-based moisturizers work by creating a moisture barrier between your skin and the air. Since this barrier lasts for at most a few hours, in order for petroleum-based moisturizers to work, they need to be re-applied every few hours. Aside from the fact that this is very inconvenient and makes your skin feel greasy all of the time, it has the very bad effect of making it impossible for your skin to breathe. Active moisturizers work by restoring the skin's elasticity so that the skin cells themselves can trap the moisture and thus make your skin softer and keep it from becomming dry. |
| All active moisturizers have a similar moisturizing fraction. The moisturizing fraction is what gives skin cells short-term elasticity so that your skin stays soft for several hours. The differences between the various active moisturizers has primarily to do with how high of a healing fraction they have. The healing fraction is what reverses the effects of aging or the effects of skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis (eczema) and psoriasis. In early adulthood or when there is a skin condition present, all of our skin cells begin to become more porous and less elastic. Our skin becomes increasingly dry. If a substance with a high healing fraction is applied to the skin, then not only are the cells hydrated, but they gradually regain their natural elasticity so that the skin stays soft longer and is better able to keep moisture from escaping. Since shea butter has the highest healing fraction of any moisturizer, we recommend its use. |