Overview
Even the gentlest relaxer can dry your hair, making it brittle and breakable. Conditioners can help, but they can be spendy, not to mention loaded with chemicals and fragrances you don’t want to put on processed hair. Natural shea butter gives you all of the benefits of brand-name conditioners without the big-ticket price.
Relaxed Hair Facts
All hair contains protein chains called disulfide bonds. Chemical relaxers break these bonds and seal off the ends of the bonds so they can’t repair themselves. Once the bonds are broken, your hairdresser uses a flat iron to give your hair its new, sleek shape.
Raw Shea Butter Facts
Shea butter comes from Africa and is made from the oil of shea nuts. Women gather and process the nuts by shelling, crushing, roasting and then grinding them into a thin paste. They add water to the paste, which makes the oil in it separate and float to the top. Then they heat the oil until it thickens and crystallizes into pure shea butter.
Benefits
Relaxed hair, like all chemically treated hair, is dry, so it won't take much to make it brittle. Brittle hair promotes breakage and snarls. Raw shea butter coats your hair, closing the tiny scales that make up the cuticle, which is the outer layer of each hair. This protects the inner layer of your hair, keeping moisture locked in. The more moisture you can keep in your hair, the more supple and shiny it is.
Warning
Any unprocessed natural product will spoil after a time if it is not kept refrigerated. Don't leave raw shea butter in your hair longer than overnight because it can start to grow mold. It can also attract bugs. Use raw shea butter for deep conditioning, but wash it out after no more than eight to 10 hours.
