Everyone wants to look their best. We spend so much time and money on haircuts, wardrobe, physical fitness, and diet but one thing that so often gets overlooked is our skin.
I think a big part of that is the helplessness we feel when it comes to our skin. You get what you’re born with and there’s not much else to it than that.
We bathe, and if we’re particularly hygienic we use a facecloth in the mornings, and the rest is up to lady luck. Well, I can tell you that’s simply not true.
There are a lot of products out there that keep your skin healthy, reduce signs of aging, treat blemishes, and more.
One of the products that have a permanent spot on my bathroom shelf is shea butter.
There are a lot of different shea butter products on the market though, so I’d like to go over a few of my favorites that I’ve come across and go over what makes them work.
Best Shea Butter Products For Men in 2023
- Tree Hut 24 Hour Intense Hydrating Shea Body Butter
- Sky Organics Unrefined Organic Shea Butter
- Better Shea Butter Unrefined African Shea Butter
- Beauty Enduring Shea Butter Body Cream
- Naturise Raw Organic Unrefined Shea Butter
- Majestic Pure Shea Butter
Tree Hut 24 Hour Intense Hydrating Shea Body Butter
Tree Hut makes a tremendously popular shea body butter which is great for use all over your body. You can target specific problem areas like elbows, or just apply generally.
Paraben-free, formaldehyde-free, and organic materials mean you get fast results without resorting to chemicals that can just damage your skin further. Their materials are sourced worldwide, but their products are made in the United States, making them a top choice if you like to support American companies. The cherry on top is that it smells amazing.
Sky Organics Unrefined Organic Shea Butter
Organic is right there in the name, but Sky Organics takes it a step further to produce a shea butter that is vegan and cruelty-free.
Their product is 100% raw and unrefined, and when it comes to shea butter those aren’t just pretty words. The refining process removes a bunch of bioactive compounds like Vitamin A and Vitamin E from the finished product.
The product is top-of-the-line but the feature that really makes this company stand out is its commitment to sustainability, from its research and development stage to its packaging choices. So if you’re looking for an authentic, pure, cruelty-free, and ethical skincare routine, clear a spot on your shelf for this one.
Better Shea Butter Unrefined African Shea Butter
If you like pure, raw materials then the Better Shea Butter is the next best thing to just growing the plant and making it yourself. This is just a solid block of pure shea butter.
You can use it as is to help treat your skin, or the company offers a free ebook with purchases for recipes you can make to turn this block into all sorts of products. I like it as is, untreated and unscented, but whipping it up is a nice option because raw shea butter gets quite solid at room temperature, so whipping it keeps it smooth.
Its natural scent is kind of earthy and nutty. While I admit I haven’t made my way through all of the ebook recipes yet, just talking about it now is making me want to dive back in and try some more of them.
Beauty Enduring Shea Butter Body Cream
Stepping away from the pure raw products again and into something more familiar, Beauty Enduring offers a shea butter that’s mixed with all the right products.
It’s still paraben-free and made from organic materials, but they’ve added a number of other ingredients like aloe vera juice and jojoba seed oil to bring a product that is really versatile.
It’s hydrating, soothing, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant-rich. They also don’t test on animals, so you can feel good and look good at the same time.
Naturise Raw Organic Unrefined Shea Butter
The shea butter from Naturise is another great option for raw and unrefined 100% pure shea butter. They’re another ethically good company, providing an organic product that is chemical-free and GMO-free, and they have a great customer satisfaction guarantee for people who are on the fence about trying the product.
This stuff is great on its own but if you’re the type to want to craft your own tools, they offer a recipe book to transform this shea butter into an arsenal of skincare products.
You can add more ingredients to tackle more skincare needs or just add the right scent to match your style, but I personally like the natural earthy smell of raw shea butter. To each their own.
Majestic Pure Shea Butter
Majestic offers pure, raw shea butter that comes in a manageable container that’s great for fitting into a bathroom cabinet or bringing in your travel kit. A lot of pure shea butter come in a full block form that can be a bit tedious to cart around, so I like having a small jar for convenience.
The consistency is kind of like cold butter, which you warm up with your hands and then apply directly to your skin or hair. The company doesn’t test on animals and is GMO-free, and they source straight from Ghana in West Africa and to be packaged and distributed from the United States.
They’re actually a small family-owned business that has grown to become worldwide distributors.
Best Shea Butter Skincare Products for Men: Buying Guide and FAQs
There are so many choices when it comes to skincare products, it can be mind-boggling just to pick out the right shea butter.
Hopefully, this breakdown of some of the more popular options helps you to figure out what it is you’re looking for.
There are no right or wrong answers here, just different choices for different lifestyles. Whether you just want something to grab on the go or you want to build up your own DIY skincare empire, there are shea butter options that fit the specific needs that you can add to your daily routine.
The one feature they all have in common is they’ll make your skin look and feel great, so you can pick from this list worry-free and still come out a winner.
What is Shea Butter
Shea butter is nothing other than extract from the nuts of the shea tree that can be found in Africa. It is a fatty oil that is solid at warm temperatures and has mostly white or ivory color.
Shea butter is a one-stop ingredient in skincare products thanks to its moisturizing ability. The raw, natural form can be really found in a huge variety of cosmetics products and has multiple benefits. We are talking about wrinkles and facial lines reduction, or help soothe skin conditions like dermatitis, psoriasis, or eczema.
Why is Shea Butter So Good?
Shea butter is a natural moisturizer and that’s a reason why you can find it in skincare products like moisturizers, creams, lotions, and emulsions for skin and hair.
It has also a great anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and contains vitamins A and E, which help you to keep your skin healthy and protect it against the sun. Yes, shea butter has a natural sun protection factor (SPF) but only around 3 or 4.
Benefits of Using Shea Butter
- Moisturizes dry skin
- Helps treat acne and blemishes
- It can help soothe skin conditions like eczema, dermatitis or psoriasis
- It can help you soothe insect bites
- Reduces skin inflamamation
- It may restore the elasticity of the skin
- Reduces razor irritation
- Helps to reduce stretch marks
- It may repair damaged hair
- Can be used as a natural conditioner
- Soothe muscle pain, rheumatism, and arthritis
Refined vs Unrefined Shea Butter
There are two main versions of shea butter… refined or unrefined. But what is the difference between these two? Simply put, unrefined shea butter is the pure form of shea butter with all the vitamins, minerals, and all benefits it has.
Since the unrefined shea butter has to undergo a simple filtration process using cheesecloth, clays, or some other methods, the scent, texture, and color may vary. However, when done, the shea butter is melted and sold in the form of bars or sticks.
Refined shea butter, same as the unrefined version, undergoes the basic filtration process but has to proceed with the deodorizing process by using chemicals. It is also bleached to make the butter whiter, and smoother.
So, as you see, the refined shea butter loses lots of benefits against the unrefined thought processing.