Why Shea Butter in Pet Skin Care Products?

The Shea Tree

Shea Butter is an amazing natural substance, known for millennia throughout Africa. It's mentioned in almost all African historical documents, including a reference as early as Cleopatra's Egypt, evoking caravans bearing clay jars of Shea Butter for royal cosmetics. Funeral beds of kings were carved in the wood of old Shea Trees, and Shea Butter has always been a staple of African pharmacology.

Shea Butter has also been used for centuries in Africa as a decongestant, an anti-inflammatory for sprains and arthritis, healing salve, lotion for hair and skin care, and cooking oil. However, the protective and emollient properties of Shea Butter are most valued for skin care. In recent clinical trials, Shea Butter was found to help to protect skin against climate and UV aggressions, prevent wrinkle formation, soothe irritated and chapped skin, and moisturize the skin. Shea Butter also enhances cell regeneration and capillary circulation, which helps prevent and minimize stretch marks, inflammations, and scarring. These are just a few of the reasons we use a lot of Shea Butter in DERMagic products, especially in our Skin Rescue Lotion, Hot Spot Salve and Cell Restoration Crème.

Ripe Shea Nuts

We love using natural and organic ingredients like this in all our products, because we know they are safe, non-toxic, and very effective for problem skin conditions. So many pet parents have been led down the path of steroids (hydrocortisone, prednisone) and antihistamines, which only treat the symptoms of itching and which also make the condition much worse later on. And skin conditions treated with antibiotics when there is no bacterial infection will also become worsened. We prefer natural means, and natural ingredients... and what could be more natural than taking the oil from Shea nuts, with all their natural goodness and healing value! And before Shea Nuts are collected, a prayer is said, to simply thank Mother Nature for providing the Shea Tree, and also to show respect for collecting its fruit.

We use raw, unrefined Shea Butter, rather than the refined and highly processed variety. It arrives in our labs in 55-lb blocks, soft and easily cut. It's a shame to use gloves for this process because the Shea Butter feels so delicious on one's hands! It's a beautiful material, full of healing properties and, having been prayed over, cannot help but bring good results.

For any animal (including humans) with dry, cracked, or irritated skin, our Cell Restoration Crème can't be topped. It's made with this wonderful Shea Butter, plus organic Aloe Gel (the kind you might drink), and organic Sesame Oil, which Dr. Deepak Chopra has always said will stimulate the endorphins in the brain when massaged into the skin.

Enjoy.