How Is Shea Butter Made? From Savanna to Your Shelf
In Part 1 we met the shea belt and the 16 million women behind it. Now let's look at how they turn a nut into the butter in your jar.
How Unrefined Shea Butter Is Made
It's a skill passed from one woman to another. Here are the steps these amazing women take:
Collect fallen shea fruits from the savanna floor.
Boil and sun-dry the nuts, then crack them by hand.
Roast and grind the kernels into a thick paste.
Knead the paste with water for hours until the butter rises.
Boil and cool the butter to purify and set it.
That's what "unrefined" means: no bleaching or deodorising. It keeps its ivory colour, nutty scent and full goodness. Someone's hands made that.
The Problem: Hard Work, Small Rewards
Now imagine doing all of that on your own?. A single bag of nuts can take nearly a full day to process by hand. And without anywhere safe to store their shea, many women have to sell it straight after the harvest, when everyone else is selling too.. it could become a competitive market meaning the women doing the hardest work often earn the least from it. This is where cooperatives come in.
Why Cooperatives Matter
A cooperative is a group of women who collect, process and sell their shea together. By working as a group, they can share equipment, store their shea safely and negotiate better prices as a collective voice.
The Global Shea Alliance estimates women can earn 30 to 50% more just from having proper storage, because they can wait and sell when prices are better. In northern Ghana, better equipment cut the time to process one bag from 22 hours to 8, and incomes rose by 45%.
Its a WIN WIN! Less processing time = more money for their families.
That's why, at Ahuva, we source our shea from women's cooperatives in Ghana.
But Not All Shea Is the Same
Where shea is grown also affects the butter you get. There are two main types of Shea:
Western African shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) is firmer and richer, great for sealing moisture into hair and protecting dry skin.
East African shea (Nilotica) is softer and creamier & produced in much smaller amounts.
Quick FAQs
"Why does my shea butter smell nutty?"That's normal, and a sign it's unrefined.
"Why is it grainy?" Small grains form when it melts and cools slowly. They melt as soon as they touch your skin.
"What colour should Unrefined Pure Shea really be?" - Anywhere from ivory to pale yellow, depending on the nuts and how they're roasted. If you see bright, deep yellow shea, it's usually been coloured with borututu root, a traditional West African addition. Pure white shea has often been refined.
Every jar of Ahuva shea butter carries the work of the women who made it. Ready to try it? Shop our Unrefined Shea Butter or our Whipped Shea Butter paired with Jojoba Oil.. 🤎
Sources: Global Shea Alliance, SNV Ghana.
Not medical advice. Always patch test new products.
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