Shea butter as frizz control

Control your child’s frizz with Shea butter

Shea butter is predominant in Nigeria, and like the name implies, it is very much butter obtained from Shea kernels. For many generations, Africans have used shea butter for both cooking and cosmetic purposes. Some herbal practitioners believe that massaging shea butter unto a woman’s breasts can actually firm and enlarge them; but that is yet to be verified. For many African women and girls, managing thick and hard-to-comb-through hair can be quiet daunting. For adults, they can choose from a variety of manufactured frizz control products, many of which come in sprays but will leave your hair extremely dry. Africans also turn to hair relaxers to tame their thick hair and though hair relaxers come in children kits as well, it is not encouraged to use them on young children and toddlers as they have been known to burn the children’s scalp and cause breakage to the hair.

If your daughter’s hair is unmanageable, rather than using flat straighteners or relaxers, use shea butter instead. Shea butter acts as conditioner as such, softens hair and makes it extremely easy for you to comb through your child’s hair without bringing tears to her eyes. Shea butter can be sourced naturally or in manufactured bottles. You can find shea butter in open markets across Nigeria and they usually come in their natural, unprocessed state. The butter is so thick and sticky that when applied to hair and it doesn’t dry properly, it can actually add to clog your scalp. It doesn’t leave a very pleasant smell as found in manufactured hair products and can be quiet unpleasant when under African heat. To combat this, you can add baby oil to shea butter, mix the two together until you achieve a very smooth paste that not only leaves a pleasant fragrance but makes it easier to apply to the hair without being sticky.

natural shea butter

You can also find manufactured shea butter by even the most popular hair brands in most shops. The products usually come in bottles, they are creamy and smell really nice. You will still get the same effect regardless but if you live in Africa where you are closest to the raw material, it is way cheaper to buy the unprocessed shea butter from the open market.