It took me a long time to get around to trying L'Occitane's Pure Shea Butter, €31.50, considering how many of their products I've tried and liked over the years and how long this one has been on the shelves. The price probably had something to do with it, as it doesn't exactly come cheap.
No doubt there are better-priced options available in health stores and the like, but eventually the pretty but practical retro packaging and the ultra smooth formula won me over (that it was included in the winter sale at 20% off helped too - I have to applaud a beauty brand that puts even permanent stock on sale and not just seasonal or soon-to-be-discontinued items).
So now that I finally had it, what to do with it? Shea butter is ideal for nourishing and softening dry, dehydrated skin, so it should be a wonder product for me. However, it also needs to be melted between the hands before applying and so isn't really a convenient option for all over body moisturising due to the fuss involved in warming it up and applying it to small areas at a time.
1. Soothe Scaly Bits
Shortly after buying it, I discovered a first use for the L'Occitane Shea Butter. I had developed one of those annoying dry, scaly patches on my knee and my normal body lotion wasn't doing anything to improve it. So I cracked open the shea butter, warmed up a small amount between my palms and applied it to my knee. Almost overnight, the dry patch was gone!
2. Heal Hands
Encouraged by my success, I had to try not to appear too joyful when himself complained to me about the red, irritated patches he was developing on his hands in the cold weather. I whipped out my tin of shea butter and applied it to the affected areas, which didn't disappear overnight, but did look a lot less angry.
Advertised
3. Lash it on Lips
Then I decided to try it as a lip balm. I'm usually pretty loyal to my Nuxe Reve de Miel honey lip balm for overnight treatment of dry lips, but the shea butter worked surprisingly well and the smooth L'Occitane formula meant there was none of the grainy texture I sometimes have to deal with in the Nuxe lip balm when it gets cold. It did leave a bit of a white finish on my lips when applied heavily, but since I won't be carrying the big tin around and applying during the day, this isn't too much of a concern.
4. Bump Balm
Applying shea butter to my ever-expanding pregnant belly was less successful. Even melted down between my palms it doesn't have the same slip on the skin as oils do, so application was too slow for my liking, although the hydrating effects did last well.
5. Cinch for Scratches
I had more success applying it my hands to speed up healing where I'd scratched the knuckle area. The hydrating and softening balm really helped the broken skin heal and reduced the redness in a lot less than the normal healing time.
6. Rules for Redness
Advertised
Shea butter has also been a great help for my little girl's raw, red nose as she suffers through yet another winter cold at the moment. I can pat it on gently without annoying her too much and the balm texture means it doesn't rub off easily and has time to do its work.
Do you use shea butter? If you have any additional uses for it, let us know in a comment!
