Beauty and Fashion Inspiration for You

by Janice Celeste

I use African shea butter everyday and I swear buy it. It gives my skin a golden glow that I love on my tan brown complexion. It’s my secret to winning bathing suit competitions on stage at beauty pageants, to keeping my skin youthful and firm, and I’m almost 50 years old.

Using African shea butter during competitions, Janice Celeste is seen here onstage at the 2015 Mrs. United States Pageant during the swimsuit rounds at age 49 (Photo credit: Get Image Ready).

African shea butter has so many benefits for your skin. The SheaInstitute.com reports that “Because shea butter has such a large healing fraction, in addition to moisturizing fraction, regular use of this natural cream can treat many skin problems, including blemishes, wrinkles, itching, sunburns, small skin wounds, eczema, skin allergies, insect bites, frost bite, and other skin conditions.”

Summertime is when we naturally show more skin and if you want that glistening glow, look to shea butter. But you have to be careful when buying it. I learned the hard way that raw shea butter is difficult to work with since it’s naturally crumbly and you have to rub it vigorously to warm it in your hand to apply it. It can make a mess.

Instead, I started making my own whipped shea butter, which is neater to use, by adding generous amounts of virgin olive oil to it in a kitchen mixer. Mixing these two ingredients together makes the shea butter light and fluffy plus you get the benefits of the olive oil too. “According to the OliveOilSource.com, “…extra virgin olive oil has the added advantage of providing strong antioxidants, like vitamins A and E that help repair and renew skin that has been damaged from overexposure to sun, air pollution, and other modern-day environmental hazards – like cigarette smoke and fast food. These antioxidants have the natural ability to stimulate cells and return skin to a firmer, smoother, and healthier state.” Making your own whipped shea butter takes some work and I prefer to buy it already made. I now use Rise ‘n’ Shine Online Lavender Whipped African Shea Butter Cream, which smells great but it does not have olive oil in its ingredients.

My skin became extremely dry after a recent trip to Atlanta. Atlanta is one of the only places where you can turn on your heat and your air conditioning in the same day. That dry forced heat wreaks havoc on my skin. I immediately remedied this as soon as I arrived home. I

I applied shea butter and wrapped my legs overnight in plastic wrap to alleviate discomfort related to extremely dry skin. Editor’s note: This information is not intended to treat, cure, or prevent any disease or condition. Always check with your doctor on the appropriateness of use of any self care products.

applied my whipped shea butter to my calves and wrapped them in plastic wrap overnight. The next day, there was much improvement and the skin on my legs appeared less flaky. Because my skin was extremely dried out, I applied the shea butter and wrapped my calves in plastic wrap again the next night. My legs are now back to normal and glistening. I do use the shea butter every day without the plastic wrap, and it’s worth it. It’s best to apply the shea butter right after showering to lock-in the moisture.

I’d love to hear about some of your beauty routines using African shea butter. Be sure to leave your comments below.

[bctt tweet=”Summertime…we show more skin and if you want that glistening glow…shea butter.” username=”blackparenting1″]

Editor-in-Chief | @JaniceMCeleste 

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