Shea Butter
Shea butter, also known as karite, or butyrospermum parkii seed butter, comes from the shea or mangifolia tree. The tree grows mainly in West Africa. The mangifolia tree can live up to 500 years, and will produce fruit only after 15 or more years. This tree cannot be successfully cultivated. It blooms from June to July and bears dark green fruit that resemble large plums which fall to the ground when ripe. Each fruit contains a nut with a hard white kernel which is the source of the butter. Before the shea nuts are collected to prepare the butter, a prayer is said. This has been the practice for centuries in Ghana. The prayer is simply to thank Mother Nature for providing the shea tree, and to show respect for collecting the shea tree's fruit.
The traditional method for producing shea butter is as follows: The shea nuts are gathered, sorted, washed by hand, and dried in the sun. They are then shelled and pounded using traditional wood pestles. The crushed nuts are roasted in large metal pots and then ground. This yields a brownish paste, which is processed again between two granite stones, and then churned, (hand mixed and kneaded) with a bit of water for several hours. The result is a whitish paste - virgin raw (unrefined) shea butter. At this point, the butter can be filtered and poured into metal drums, this is known as virgin filtered (unrefined) shea butter. Or the butter can be placing it in cauldrons with water and heated to purify it, and then filtering and poured it into the drums; this is known as unrefined shea butter. Refined shea butter is usually not made in the traditional African way. Instead the shea nuts are shipped to other countries where the oil is extracted from them in factories using hexane or other petroleum solvents. The extracted oil is then heated to over 400°F with the addition of sodium hydroxide and antioxidants or preservatives such as BHA or BHT. The end result is an odorless white butter. Refined shea butter lacks the moisturizing, healing, and nutritive properties of traditional shea butter and can contain undesirable solvent residues. Generally, the mass-market shea butter you find in stores or as ingredients in store bought products is the refined type.
The type of shea butter used by Kindhearted Women is virgin filtered (unrefined) shea butter. One of my suppliers writes:
"The Shea Butter that I supply is made using the traditional (by hand without chemicals) method by native women in Ghana, Africa. Shea Butter is a superior moisturizer and contains remarkable healing properties. The healing properties naturally occurring in the shea fruit is what sets it apart from all other fruit, vegetable and nut oils. Natural Unrefined Shea Butter has the highest percentage of these special natural ingredients and is ideal for healthier skin."
And another supplier adds:
“Shea Butter is a natural product and will vary from batch to batch depending on current crop output. As with any naturally produced product, color and consistency cannot be controlled as Mother Nature cannot be controlled…This…shea butter uses only the highest quality hand selected shea nuts which yields a butter that is off white to pale yellow in color, with a wonderful nutty aroma and a softness rating of 9.” (Out of 10).
Basically, there are three types of shea butter:
- Unrefined: Pure, straight from nature.
- Refined: Bleached white, with many of the original properties remaining.
- Processed: Stripped of its natural components with non-natural components added to make more product.
Shealoe Butter
The benefits of Shea Butter (Butyrosperium Parkii) are found here. Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis) Leaf Juice has qualities that compliment shea butter well. Aloe vera is a member of the Lily family, yet it is more cactus-like in its characteristics. The plant is about 96% water. The aloe leaf contains over 200 active compounds - including 20 minerals, 18 amino acids, and 12 vitamins. Aloe has traditionally been used to keep the skin supple, to control acne and eczema, and to speed in the healing of burns. Aloe's healing power is said to come from increasing the availability of oxygen to the skin, and increasing the synthesis and strength of the skin itself. Shealoe combines equal parts of Aloe Vera Leaf Juice and Shea Butter. The result is a creamy white butter that needs no additional oils to glide over and melt into the skin using natural heat of your body. Remember, as with any body butter, a little goes a long way.
Squalane: "Face Lift in a Bottle"
For thousands of years fishermen have used fish oils rich in Squalene for healing their faces and hands after irritation by salt water. The richest source of Squalene is a breed of shark found off the island of Okinawa, Japan. Over fishing has endangered these sharks, and Squalane from olive oil is preferred today. The difference in squalene from shark oil and squalane from vegetable oil is that squalane has no double bonds, and therefore will not go rancid like squalene can.
The squalane used by Kindhearted Women is derived from pure olive oil. Olive oil has naturally occurring squalane in amounts from 0.1 to 0.7 percent. Squalane is a stable liquid that is odorless, tasteless and transparent. It is non-toxic, non-irritating, hypoallergenic and non-sensitizing. It is an ideal natural emollient, has an excellent compatibility with human skin and imparts an elegant non-greasy feel to the skin.
Clays
Pascalite Clay is a rare calcium bentonite, formed thirty million years ago atop the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming. Native Americans from the tribes Crow, Arapahoe, Shoshone, Blackfoot and Sioux were aware of a white clay with many healing powers. They called it "Ee-Wah-Kee" or "The Mud That Heals". Today, the popular name, Pascalite Clay, comes from a French-Canadian named Emile Pascal. He found his chapped hands healed quickly when plastered with this white clay. He tried it on his face for snow-burn, and was amazed at the result. He filed a mining claim and named the clay after himself in the 1930's.
Kaolin Clay is also called White Cosmetic or China Clay. It is said to be first discovered on Mount Kaolin in the Kao-Ling region of China and brought to Europe in the 18th century. Kaolin is the mildest and least aggressive of all phyllitous clays. Its high aluminum content makes it the best product for tissue repair. The FDA recognizes Kaolin as safe and effective for the protection of the skin, and to reduce swelling, relieve discomfort, itching and inflammation. Externally, it can be used on wounds. It is a very gentle product and can be used on the most sensitive skin types of children and adults.
We're Animal Friendly!
Animal ingredients are used not because they are better than vegetable-derived ingredients but because they are cheaper. Slaughterhouses must dispose of by-products from slaughter of billions of animals every year. The industry has found an easy and profitable solution; rather than pay to dispose of the waste, they sell it to cosmetics manufacturers. We do not use bees wax, honey, animal oil, wool, silk, milk, or any animal or insect derived product ever. PERIOD. Animals are not ours to eat, wear, use, or experiment on. Below are just some of the reasons we choose to create our products the "cruelty free" way:
- Silkworms have feelings, too! Silk is the fiber silkworms weave to make their cocoons. To obtain the silk, humans boil the worms alive in their cocoons. Worms are sensate creatures,
they can feel, and in fact, produce endorphins in response to pain. It takes over 4,000 cocoons to generate one pound of silk. We will not use "silk protein" in our products. Click here for information on child labor and the silk industry.
- Why we don't use honey and beeswax: To produce just one pound of honey,
bees must collect pollen from 2 million flowers. To accomplish this, they fly more than 55,000 miles! Bees are often killed, or their wings and legs torn off, by haphazard and rough collection of honey and wax. The keepers often leave no honey for the bees, not even the 60 pounds that the bees need to get through the winter. Instead, a cheap sugar substitute is left. This "replacement food" causes many bees to starve to death, as it is not as nourishing as the honey they worked all year to collect, produce, and store in preparation for winter. If the keeper considers it too costly to keep the bees alive through the winter, the hives are destroyed. Gasoline is dumped over them and they are set on fire.
- What's wrong with lanolin? Merino sheep used for "wool production" are bred to form unnaturally wrinkly skin that collects maggots
- which sometimes eat the sheep alive. The males are castrated and all have their tails amputated without anesthesia. Sheep are sheared before they naturally shed their coats, so hundreds of thousands die of exposure every year. Unwanted lambs and sheep are sent to slaughter. Perhaps the worst wool of all is Karakul wool. Karakul wool is the tightly curled wool of an unborn lamb whose mother has been beaten on the stomach to abort it. Both mother and baby are killed in the process. Please remember that sheep produce their coats not for the benefit of humans, but for their own survival. For more information click here.
- Ostriches and emus belong to the family of flightless fowl known as ratites, or running birds. Ratites are the oldest living birds on earth. According to my research, ostriches and emus are intended to live and flourish in wide-open spaces where their grace and intelligence can be exercised. Wild ostrich chicks and their parents cover from 15 to 2O miles a day. Their long necks and excellent vision enable them to see for miles in all directions at once.
The "oil" of both emus and ostriches is now being used in the soap and cosmetic industry. According to United Poultry Concerns "(The Emu and Ostrich industry)…want Americans to rub oil from slaughtered (birds) all over their skin as a miracle cure. Instead of snake oil, there's emu oil. But as the New York Times Magazine wrote on March 16, 1997: 'there's no convincing evidence that emu oil has medicinal value. Imagine saying to your wife, 'Here, stick this bird fat on your body'." (Jim Mjelde, Resource Economist - Texas A&M University). We at Kindhearted Women agree with Mr. Mjelde and United Poultry Concerns. We choose to rely on oils naturally extracted from plant sources.
In addition to shark, emu, ostrich, bees, silk worms, and sheep, it is customary for some companies to add other animal "parts" and "products" to cosmetics and body care items. According to PETA, "Rendering plants process the bodies of millions of tons of dead animals every year, transforming decaying flesh and bones into profitable animal ingredients. The primary source of rendered animals is slaughterhouses, which provide the 'inedible' parts of all animals killed for food. The bodies of dogs and cats who are euthanized in animal shelters wind up at rendering plants, too."
Some "hidden" (and not so hidden) animal parts used in the body care industry include: Ambergris - from whale intestines. Arachidonic Acid - an unsaturated fatty acid that is found in the liver, brain, glands, and fat of animals. Cholesterol - a steroid alcohol in animal fat, nervous tissue, egg yolk, and blood. Collagen - fibrous protein in vertebrates. 
Cystine - an amino acid found in urine and horsehair. Elastin - protein found in the neck ligaments and aortas of cows. Fish Liver Oil, Fish oil and fish scales - from dead fish and other marine life. Gelatin (Gel) - protein obtained by boiling skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or the bones of dead cows, sheep and pigs. Hyaluronic Acid - protein found in the umbilical cords and the fluids around the joints. Keratin - protein from the ground-up horns, hooves, feathers, quills, and hair of various dead animals. Lactic Acid - found in blood and muscle tissue. Lanolin (Lanolin Acids, Wool Fat, Wool Wax) - a product of the oil glands of sheep, an allergen with no proven effectiveness in cosmetics. 
Mink Oil - fat from dead mink. Placenta, Placenta Polypeptides Protein - waste matter eliminated by the fetus, derived from the uterus of slaughtered animals. Royal Jelly - a secretion from the throat glands of the honeybee. Tallow - fat from dead cows. Turtle Oil - taken from the muscles and genitals of giant sea turtles. 
Alligator oil - newest and up-and-coming oil, fat from dead alligators.
The Kindhearted Women do not use, sell, or promote the use of any of the above items - or the countless other "animal derived ingredients" available for use by the cosmetic industry.
Why We Use Preservatives in Some of Our Products
There is an old Irish Proverb that says: "In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is strength, in water there is bacteria". Well, we wouldn't know about that, would we? But in respect to bacteria in water, the proverb is right. Anytime you add water to a product, you risk the chance of bacteria, fungus, yeast, and a whole host of "nasties"! Look at the ingredients in any lotion or cream you have around the house - it contains some sort of a preservative.
The preservative we use is Germall Plus®, which leaves our products PARABEN FREE! We use it at the absolute lowest dilution we can and still assure safety. Of course, care should still be taken not to expose our products to high temperatures (like the trunk of the car on a hot day) or to add anything to the products (like water). If you would like further information on Germall Plus®, please contact us, we will be glad to provide it to you.
What's Wrong with Petroleum Products?
Mineral oil is a by-product of crude oil. It is the leftover liquid from the production of gasoline. Because it is abundant it is very inexpensive, in fact, it is more expensive to dispose of mineral oil than to purchase it. Mineral oil is the main ingredient in many baby and body care items. The problem is that mineral oil is foreign to the human body and has many harmful effects, especially on infants. Mineral oil acts like a thin layer of plastic on the skin. It clogs the pores, and is difficult to absorb. Once the oil is absorbed, it must be broken down by the liver. But because it is an unnatural product, the liver must work very hard to remove it from the body. Studies have shown a type of pneumonia, lipoid pneumonia, is caused by mineral oil decreasing lung function. All parents know that whatever is on a baby's hands is eventually in their mouth. At Kindhearted Women, we feel the best choice is to not use petroleum-based products.
What's Wrong with Palm Oil?
Palm has been used for hundreds of years in the production of soaps, food, medicines, and other consumer products. Increasing consumer demand has spurred a dramatic growth in palm oil plantations, which now threaten to destroy forest habitat in areas such as Indonesian Borneo.
As of 2006, nearly 18 million acres of rainforest in Indonesia had already been destroyed by plantation owners. In both Indonesia and Malaysia, palm oil plantations are the primary cause of permanent rainforest loss. The number of species that live on Borneo alone is immense: 210 mammals, 420 birds, 254 reptiles, 100 amphibians, and 368 freshwater fish. There is a similar diversity on Sumatra, and many of the species that live on these islands cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
We at Kindhearted Women have made the decision not use palm oil in our products unless we are assured it is sustainable palm oil. Further, we will use alternatives to palm whenever possible.
Max Green Products
- Scalp Rescue Shampoo Ingredients: Water, Glycyrrhiza Glabra* (licorice) Root, Tussilago Farfara+ (coltsfoot) Leaf, Achillea Millefolium* (yarrow), Salix Alba* (willow), Tabebuia Impetiginosa* (pau díarco), Arctium Lappa* (burdock) Root, Berberis Aquifolium (mahonia), Calendula Officinalis* (calendula), Equisetum Arvense* (horsetail), Urtica Dioica* (nettles), Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate (coconut derived surfactant), Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine (coconut derived surfactant), Sucrose Cocoate (sugar/coconut emulsifier), Coco-Betaine (coconut derived surfactant), Leptospermum Petersonii (lemon tea tree), Melaleuca Alternifolia* (tea tree), Lavandula Angustifolia* (lavender), Pelargonium Capitatum* (geranium), Rosemarinus Officinalis* (rosemary), Oryzanol (rice extract), Hydrolysed Soy Protein (hair strengthener), Glycerin (vegetable source), Panthenol (pro vitamin B5), Sodium Chloride (solar sea salt), Macadamia Ternifolia* (macadamia) Seed Oil, Parfum (fragrance of plant origin), Alcohol (from sugar cane), Xanthan Gum, Ascorbyl Palmitate (vitamin C ester), Aloe Barbadensis* (aloe vera) Leaf, Mixed Tocopherols (plant derived GMO-free vitamin E).
* Organic + Wildcrafted
- Chap Defense Lip Balm Ingredients: Helianthus Annus* (GMO-free sunflower) Seed Oil, Euphorbia Cerifera (candelilla) Wax, Simmondsia Chinensis* (jojoba) Seed Oil, Copernicia Cerifera (carnauba) Wax, Cocos Nucifera* (coconut) oil, Mentha Piperita* (peppermint), Garcinia Indica* (kokum) Butter, Squalane (olive oil derived), Rosa Moschata* (rosehip) Seed Oil, Melaleuca Alternifolia* (tea tree), Aloe Barbadenis* (aloe vera) Leaf, Mixed Tocopherols (plant derived GMO-free vitamin E), Lysine (soy derived amino acid).
* Organic + Wildcrafted
