Okay why is there black stuff that appears in my shea butter once it's melted (pics)

[alexstin]

that I can't see when it's in solid form? Please tell me this isn't mold. I first noticed this with a batch of shea butter from Coastal Scents a few months ago. Well, I just melted down some shea from shea essentials and there's a lot in it. In both cases the shea butter was not old. What the heck is this? I never noticed this with the Camden grey shea butter and that's the one I don't like Now, I have read that mold, heavy metal and feces contamination is common with many shea butters. I think I'm gonna have to give up shea butter, anything comparable?

this is how it appears right from the oven in dish I melted it in, all those cloudy spots are the areas of concern:

I scooped a little out and placed it on paper:

 

[chebaby]

Re: Okay why is there black stuff that appears in my shea butter once it's melted (p

that I can't see when it's in solid form? Please tell me this isn't mold. I first noticed this with a batch of shea butter from Coastal Scents a few months ago. Well, I just melted down some shea from shea essentials and there's a lot in it. In both cases the shea butter was not old. What the heck is this? I never noticed this with the Camden grey shea butter and that's the one I don't like Now, I have read that mold, heavy metal and feces contamination is common with many shea butters. I think I'm gonna have to give up shea butter, anything comparable?

this is how it appears right from the oven in dish I melted it in, all those cloudy spots are the areas of concern:

I scooped a little out and placed it on paper:

what the what @ the bolded. i have never heard of that i dont know whats in your shea butter but ive never had it in mine before.
i only use tan shea butter, never yellow(because i heard yellow shea is fake).

 

[alexstin]

Re: Okay why is there black stuff that appears in my shea butter once it's melted (p

what the what @ the bolded. i have never heard of that i dont know whats in your shea butter but ive never had it in mine before.
i only use tan shea butter, never yellow(because i heard yellow shea is fake).

I only use tan shea butter, too. Have you ever melted yours down?

 

[chebaby]

Re: Okay why is there black stuff that appears in my shea butter once it's melted (p

yea ive melted mine down plenty of times and have never gotten black stuff in it.

 

[SheaEssentials]

Re: Okay why is there black stuff that appears in my shea butter once it's melted (p

Hi,

I am the owner of Shea Essentials and I'd like to try to offer a bit of insight into Raw Shea Butter...

First, unless water or something containing water gets into your shea butter, it will not develop mold. Water is necessary for mold to develop - as an example, if you have a tub of regular butter in your refrigerator, it may get old and past its expiration date, but unless something esle got into it, it will not develop mold.

Second, when you purchase raw shea butter, remember that it was manufactured in Africa where there are little to no government regulations as far as the conditions in which products are made. Shea Butter is usually produced outdoors over an open flame and stored in hollowed out gourds which are wrapped in paper to be shipped to the US. Now raw shea butter is the best because it retains all of the nutrients of shea butter, but it can possibly contain debris from the gourds, discoloration from the paper and possibly an insect here or there. Melting it and straining it is the best way to remove these - however it can leave the shea butter a little gritty if it is not liquid shea butter is not mixed with something else.

So it is up to you to weigh the good and bad of pure shea butter. I have found that the benefits far outweigh the negatives, but it is what it is. However, in the description on my website where I sell shea, I do let people know that debris may be in it, I do my best to remove it as best I can without melting it. I have been using, selling and creating products with shea butter for well about 10 years and have never had a problem. I use it straight out of the gourd on my own skin, I do melt it and strain it when I make other products with it.

There is one other rumor that is floating around on the internet about yellow shea not being real shea. The source of this is on particular woman's youtube video. I am not saying that I know 100% whether she is right or wrong, but I caution everyone in taking one person's opinion as fact. She states that the nuts used for yellow shea butter come from another tree that grows in a different climate, but when I ask her the name of the tree she did not know and I could not find any information on it when researching further. I do not subscribe to the notion that yellow shea butter is not real because the importer I purchase it from works directly with shea butter producers and has seen yellow and white shea butter produced in the same location using the same nuts (yellow is colored that way to be appeasing, to look like butter. In some cases raw palm oil is used, in others turmeric, but in most cases it is just the root of the shea tree. My yellow shea is made by the latter (shea tree root powder) and I have used both colors with the same result. Again, I am not saying that I know for absolutely certain that the person who said yellow shea is not real is not correct, but in my experience and because most of the evidence does not point to her conclusion, I am less inclined to believe it.

 

[CrueltyFree]

Re: Okay why is there black stuff that appears in my shea butter once it's melted (p

I've never had that happen to me with raw unrefined shea butter. Never. And I've been buying raw shea for years.

For mold to develop in any thing it has to be a perfect climate. I highly doubt it was her fault that the shea butter went moldy or has other particles in it. And putting anything in the fridge will not prevent mold. Once you see the mold, it's probably been growing for a while anyways, before you see it. That's why it's important for the manufacturers and whoever is making/preparing the product utilize sanitary procedures.

 

[RossBoss]

Re: Okay why is there black stuff that appears in my shea butter once it's melted (p

Lawd, first a mouse in my coconut oil now you telling me that human feces MIGHT be in my shea butter?!?!?!erplexed

I bought 32 lbs. of raw shea butter straight out of W. Africa from a guy who travels there very often. I melt mine down and I have found sticks and one dead ant in there, I don't remember seeing black stuff in mine but I would have most likely ignored it since I know it came from the "wild". I just made a big batch last week and didn't notice any black stuff.

 

[BraunSugar]

Re: Okay why is there black stuff that appears in my shea butter once it's melted (p

Lawd, first a mouse in my coconut oil now you telling me that human feces MIGHT be in my shea butter?!?!?!erplexed

I bought 32 lbs. of raw shea butter straight out of W. Africa from a guy who travels there very often. I melt mine down and I have found sticks and one dead ant in there, I don't remember seeing black stuff in mine but I would have most likely ignored it since I know it came from the "wild". I just made a big batch last week and didn't notice any black stuff.

Where did you get the coconut oil from??? That just made my skin crawl

 

[RossBoss]

Re: Okay why is there black stuff that appears in my shea butter once it's melted (p

Where did you get the coconut oil from??? That just made my skin crawl

Oh, I mentioned it in another thread in the Makeup forum. The mouse was from my house unfortunately and fell in...long story. lol