Hey everyone!  I was wondering about different types of shea butter and I wanted to find out what everyone else used and how well it works... and oh, this is gonna sound weird but how does it smell cuz the kind I have now dosen't have a smell that I think I can tolerate. 

The kind I used to use was by Wondergro and it smelled like baby powder but it had added fragrance and I don't think it was unrefined cuz it just said 100% shea butter.  Is unrefined the best kind to use and what is the difference?

Thanks ladies! God bless

Thanks Renee, I'm going to the web sites now. I got a sample from Nasaab and theirs is good but like you said, it smells smokey. Just wondering....do they all smell that way?  I saw on one web site where they had a floral sented and a fruit sented shea butter.  It just said 100% shea butter though...not unrefined.

100% usually smells kind of like old nuts to me. I usually get refined, and shealoe butter. I order the refined from http://www.todieforsoap.com - Supplies To Die For  and The Shealoe (my fav) at http://www.fromnaturewithlove.com - From Nature With Love  I like the shaeloe butter because I think it softens and gives my hair a great shine, but I like shea butter so I can melt it and addit to other hair products to up the moisture.

cebnn wrote: 100% usually smells kind of like old nuts to me. I usually get refined, and shealoe butter. I order the refined from http://www.todieforsoap.com - Supplies To Die For  and The Shealoe (my fav) at http://www.fromnaturewithlove.com - From Nature With Love  I like the shaeloe butter because I think it softens and gives my hair a great shine, but I like shea butter so I can melt it and addit to other hair products to up the moisture.

Thanks cebnn. I'm gonna visit those sites right now.  Yeah, it smells kinda like old burning nuts to me.  I was just wondering if unrefined was better though.

Pokahontas wrote: cebnn wrote: 100% usually smells kind of like old nuts to me. I usually get refined, and shealoe butter. I order the refined from http://www.todieforsoap.com - Supplies To Die For  and The Shealoe (my fav) at http://www.fromnaturewithlove.com - From Nature With Love  I like the shaeloe butter because I think it softens and gives my hair a great shine, but I like shea butter so I can melt it and addit to other hair products to up the moisture. Thanks cebnn. I'm gonna visit those sites right now.  Yeah, it smells kinda like old burning nuts to me.  I was just wondering if unrefined was better though.

I dont know if unrefined is better, most people might say it is, b/c its 100% natural, since its not altered to take out the smell. but I cant stand the smell of it, so I don't really care. Good luck

carameldiva wrote: I use unrefined- i get mine at http://www.agbangakarite.com - www.agbangakarite.com  . don't Really know what the difference is but i really like mine. I usually melt mine into oil and use it that way- makes my hair very soft and moisturized.

Hi carmeldiva. Thanks for the website.  It was very informative. I found out that refined shea butter has more healing properties that unrefined.  Maybe this can better explain it if anyone is interested (info from abangakarite.com):

Only pure, unrefined shea butter has the true healing and moisturizing properties of shea butter. Most shea butter available to the general public outside West Africa is white and odorless, in other words it has been "refined" to remove the natural scent and color of natural shea butter. In the process, the majority of the effective agents are also removed. In addition, refined shea butter has usually been extracted from the shea kernels with hexane or other petroleum solvents. The extracted oil is boiled to drive off the toxic solvents, and then refined, bleached, and deodorized, which involves heating it to over 400°F and the use of harsh chemicals, such as sodium hydroxide. Shea butter extracted in this manner still contains some undesirable solvent residues, and its healing values are significantly reduced

Thanks Ladies for the help and for all the websites posted.  I've enjoyed going to all of them.  I think I found a little something from each one that I want to buy.  But I have to restrain myself.  I'm in product rehab.

SWT_BABYMILK wrote: 100% unrefined shea butter is the best to use. I get mine from Nasabb.com I love the smell and the way it feels. Refined shea butter is smoother in texture and in the process of making it refined it has lost alot of it's natural healing properties. It does have a pleasent smokey scent and the color varies but should not be white nor smooth. I have ordered from a few different companies just to compare but I find Nasabb to be the best. There is also West African Shea which is what most  is and East African Shea which cost is outrageous it is said to be more moisturing and oil, in my searc to find out more about it before I ordered it because of the price I found that it can be used for skin and hair but is mainly used for cooking. I am happy with the 100% unrefined shea that I use.

Thanks SWT_BABYMILK.  I think I am going to order the shea butter from Nasabb because I got a sample from there and although I don't like the smell, it is working wonderful on my skin.  I haven't tried it on my hair yet cuz with all my hair I'd use up the whole sample.  Have you used Nasabb's black soap? How did it work for you??  I absolutely love it but a few days after I started using it my skin started acting funny. It was kinda burning when I used it and even after I rinsed it off it still was really sensitive so I had to stop using it.  I think I'm gonna try just using it once a day instead of twice and see how that works.

SWT_BABYMILK wrote: When I first got the shea butter I didn't care for the smell either. It grew on me and I really like it now.  The black soap has been an intrest of mine and I am going to order some tomorrow. I hope it works well. I have used neutrogina on my face since I was in my teens and have had no problems so I don't know why I feel the need to try the black soap but I am. I just started using the Shea butter on my face and I love it too. I have oily skin and shine all the time anyway. But it really dosen't make it oiler. Maybe try a little Shea after using the black soap. It may be too harsh for you skin. A little Shea goes a long way too. If you try that let me know.

The smell has kinda grown on me also and it goes away after like half hour anyway.  I was putting the shea butter on after using the black soap and it was still kinda burning and sensitive. My skin was looking so good...I was so happy but I don't know what happened.  When it started burning the last two times I used it I got scared so I stopped using it for a few days and then tried it again with no problem.  It might just be too harsh for me to use everyday so I'm gonna cut back.  I wouldn't think something so natural would be harsh though.  I really love the soap though.  I will keep you updated.