Not all Shea Butter is equal

Karite Gold products are not only made from 100% pure shea butter, but are developed from shea butter processed differently from other available shea butters.

Karite Gold products begin with the finest shea butter available, each ounce hand chosen by a Karite Gold American team during expeditions to Ghana, Africa.  The Karite Gold team oversees the shea butter development process described below.  Only the few villages that use sanitary piped water produce the shea butter used in Karite Gold products. This is critical because once shea butter has been contaminated, the healing effects and functional life of the product is compromised. Most other shea butter products are not painstakingly protected from contamination.

The Karite Tree

Living up to two centuries, the Karite (Shea) tree bears fruit after 15 years and produces a full crop after 25 years.  It grows mainly in West Africa, and can reach a maximum height of 15 to 20 meters.  The Karite Tree cannot be cultivated. It blooms from June to July and bears dark green fruits which fall to the ground when ripe. Each fruit contains a nut with a hard white kernel - the source of the Shea Butter.

Collecting The Fruit

Village women trek long distances from home to pick and gather fruit from the Karite tree. Each fruit contains a nut with a hard white kernel which is the source of the Shea Butter. The fruit must then be carried back to the village for inspection.  The Karite Gold team accepts only fruit that is in good condition.

Upon their return to the village for fruit inspection and selection, the women boil the Shea fruit in piped, sanitized water to remove the fruit from the Shea nut.  Few villages have this water available, and  Karite Gold uses only the shea butter processed with sanitized water. The Shea nuts are then spread on a stable surface near their huts to dry in the sun.  When dry, they are hand-pounded to crack them open. The cracked shea nuts are then boiled over a wood fire, while being constantly stirred, releasing the shea butter from the nut.

After the Shea butter is released, many hours of kneading take place, transforming what begins as a thick grey fluid to a smooth, buttery ivory-colored paste.  The fully kneaded mixture is then poured into sanitary containers and sealed, before before being shipped to our Massachusetts facility for the final step in the Karite Gold process.