If you haven't heard about the wonder that is shea butter, it is a fat that is gotten from shea trees which are found in various African countries. I personally learned of shea butter from my hometown where the trees grow like weed. Seriously. No one plants them but we have it anyways. Here are some ways you may or may not know how you can use raw, unrefined shea butter.

1. For your hair

As a girl that has been fully natural for over a year now but isn't so into hoarding hair products, shea butter has been responsible for most of my hair growth and health. It conditions, hydrates and moisturizes the hair and scalp.

2. To moisturize

Raw shea butter is amazing on all types of skin. It heals, nourishes, and regenerates broken and dry skin.

3. As a massage oil

To deal with body pains or general discomfort, melted shea butter soaks into your skin and revives it.

4. For cooking

Shea butter can as well be a substitute for groundnut oil or other cooking fat. To avoid the damage that comes with consuming lots of grease after frying/deep-frying food, using it as your oil takes away that problem. As it strengthens and purifies your body from the outside in when rubbed, the same can be expected from your insides out when consumed.

5. As sunscreen

To seal your skin away from the ultraviolet (UV) radiations of the sun, get yourself some shea.

6. For winter

Or very cold seasons. It offers protection and nutrients while preventing skin damage during harsh freezing weather conditions.

7. For wounds

Shea butter works wonders on wounds, bruises, or any of those weird cuts you randomly find on your body. You know the ones.

8. For your lips

Chapped lips are a complete nooo-nooo. Shea butter is great for lips because, again, so much moisture!

9. For business

Because of all these benefits, the demand of shea butter around the world has skyrocketed and people have dived into the business of supplying it. In Niger, Nigeria, for example, women in this business go through the entire process of picking the nuts to extracting the oil. To get it into marketable sizes, it's frozen and packaged into portable containers. There you go--a top-tier business venture.

I always recommend the use of natural products for any and everything and shea butter is just one of the many earth resources we can benefit from.