African shea butter good for eczema...who would have thunk it !

African shea butter has taken the world by storm. And we also know it has many uses. Eczema has been shown to respond well to it.

The condition known as eczema usually occurs in persons with a family history of allergies. When people with eczema are exposed to a trigger factor, inflammation-producing cells travel to the skin and release chemicals that make the skin dry and flakey and may cause itching and redness. Common trigger factors are allergens, environment changes, infections, and psychological stress. In some cases it occurs early in childhood and goes away with age. But for others it comes much later in life and just want to stick around.

Since eczema dries out the skin, the most direct way to treat eczema is to help the skin regain its moisture retention capacity. When a moisturizer is applied, it hydrates the cells, but the cells quickly lose the moisture. If substances that work synergistically together to restore the skin cells' elasticity are applied to the skin, then as the healing progresses, the cells continue to admit moisture as before, but after the healing are better able to keep it from escaping.

African shea butter is a wonderful agent for revitalizing our skin cells so that they regain their moisture retention capacity. Unrefined african shea butter not only contains a high moisturizing fraction, but also contains an extraordinarily high healing fraction. To enhance the african shea butter's ability to reverse the effects of eczema it is sometimes best to use the african shea butter after gettng out of the shower.

The secret to this is african shea butters on-saponifiable fatty acids. Especially oleic and stearic acid are major components of a african shea butter formulation, which makes it very useful for various skin problems. They hydrate the skin and help prevent wrinkles and other signs of aging. African shea butter effectively combats various skin problems by restoring the lipid balance in the skin and hence rejuvenates the epidermal cells.

African shea butter comes in many forms. One can use it in soap form in the shower or tub. Then afterwards use african shea butter in lotion or cream form to moisturize your body.Making african shea butter part of your morning regimene along with other healthy acitivites can reduce your chances of a flareup.