Shea Butter Melting!

Bella's Apothecary is dedicated to being a source for quality natural healing options and maintaining that quality as it is shipped from us to you. We do not use any synthetics or chemicals and our shea butter products are made without the presence of beeswax or soy wax, keeping them light and fluffy for an enjoyable experience. 

Being an all natural product, there are some considerations for temperature and how it may change the product dramatically. However, as the company is located where it is at least 80 degrees all year long, shipping shea butter based products presents a challenge. 

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Why Can't You Add Wax or a Stabilizer?

All of the shea based products at Bella's Apothecary are made to have a semi-soft structure at room temperature. When applied to the skin, the body heat melts it and allows for an even spread and a product that can penetrate the surface skin layer. Adding wax or chemical stabilizers would take away from how the product spreads and also introduces these chemical stabilizers into your system. That goes against the mission of this company to provide quality, natural healing products. You can always be confident that no synthetic additives will be present in any of the products made here.

What do I do about the melting?

The very first thing you should do when receiving a shea butter based product via mail is refrigerate it. There are few things as frustrating as waiting for your product to arrive, then opening it only to have most of it fall right out of the container. Refrigeration guards against that. 

The ability of the product to heal your ailments is not decreased by melting unless it was in temperatures exceeding 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Upon opening the container, if it seems like the product has leaked out, it hasn't. Keep in mind that whipping the Shea Butter adds little pockets of air that are eliminated upon the melting process. That is what makes the container look half empty and your butter will seem more like a salve or balm. 

It is possible to take the product out of the container and whip it, but the shea butter has to be very cold and the amount may be more difficult to whip as it is a small part of a batch. 

Products are refrigerated and dropped off to the post office first thing in the morning to help prevent spilling on the way, however we cannot control the temperature changes in transport. It is our hope that this can help those who would like to order shea based products. The alternative is to order in bulk during the winter months, or order the oil version of the cream desired.