Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Let me start of by saying I absolutely love organic unrefined shea butter!! it's one of the most moisturizing and delicious natural oils that you can put on your body and can heal most skin allergies and irritations all on its own. I also waited to write this review until I was able to order a USDA certified organic, raw, unrefined shea butter from Mountainroseherbs.com to compare it with this product in order to be fair. I received this product in a thin plastic container with a lid (looked like potato salad that you would order from your local deli), not in a plastic bag as others mentioned. The faded label on the container said, "sold as set...ready to ship" with a bar code on it. There is no organic certification printed anywhere on this product or ingredients - it definitely not USDA organic. I used quite a bit of the pound that i purchased. Yes, it did have a strong smell like shea butter, but this one was more pungent and bitter as if it was on the cusp of going bad (Pure, unrefined organic shea butter is a yellow/beige color and their is a a nutty somewhat earthy odor that I am used to. Some like it and some don't. I don't love the smell, but I wouldn't use shea butter in any other way, most of the healing properties are destroyed during the refining and bleaching process as is the smell, which is why cosmetics and skin care manufacturers buy it refined - because it eliminates the odor and will last longer.....adding organic essential oils to organic unrefined shea butter can make it smell wonderful - but if your shea butter is white and smells fresh and clean, than it has been been refined and bleached). I noticed immediately that this shea butter had lumps that seemed more greasy than the non-lump areas if that makes any sense - it had a distinct heavy emollient feel to it. I must admit that it did feel good on my skin, I have dry, sensitive and problematic skin, so I like a thick and hardy cream. I still had an open mind, in fact I referred it to my Mom who bought it as well, plus i read all of the great reviews and the fact that it comes all the way from Ghana......hmmmmm, . Well, I used it to make several lotion, cream, lip balm and healing butter recipes that require melting down shea butter along with beeswax and other carrier oils in a double boiler. It took longer to melt down the shea butter than it did the beeswax...more than 20 minutes....that was not a good sign. So, I stopped using it and ordered a pound of shea butter from mountain rose herbs as mentioned above to see how the two products compared. The quality, consistency and appearance were truly a night and day difference. The new shea butter was smoother, almost flaky - although thick, it was not chunky. Additionally, it did not have a heavy feel to it - once you applied it to your skin it melted right in with a slightly thinner consistency. The smell was definitely reminiscent of shea butter, as it should be and when I used it to make the products above, it melted quickly! I did see the review where someone mentioned there was petroleum jelly mixed in this product. I have not tested this product nor will i volunteer to so given the expense, but it felt to me like it was possible something else was mixed in. I would love to hear what the seller has to say about this shea butter as I have not yet seen a singe response to any of the reviews. I would also urge the seller to be careful when labeling this product as "organic" and selling it that way when it is clearly not certified. I will not buy this product again. If you are looking for a natural organic pure and urefined shea butter, this product is not what it claims to be - buyer beware!