BULK: Certified Grade A Shea Butter, Soaper's Shea, & "Real" African Black Soap AromaKaye.com ©2002-05   African Shea Butter, "Butyrospermum Parkii," is a fatty extract removed from the nuts of African Karite trees. Growing wild along the African Savannah, Karite trees produce tiny nut-like fruits, that take approximately 50 years to reach maturity. Once ripened, African women within local villages, harvest the Shea nuts, using a labor intensive, pain-stakingly slow process, all in order to extract 100%, natural Shea butter. This process has occurred for hundreds of years throughout Africa. Processing this also edible fruit, is a deeply engrained, ancient part of its history. It has been reported, that as far back as Cleopatra's reign, Egyptian caravans commonly transported treasured jars of Shea butter, for its cosmetic benefits and varied uses.  Shea butter is also highly valued in European countries, for the manufacture of exclusive, upscale chocolates. It  has only recently attracted the attention of many US cosmetic, healthcare, science, and food industries because of it's proven beneficial healing and biological properties. AromaKaye has offered certified, Grade A, unrefined Shea butter before it became a cosmetic fad. Why certified? Because certified Shea butters are currently the only proven premium Shea butter products in the United States, as reported by the American Shea Butter Institute, in Columbus, GA. ASBI is the current American lead advocacy organization, that establishes strict standards and guidelines for producers and sellers of African Shea butter. They provide results driven facts, based on in-depth knowledge and research. Grade A, premium African Shea butter is the only Shea that has been researched, and proven to be effective for ASBI's "21 Reasons to Use Shea Butter." Summary: Our butter is therapeutic grade, and lab tested, based on strict ASBI standards. We are proud to offer what we consider to be premium, natural Shea butter, finally available for the American marketplace at excellent prices. AromaKaye's Shea butter has a wonderful texture with a soft nutty smell that diminishes shortly after it absorbs in the skin. It is moist, and melts/spreads very readily. To use: simply take a small amount from your jar, rub between your palms so it melts, and apply liberally to external areas. It is wonderful, and safe to use externally, in your hair as a conditioner, and other outer body areas. Our Shea butter is also commonly purchased for creating upscale bath and beauty products, for a select few that mandate professional results in elite products.  For additional information, please view our: Why Shea, and Guest Book links. *BASED ON BIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS, AND IN-DEPTH RESEARCH: "a pound of Grade A Shea butter, may be equal to 2 or 3 pounds of a lesser grade of Shea butter" direct quote ASBI, Columbus, GA

Organic African Black Soap AromaKaye.com ©2002-05   Genuine African black soap: freshly made, all natural, no dyes, no chemicals, no artificial additives - imported from an African family residing in Ghana, who have made and produced organic black soap for generations based on their great-great-great Grandmother's recipe. In short - these ladies know what they're doing! Please do not call or e-mail to ask for their secret formulas. I don't have it; and I definitely don't plan on "stealing it from them" (yes I've been asked). Ingredients:  plantain leaves, vitamins A and E, iron, paw paw fruit, virgin palm oil, sesame, raw African Shea butter, cocoa pods, organic oils, and natural herbs derived solely from Ghana, Africa - no artificial colors or enhancers, no chemical preservatives, no animal by-products, this is a natural, vegan, vegetarian (But don't eat it!) formula.  Effectiveness:  preventing and healing acne, deep skin cleansing, preventing premature wrinkles, ridding the scalp of dandruff, eliminating bumps and spots on the skin while improving texture, and adding moisture and brilliance. Organic black soaps also balance oily skin, assist with healing eczema, while aiding in prevention of premature wrinkling, and is also commonly used to remove fungus from body areas. These wonderful soaps are also excellent for general cleansing, as well as washing both natural and permed hair, as it leave it well conditioned, and sensually soft. BULK USE: with a strong knife, cut and slice the soap straight from the block, and use it as it is. It is a complete, finished, hand-made, stand-alone product, that is ready to go. But, I know you soaper's and how you like to analyze "stuff"  ;-)  so, yes, you can grate, chop, cut...or whatever your heart desires, and use black soap in place of other ingredients to enhance your own, unique CP and HP recipes. PRODUCT DETAILS:  Alata organic African black soap, available in soap blocks that vary in weigh 7 lbs. each.  WEIGHT: although handmade from the same soap molds, African black soap occasionally varies in the final product because of the natural density of the soap. You will definitely receive the heavier weight -- totalling 14 lbs. of organic African black soap. SHIPPING/ORDERING DETAILS: This product incurs 3.00 packaging/handling fee, which is included in the price below. This is a HEAVY product (14 LBS) and we charge the most affordable, safe, trackable, shipping method, based on your destination zip code. If  shipping is actually higher than our standard shopping cart calculations, we will email you to request the difference, prior to shipping your order. If you have any questions, or concerns, feel free to email us with your request.   Organic Alata African Black Soap: .14 LBS,  $9.99 per lb.  *Enjoy 25% off:  $7.49 per lb. ($3.00 handling fee included)

ASBI Certified Premium Grade A Shea Butter AromaKaye.com ©2002-05   ASBI Certified Premium Grade A African Shea Butter: Unrefined, No Additives, No Chemicals - shipping may be adjusted depending on your destination zip code prior to mailing. We select the most affordable carrier to deliver your product safely.  *Currently: only available in retail jars. BULK SHEA: AVAILABLE IN MID-MAY, 2005 -- SMALLER "BULK" QUANITIES MAY ALSO BE AVAILABLE. We are extremely picky when choosing what to order for bulk and retail. In three years of selling premium Shea, our experience has been that all Grade A Shea butter, is definitely not created equal, and there is a large amount of fresh butter, newly imported in the states: unfortunately, none of it has achieved Grade A status. After we have successfully compared numerous batches of "Grade A" butter, for what we consider to be the quality that you are accustomed to receiving from us, we will again offer bulk Grade A Shea for vendors and re-sellers. We appreciate your patience! *OUR PREFFERED, AND BEST SAMPLE: SO FAR...has been lab tested by the American Shea Butter Institute and given a superior rate of "A", has been tested again by an independent lab in the USA, has been given the vocal approval of a USDA representative, contains a high amount of vitamin A, is cold pressed without any chemicals, all molded Shea nuts have been separated and totally removed from the production process, is produced by a West African cooperative of women selectively chosen due to their interest in providing a superior end product, is not mixed with butter from various regions within Africa (a common practice), and it is fair traded -- all women and families involved in every asapect (gathering nuts, stirring, harvesting, kneading...) are paid fair wages for their very labor intensive work in producing this Shea butter.

Raw, Shea Butter: Soaper's Special Okay, I finally "get it." I have too many soap buddies that keep telling me, "we're old school" and we don't care about the Grade or the status of Shea. We just want real, raw Shea butter, period. So, finally, after getting some soap samples, and being able (or should I say "allowed") to make a real "lye soap" bar myself, with the help of my soaping buddy Teresa (*smile*) I now understand what the lye does, and all of the technical "sponification sp??" stuff. No, I don't know how to spell it, and I don't have a "spell check" on my site; but yes, I do finally "get it." It was a definite new learning experience, yet I still say, that despite my buds telling me "if you've ever cleaned the toilet with Drano, or ever put a perm in your hair...then you've handled lye already...so what's to be scared of?" Well...I still reply - a lot! My hat is off to all you soaping pros, & I'll just have to be content to try and remember the thing you told me about the "snowing falling over the river" (or something like that) so I'd know how to mix the lye and the water together without blowing up a building! Well...because I can't get my grandmother to make soap anymore, and goodness knows, I have enough to remember already...I'll just have to keep ordering my fancy lye soaps from the "professionals" when I want something besides black soap (of course)! Yep, I know I'm not ready to make lye soap, but, anyway, here's the Shea that folks have been bugging me about offline. To my girls at the farmer's market, calling me about the "butter in the gourds." Well, it's already in a gourd. But like I explained on the phone, the gourd adds to the weight of the package; and yes, it still cost more to ship it. The gourds are "pretty" but you have to decide if you want to pay for the "look" along with the butter. So, if you really must have the gourd, e-mail me before "clicking to order" so we can get the shipping rate adjusted.So, for the economy soaper's on the web...we take the butter out of the gourd, and put it in a sturdy shipping box, just as it is. As "it is" means: we don't filter it, we don't clean it, and we don't process it. It's straight from the tree, from the nuts, to the crushing...to the gourd, to the states, and as close as you can get to "unrefined, raw, virgin, Shea -- straight from Africa -- as it comes." If you want butter more natural than this, you'll have to buy a plane ticket to the motherland!DETAILS: no it doesn't stink, it just needs to be filtered; yes, it's fresh, and is actually sold in a well-known, popular health food store. In actuality: it's good, smooth, creamy butter, after it's cleaned up. No, it's not that old, hard "green stuff" floating around the web world; and no, we "won’t filter it"...just not what we care to do. But, if you truly want it already cleaned and filtered, this is finally an available option. It's thoroughly cleaned (triple filtered) from professionals that knows what they're doing, and who actually enjoys cleaning Shea butter. FILTRED PRICE: $12.25 per pound (as shown below); yes, it has been lab tested based on international standards; no, it has not been tested by the American Shea Butter Institute.   WHAT’S IN IT? Straight Shea butter, with nothing added. No chemicals, no additives, no artificial colors, no Vaseline, no water - just pure Shea.  But, please let me repeat again, just for my piece of mind: it needs to be filtered. This is not the butter that we sell for retail (although I do know that some do, and for much higher prices) and is not the same butter that we sell as "Grade A."Honest suggestion: just clean it, or use it for cp/hp soap where the "lye will clean it for you," or for you more creative minded folks who are seriously making pet products, this will work well for that too. Got your own machine? Then again, this will work for you. For anyone who has called and e-mailed me about making sexual products *cough*...from Shea butter, this is not the butter I'd recommend for your use. I've already thoroughly explained: "why"? Y'all have no idea how hard it was to list this on-line (*sigh*). But, I’ve finally concluded that it's a free country, and folks are going to make whatever they want to make...all in the quest of Shea; and this surely beats answering the phone, and numerous e-mails, about “what other kinds of Shea is in stock?"   "Old School" Soaper's Special ;-)  Raw, Unrefined, Unfiltered, Pure African Shea Butter (not in the gourd): 10 lbs.$8.50 per lb   "Old School" Soaper's Special ;-)  Filtered, Pure African Shea Butter (not in the gourd): 10 lbs.$12.25 per lb Please select from natural almond/beige, or yellow, in the check out cart (if you have a preference for one color over the other).

*New 2005 Edition: THE 2005 SHEA BUTTER HANDBOOK 2nd Edition                  Photo: Anja Beutler, NY, NY       The Processing of Shea Butter One of the Great African Technologies     When we surveyed  463 regular users of shea butter, the top 10 benefits were uncovered:     Dry Skin Eczema Cream Blemish Cream For Softer, Smoother Skin Anti-itch Cream For Burns and Burn Gel Wrinkles Reduction Cream Shaving Cream Dry Hair Anti-itch Cream     Author: Dr. Samuel Hunter, Physician and Biochemist   The American Shea Butter Institute's 2005 handbook, is currently the most comprehensive document available on Shea butter. This knowledgeable handbook is written for the layman, and provides many important topics on Shea butter that are discussed in detail. Inside, you will find hard-to-find, valuable answers pertaining to Shea butter.  Easy to read, this book will also provide the reader with a very clear understanding of African Shea.  At the end of the handbook, you will find the Shea Technician Exam. To pass this test successfully, earns you the distinguish appointment of being a Certified Shea Technician.  The Shea Butter Handbook, 2005 edition, is a must have, for anyone who buys, sells, or uses African Shea Butter! *Please note: your purchase will connect with our shipping rates during checkout (currently: most logical PayPal processing method). Your cart will display 183.01 + 13.99, which equals a total purchase price of $197.00. Thank you for your cooperation. The new 2005 Shea Butter Handbook is also available by mail order: please view our "handbook" link for further details.

Purchasing Shea, and Disclaimers: Purchasing Certified Grade A Shea butter to resell? Facts: if purchasing Grade A certified Shea to resell it, and your final product contains over 2% of any natural additives, this product should no longer be resold as "certified" shea butter. Yes, it should be named whatever you desire, and Shea should be listed as an ingredient, but the words "certified Shea" should not technically be your product name.) When any fragrances, perfume oils, chemicals...are added to certified Shea for reselling purposes, when developing your product line; again, this product should not be legally resold as "certified" Shea. Feel free to email us with any questions. Most often asked regarding this page: "Can I resell your Shea butter?"  Most definitely. When you purchase from us, whether it's for "personal use" or for "resale," the choice is ultimately yours.  "Is your Grade A Shea butter the same under each description; do I have to clean it?" Please scan our FAQ and "Why Shea" links. We do not sell unrefined/raw Grade A African Shea butter that has to be cleaned when you receive it. Our Grade A Shea butters are ready just as they are, and only require use (retail jars), or further packaging (bulk) into your own containers. *Purchasing Soaper's Shea butter: please note, if ordering soaper's Shea butter, cleaning and filtering is recommended. *DISCLAIMERS: If you are pregnant,  nursing an infant, if you have epilepsy, heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes, please seek the advice of a health professional before using essential oils. The FDA does not recognize the practice of aromatherapy. No product on our site is meant to replace the advice of a medical physician. African Shea butter has not been evaluated by the FDA. Do not use Shea butter, ours or anyone else's, if you suffer from allergic reactions to latex products, or shell nuts (peanuts, walnuts, Shea nuts...) of any kind. If you develop an allergic reaction, discontinue use immediately, and seek medical attention if deemed necessary. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO ADJUST PRICES BASED ON CURRENT MARKET FLUCTUATIONS, LAB FEES, IMPORT FEES (EX. RISING FUEL PRICES, INCREASED SHIPPING COST...) we regret any inconvenience that this may cause.  *COPYRIGHT: No pictures, pages, paragraphs...or anything listed within our entire website should not to be copied, removed, or used by anyone, for business or personal gain without directly receiving our permission.