AromaKaye.com: Frequently Asked Questions (...that we can repeat!) Most often asked e-mail, and phone-in questions: Do you grow Shea butter? "Can you mail me free samples?" How long have you used Shea butter? "Which Shea butter should I use? I'm pregnant and don't want stretch marks." "I've heard that Shea butter can be used on hair. Can I use it on mine? Is your Shea butter truly certified? How much does your Shea butter cost in the retail store? Which butter is raw, and which is refined on your site? How do I know that your Shea is truly certified? What's in your 100% Grade A Shea? Does your grade A, raw Shea butter contain nut shells, or require filtering? What makes your Grade A Shea butter different from everyone else's on the market? Is African Shea butter and black soap for African-Americans only? Are you directly affiliated with the American Shea Butter Institute, or do you receive a kickback from them? "I received my order, now...can I eat it, or use the butter as I would jelly, or jam, on bread, bagels...?" Does traditional black soap turn your skin black in color (permanently) or contain dyes? Will black soap successfully turn my skin much lighter? (We're talking in a "M Jackson" kind of way - no harm intended)! What can I wash with African Black Soap? Can you guarantee that your perfume oils will work in my CP or HP soaps? Can you mail a catalog to my address of your perfume body oils? Do you add cutting agents to your perfume oils? Can I pick up my order, or can you meet me in metro Atlanta to save on shipping? Can you build my website? What do you look like? Are you going to put a picture on your website? Do you grow Shea butter? Shea butter only comes from Karite trees in Africa. Any pure Shea butter purchased in the US, France, or elsewhere, has been imported. (Honestly: I wish I could be so lucky!) Back to Top "Can you mail me free samples?" Free samples are included with all orders, and we are always generous when & where we can afford it to be a possibility. But, because we receive request (sometime asking for over 1,000 free jars, and additional perfume oils and black soap) we do not mail free samples. Back to Top How long have you used Shea butter? About 10 years. Initially purchased from a major bath and beauty chain, and a very progressive private skin care company. After researching what I was truly using, I ventured into using "real Shea butter" and have used it for over three years. Back to Top "Which Shea butter should I use? I'm pregnant and don't want stretch marks." I am not a medical doctor, but I would use Shea with absolutely no additives. What you choose to put on your body, and in your body, also affects your unborn child as long as you are pregnant. This also applies after your baby is born, if you decide to breastfeed. Back to Top "I've heard that Shea butter can be used on hair. Can I use it on mine? Our Shea products are designed to be multi-purpose, and are safe and effective for "head-to-toe" external applications. I answer hair questions about 5 times a week, and finally decided to add my personal experience: Me? I'm African-American, with permed hair and I am very low maintenance when it comes to "hair stuff." I formerly used Mitzani, Affirm, Nexxus...yet, I have successfully only used Shea butter for hair maintenance, once a week, for the past two years. I do have customers with permed and natural hair styles, who swear that Shea makes their hair grow, I can only say that I like it because it's easier than deep conditioning, it keeps my hair healthy, and that simply means less maintenance for me! Back to Top Is your Shea butter truly certified? Yes. We don't play Shea butter games, or casually state that "we are certified by ASBI"; instead, we promise that any Shea butter that we sell as tested, certified, and given a "grade A", truly is! We recommend that you consider whether any tested Shea butter that you are considering has been truly analyzed, or whether claims have been made based solely on lab results from a previous batch. Back to Top How much does your Shea butter cost in the retail store? Prices vary from 20.00 plus tax, to over 54.00 plus tax: 4 oz jar, pure, no additives. Back to Top Which butter is raw, and which is refined on your site? All Shea butter listed on our website is raw, unless it is specifically stated otherwise. We currently have one page with refined Shea. Back to Top How do I know that your Shea is truly certified? We invite you to contact the American Shea Butter Institute, and inquire about us. We have nothing to hide, and are not interested in "playing games" with customers about our products. We like repeat customers! Back to Top What's in your 100% Grade A Shea? 100% pure, chemical free, certified Grade A, raw, African Shea butter - no chemicals, and no natural additives. Any Shea butter sold with additives on our site, clearly lists and describes which natural additives is included, and is further described under each product description. Back to Top Does your grade A, raw Shea butter contain nut shells, or require filtering? No. It would not have passed certification if it contained particles that needed to be filtered. It's ready to use as is. Back to Top What makes your Grade A Shea butter different from everyone else's on the market? Brief summary: our micron method of cleaning is extremely thorough for removing bacteria, mold, and debris; we compare several batches of "certified" on the market before selecting what to sell; our butter is certified based on American Lab standards (Internationa lab standards are slightly different); we purchase from African women's cooperatives, we have standards (both personal and American Shea Butter Institute's professional ethics) that we adhere by; we don't add additives, unless they are clearly stated as containing them under each product description; the only raw Shea that we offer for retail is Grade A; we try harder because we like our repeat customers to remain as such; and finally, we've also been victims in the Shea industry in the past, and know what it's like to spend your last "dime," thinking you're buying quality, only to receive it, and be thoroughly disappointed. Back to Top Is African Shea butter and black soap for African-Americans only? No. The only qualification needed to use our products is: skin! All nationalities, races, skin tones, all colors of any rainbow will benefit from the use of Shea butter, and organic African black soap. If you've got skin, you're in! Back to Top Are you directly affiliated with the American Shea Butter Institute, or do you receive a kickback from them? Despite what most think - we do not receive kickbacks. We like the butter (although this upsets many people). If you have something that you think is much better quality, we'd enjoy seeing it. We are always open to new business opportunities. Back to Top "I received my order, now...can I eat it, or use the butter as I would jelly, or jam, on bread, bagels...?" Please don't. We are not selling any products meant to be used internally. Regardless of how much you like it when it's received, and regardless of what you have heard about what is done with African products: we are repeating - please don't eat our Shea butter, or anything else that we sell. We will not be held responsible for misuse of anything sold on our site. Back to Top Does traditional black soap turn your skin black in color (permanently) or contain dyes? No dyes, no change in skin color. Please let me stress this again, a thousand times NO. This is wonderful, organic, hand made, luxury milled, natural soap. Not related at all to the "gag" black soaps sold in other stores. No changes in color, and no further comment. Back to Top Will black soap successfully turn my skin much lighter? (We're talking in a "M Jackson" kind of way - no harm intended)! I'll just say: the color of your complexion will stay the same; yet, it will become more enriched, and healthier in appearance. Some customers do achieve fading of dark spots on the skin, and a more even toned complexion, when black soap is followed up with premium Shea butter. (*I truly wish I was "making up" this question, but I'm not. It's asked more often than any other on this board). *Four years later, this is still a regular question, so I guess I'll have to get a little political after all! In my honest, humble opinion: any and all shades of black, brown, and in-between...are beautiful when nourished and healthy. There is absolutely, positively, nothing wrong with wanting to even your skin tone, and "get rid" of uneven dark spots and scars (been there myself) but, my dear brothers and sisters: please learn to love yourself, and each other; accept and embrace all the beautiful shades of color that you have been given, and if you can't...there is not a product on the market that will solve the long term problem of self-hatred, low self-esteem, or ethnic hatred within races based on a plantation mentality. I simply suggest that you learn and truly know your history. Know where and why the concepts about skin color originated, what was the original purpose behind it all, and why they still persist today. Regardless of the media's standard portrayal of "beauty," please know that you are truly gorgeous - just as your are. Back to Top What can I wash with African Black Soap? Hair, skin...these are complete, "head to toe", natural, organic soap products. TO USE: please remember that our black soaps contain wonderful organic ingredients that are burnt before the soap is completed. Because of this, they may occasionally contain ingredients that might be too irritating to apply directly to very sensitive skin. Always, wet your hands, bathing cloth, sponge...and rub your soap directly on it until you gather the amount of suds (only takes a very small amount) to your liking. Then apply to your skin, hair, face...for superior cleansing and moisturizing. Back to Top Can you guarantee that your perfume oils will work in my CP or HP soaps? No, our oils are cosmetic grade, skin safe, made specifically for the skin, contain no DPG or chemicals that commonly cause CP and HP soaps to "seize", and are sold to lots of business owners for use in handcrafted organic soaps, candles, body butter blends, incense, perfumed lotions, creams, body jellies, etc. But, we can not guarantee that any particular perfume won't interact with your individual recipe. We suggest purchasing a small quantity to use in your recipe before investing in a larger size if you are concerned about your soap seizing. Back to Top Can you mail a catalog to my address of your perfume body oils? No mail order catalog - we prefer to maintain our web based store, which also keeps our prices down. Back to Top Do you add cutting agents to your perfume oils? No - no alcohol, no cutting agents, no glycol (DPG), no games, no gimmicks. What you will receive from us are high quality, cosmetic grade, uncut perfume oils, made and produced specifically to be worn on the skin. They all smell wonderful, are very true to their inspirations, and last longer than alcohol based perfumes.  Back to Top Can I pick up my order, or can you meet me in metro Atlanta to save on shipping? We are a web based company, and not striving to become a retail organization, because it would greatly raise our prices. Our primary focus is on-line processing. It is the best and the fastest way to receive your order. We find that this system works best for all involved, and allows us to process orders fairly and accurately, based on the order in which they were received. We have found that our added expenses involved in delivery methods (gasoline, commute time...) does not outweigh the benefits of on-line processing. Should we decide to open a retail store front in the future, we'll definitely post it on our site. Back to Top Can you build my website? Nope. Still have a headache from learning to do mine, from scratch, the hard way (had to learn html, Java coding, somewhat) and it's still not completed as far as I'm concerned! I haven't even gone back to edit it - can't find the time. Back to Top What do you look like? Are you going to put a picture on your website? I'll have to definitely think about this one! 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