shea butter becoming gritty

[lbtddr]

Shea butter crystallizing or becoming gritty. has any one had this happen. i am still trying to get a good lip gloss but i believe it is the Shea it is gritty. does any one no why or what i can do so it will not do this.

[Ann M]

Shea often gets grainy when you melt it and then it solidifies again. Some people have results by heating the shea to 170 and holding it there for 20 minutes. I have found that eventually the shea would still turn grainy. I have switched to using only mango and cocoa butter. So far they have not turned grainy on me.

Ann

[lbtddr]

sounds like i need to try a different butter. back to making a new recipe i had this one ware i wonted it. then the net day it was grainy

[CareBear]

Shea often gets grainy when you melt it and then it solidifies again. Some people have results by heating the shea to 170 and holding it there for 20 minutes. I have found that eventually the shea would still turn grainy. I have switched to using only mango and cocoa butter. So far they have not turned grainy on me.

Ann

I've tried this several times and it only "kinda" works. You might want to try a different supplier or type of shea. From Nature With Love shea was terribly grainy, Agbanga unrefined (with a distinctive smell and color) wasn't at all cept one time that I melted it down and let it re-harden (other times it hasn't gotten grainy).

It's a funny bird -

[Funky Monkey]

I've heard tale that if you add the shea butter to the other solids and melt TOGETHER slowly, it won't grit. I made some lipgloss here with it, did it that way and no grit. Then again, mine could of been a fluke!

[CareBear]

You have to melt the shea absolutely and completely (yet gently) and then it works like a charm,

[MochaMama]

I agree that it depends on where you get your shea. This is what happened to me. I whipped up some shea with some almond oil, in a Kitchen Aid Mixer. Right after I filled the jars, it was really grea9ny and I got kind of scares. But a day or so later, it wasn't grainy anymore. And I didn't even heat it! Go figure.

[Ann M]

I love AK unrefined shea butter and use it exclusively. The only time I had a problem was last summer when I knew I wasn't going to be using it for the warm summer months so I placed it in the freezer to extend the shelf life. When I took it out in the fall to begin using it again, when it started to unfreeze, crystals were all over it. I was so bummed. I had to melt it slowly and hold at 170 for 20 minutes to make sure the grains didn't come back. It was such a pain. Fortunately it doesn't get grainy in my massage or lotion bars so I can usei it up there, but I went ahead and bought more for my whipped sheas and other lotions.

Ann

[Carrie]

I have an incredible shea lip balm recipe. It isn't grainy a bit...Until about 2 weeks later it gets grainy. I've subbed mango butter now so no more grainyness. I think I may go back to shea and just sell it as better because of the grains of shea. Like Henry Ford said, "If you can't fix it, feature it".