Winter has officially settled in, which means it’s time to step up your daily moisturizing beauty routine.

There are so many moisturizers to choose from as you brace yourself for the cold, from root extracts to exotic seed oils, to hard-to-pronounce formulas, but when you strip down all the trendy nuisances, there’s one simple ingredient that we always depend on: shea butter.

From your face creams, to lip balms, to hair masks, this beauty ingredient is the undisputable old-faithful of moisturizers. But what if I told you that your favorite Shea product that is nutrient rich and mostly natural, could be more rich and all natural? What if I told you that all Shea is not created equal? Here’s why.

There are two main types of Shea, East African Shea and West African Shea. West African Shea is much more commonly used and ‘refined’ to make it more palatable for consumers. The refining process, often messaged on the labels and bottles of your favorite beauty products, is actually meant to improve the raw product of West African Shea but this most often isn’t the case.

Manufacturers use chemicals like hexane to speed up the process of breaking open the nuts. Plus, they often bleach and deodorize the butter to remove the natural texture, odor, and color. This process contributes to removing most of the beneficial properties of the original butter.

East African Shea, on the other hand, has 25% more essential fatty acids than West African Shea. This rare East African Shea, known as Nilotica Reserve, can be found deep in the Nile River Valley of Uganda. Going to great lengths to deliver this pure, unaltered-natural ingredient, our team at LXMI delivers this product exclusively to today’s all-natural beauty market. Nilotica is the top ingredient in our iconic Crème du Nil. Without processing or refinement, this Shea melts into your skin, providing healing and anti-aging nourishment in the purest way possible.

The same as the food you eat, knowing where your beauty ingredients are grown is super important. Like any botanical, the qualities of shea butter vary vastly, pertaining to its purity and source. These vast differences are due to terroir, a French term that refers to the soil, climate, and other environmental factors that impact the quality of a plant and its fruits, nuts, or seeds.

If you’re a wine enthusiast (or just enjoy a glass daily…which we’re definitely not judging), then you may know that terroir also plays a critical part in wine cultivation. So, if you love wine, you’re already one step ahead of being your own natural beauty health advocate (thank us later).

Overall, when it comes to making sure you have the purest and best protection this winter, remember that what you put on your skin is just as important as what you put in your body. Using products such as our Crème du Nil will make a huge difference in your beauty regimen, as well your contribution to communities globally.