Shea butter vs. shea oil?

[Kansas Farm Girl]

I have seen both Shea oil and Shea butter. When would you use one vs the other? It looks to me like the oil has more conditioning properties than the butter, but I have only seen the butter listed by people who use Shea.

 

[allane]

when the shea settles after processing, the olein is on top and stearin at the bottom. It has to be mixed. Since the olein only has small amount of stearin in it, it does not get grainy, therefore good for lotions and lip balms among other stuff.

Allane

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

Thanks. I will keep that in mind when I decide what to put in lotions, but I think the butter would be better for my soaps, when I use it.