Just adding my 2 cents here. I purchased unrefined shea from Nasabb and it is from West Africa. They had a 25% off sale and the customer service/shipping was fantastic. They have tons of info on their site about sheabutter. Click on "about shea butter" and then check out their FAQ page on unrefined.
http://www.nasabb.com/index.html
Like you, I found soooo much about what is and what is not, blah blah blah. I finally just went with them. Their shea and black soap did wonders for my eczema, I mean better than the prescriptions. But soon my latex allergy reared it's ugly head which led me to making my own products, and the soaping/b&b addiction was on.
I still use their shea, but not on my face and mixed with other butters. In soap it is fine for me.
I use unrefined in soaps. I am new so I can't really attest to whether the scent would have been different without it. However.......the first time I used it, the soap smelled like sewage when I unmolded it. DH agreed and I swear he can't smell anything. I almost tossed it then and there because I figured it was ruined. But I let it cure and now it smells like the scent I oringinally used.
I have made a few more batches with the unrefined that smelled a bit funky (not the raunchy odor of that first batch) when I unmolded and have cured fine.
To me, the "earthy nutty odor" of unrefined smells like old cooking grease. But everyone is different. Most say the odor dissipates after applying it to skin, but I still detect it for way too long afterwards. I use refined for everything but soap.
Hmmmmm......okay, it was more like 10 instead of 2 cents. Must be the inflation thing.
For those who purchase from Columbus - Is their refined shea softish? I bought some from a supplier who said it was filtered and deodorized using clays. It was so creamy and delish. It whipped like a dream. Others have been the harder sometimes grainy stuff. With shipping being so high, I am trying to narrow down the number of suppliers I use. Thanks.
Digit
