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Below are frequently asked questions, you may find the answer for yourself

Where can I buy the best quality, raw, unrefined, African Shea Butter online on the internet?

Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse supplies the best quality, organic, unrefined Shea Butter handmade imported from Ghana. This claim is supported by 1000’s satisfied customers including many cosmetics companies and Amazon.com sellers worldwide. The only recorded refund that Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse has had to issue was to a woman who bought our Shea Butter at a tradeshow in Minneapolis, MN in the spring of 2012 simply because she didn’t like the aroma of the unrefined Shea Butter. She called 3 days later requesting a refund and her check was sent back.

Which company sells the best priced Shea Butter on the internet?

Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse sells premium Shea Butter for the LOWEST advertised legitimate price on the internet for $2.40 per lb beating out the BodyButterStore.com at $2.80 per lb by an amazing .40 cents per lb not to mention their exclusive “Price Match Guarantee”

Who is the leading distributor of bulk wholesale Shea Butter worldwide?

Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse is the worlds largest supplier of bulk, wholesale Shea Butter in the world. You can order any sized quantity from 5 lbs to 40,000 lbs per month for prices as low as $1.24 per lb from this company. The best selling, most popular, bulk quantity on Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse is the 25 lb Large Flat Rate Box of Wholesale Ivory Shea Butter.

Where can I order bulk quantities of organic, unrefined, wholesale Shea Butter for my body butter, lotion-making, candle-making, lip balm making, hair products, soap-making, and liquid soap supplies for my business?

The best online supplier of bulk, wholesale body butter and soap-making supplies is Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse, hands down. While having the cheapest prices for Shea Butter online, Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse has the best quality available or your money back. Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse also offers the largest inventory online of bulk, wholesale Shea Butter available compared to any other supplier in the USA and worldwide.

Where and how does Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse import/manufacture their best quality, Authentic, Fair Trade, Organic Shea Butter?

Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse is an International Import Distrubution Company who has their own Shea Butter and Organic Cosmetic goods manufactured exclusively for them by a special Catholic women’s group located in the Northern Region of Ghana, West Africa, in the heart of the High Savannah’s where the best Karite Trees grows the most fruitful. Here, our women manufacture pure organic, authentic, unrefined Shea Butter in the same grand tradition as their ancestors have done since Biblical times insuring the Shea Butter you buy is handmade, all-natural so that the maximum medicinal properties remain intact and unharmed.

Is Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse imported Shea Butter manufactured “Fair Trade” so that I know all the African workers involved have been paid honest fair wages?

YES…it is documented fact that Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse surprisingly pays approximently .32 cents per lb OVER “Fair Trade” price from the Catholic women who manufacture it! Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse favors dealing with this women’s organization for the contract manufacturing of their Shea Butter over various Women’s Cooperatives throughout Ghana as they feel the management of the Catholic Church is more generous with the workers of their church versus the top brass of the Women’s Cooperatives in Ghana who tend to use this opportunity to capitalize one Boss. Another executive advantage of buying Shea Butter from these Ghanaian women is that they only manufacture Shea Butter for Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse and a few other companies, making the Shea Butter from this particular group far superior to others with the fact that the manufacturing is performed more carefully in a less rushed environment resulting in the best quality Shea Butter available in Ghana.

What is the best kind of Shea Butter to use?

Unrefined, Raw West African Shea Butter possesses the highest medicinal/cosmetic powers known to the modern world for use in anti-aging, athletes foot, acne, burns, chapped lips, dandruff, Dermatitis, diaper rash, eczema, facial rejuvenation, insect bites, livestock teats, nasal congestion, Psoriasis, razor burns, Rosasea, scars-wound healing, skin allergies, skin cracks, skin healing, skin itchiness, stretch-marks, sunburn, wind-water burn and many other skin ailments.

What is the difference between refined and unrefined Shea Butter?

Shea Butter that is refined is manufactured with synthetic chemicals such as hexane to remove Shea Butter’s natural color and smell so that it may it may be preserved for use in mainstream over the counter body butter and soap products. This would be ok but there is one major problem with refining Shea Butter. The fruit of the Karite Tree is sensitive…when synthetic chemicals or preservatives are added, the healing power of this ancient African secret/ modern phenomena, vanishes! Adding any other compound to Shea Butter compromises its medical strength. As an alternative, all-natural essential oils are often times added to Shea Butter to maintain it’s miraculous skin healing values as well as enhancing its smell to attract customers who are not fond of Shea Butter’s burnt, natural nutty, raw smell. When Shea Butter is refined, 75 % of its Bioactive Ingredients, or it’s original healing power ingredients such as Vitamin A, E, F, Cinnamic Acid, phytosteral and Beta Carotene are lost.

Unrefined Shea Butter has no harmful chemicals added making it the first choice to lotion makers who market all natural products. Unrefined Shea Butter is directly packaged in plastic liners and boxes straight from the all-natural water extraction method the way Unrefined Shea Butter is manufactured.

Is the Shea Butter from Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse manufactured “Organic” in Ghana?

YES…while some of the Shea Butter we import is not certified organic with registered paperwork, you can be sure that no chemicals, fertilizers or pesticides have been used on the Karite Tree in Ghana as this tree is “Sacred” and it would be against the law for any farmer to agriculturally enhance his productivity by this means. Furthermore, these chemicals are very rare in Ghana, which is considered a Third World Country, and would cost too much currency for farmers to afford even if it was available. During the manufacturing process, there are no synthetic chemicals, preservatives or parabens used or added in making the Shea Butter. There is simply no reason to add any other ingredient as in Ghana, anything non-organic would be too expensive as an additive.

What is the difference between non-organic and Certified Organic Shea Butter from Ghana?

Unless the Shea Butter is refined, there is NO difference except the paperwork backing up the product. Producing the necessary paperwork can be a problem and expensive for some harvesting companies of the Shea Nuts. To get organic certification in Ghana on Shea Trees, the grower must be certified that for at least 7 years the trees have had no chemical on them. Then there are stipulations and classes that the actual Shea Butter manufactures must go through to get the final Organic Certification from Eco-Cert in Europe. Once this has been completed and the fees have been paid, the manufacturer will receive the organic certification seal from Eco-Cert. The main difference between non-organic and Certified Organic Shea Butter is price. Certified Organic Unrefined Shea Butter from Ghana, marketed in the USA, costs $2.00 to $7.00 more per pound than unrefined Shea Butter without the Organic Certifications.

What is the difference between East African and West African Shea Butter and which one is better for anti-aging/cosmetic use?

East African Shea Butter, native to Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, is milder in medicinal value and is used more generally as a skin moisturizer and for cooking oil.

West African Shea Butter, native to Ghana, The Ivory Coast and Nigeria, contains a substantially higher amount of natural Vitamin A which makes it the perfect choice for anti-aging products, wound healing and to combat rare skin diseases.

What is the difference between Yellow and Ivory Shea Butter?

This is one of the most commonly asked questions about Shea Butter. You, the cosmetic manufacturer or consumer, must beware that there are many misleading sources of information on the internet these days who are not qualified to answer a question such as this. Yellow and Ivory from Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse is exactly the same Shea Butter with the only difference being that Yellow is mixed with an all natural root extract from the Borututu tree to give the Shea Butter it’s nice Yellow color. There are two main advantages to buying Yellow Shea Butter:

1. Yellow Shea Butter has been proven to give a ‘Natural Tan’ look to white-complected users with repeated usage at least 2 times daily and also more effective in giving the skin an even, more bronze, body tone for users with stretch marks, scars and pale skin.

2. When using Yellow Shea Butter for manufacturing your body butters, having the Yellow color with the Shea will help you more decisively locate contaminated, rancid smelling, “white spots” within the Shea Butter you are making. While it is impossible to find Shea without at least some contaminated spots inside, the yellow will help you distinguish which areas to cut out so you don’t have to spend big bucks hiding the smell with essential oils.

There should also be a note of mention to the fact that some people on the internet have published reports that Yellow Shea Butter is fake. The unrefined Yellow that Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse imports is the same as the Ivory only with the natural root extract added for coloring purposes. When you read reports on fake Yellow Shea Butter, the authors are referring to African Butter which is also yellow but has no medicinal or cosmetic purposes whatsoever. Ivory or “White” Shea Butter is white, light beige or light green in color and is a top seller at Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse. Ivory Shea is a favorite choice among manufacturers and consumers alike, famous for its great healing properties, soft texture and natural aroma. Ivory Shea Butter is cooked for slightly longer that Yellow to achieve it’s nice white appearance.

How can I tell the difference between real and fake Shea Butter?

1. As a leading importer in the Shea Butter industry, Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse receives calls daily from solicitors trying to sell their Shea Butter and has seen every kind of sample there is to be seen. There are certain “red flags” that you, the manufacturer or consumer, must watch out for in finding a Shea Butter of the best quality.

a. If you find Shea Butter on the internet advertised for lower than $2.40 per lb it is probably a deal too good to be true! Take for instance, there are companies on Amazon.com selling Shea Butter for $65.00-$104.00 per 50 lbs. BUYER BEWARE! These Shea Butters are more than likely African Butter, Shea Butter over 2 years old, contaminated Shea Butter, fake Shea Butter, grainy Shea Butter or all of the above!

b. If the Shea Butter is actually authentic, it is probably too dirty for cosmetic use and will take 2 filterings just to make it suitable to go on the market.

c. It might LOOK like, SMELL like and FEEL like good Shea Butter…but when you apply it to your dried up, aching skin, it does nothing! This kind of Shea has absolutely no healing or anti-aging value but merely a moisturizer if that. This type of Shea Butter was manufactured with nuts too old or by companies in Africa too cheap to add enough Shea Nuts to the mix.

d. When Shea Butter is manufactured in Africa, it is extracted using water and the good butter floats to the top of the boil. When melting Shea Butter in a double boiler system to make your body butters, REAL Shea Butter will float to the top. Bad or fake Shea Butter will just sit at the bottom of the pan. If your Shea Butter does not float to the top, you are not dealing with true, authentic Shea Butter.

2. The American Shea Technicians at Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse have 3 ways of testing Shea Butter to see whether or not it passes their strict criteria for quality and healing power.

a. On persons who have developed a painful sunburn or who have received a minor to moderate burn on their skin, apply 1 cm of Shea Butter on the inflicted area and do not wipe off. Real or top quality Shea Butter will heal the pain to suffering skin in a mere 1 hour.

b. Apply Shea Butter to persons with a mosquito bite approximately 1 cm thick. Real or top quality Shea Butter will heal the itchiness or pain of the bite in 1 hour or less.

c. On persons with the common cold who are suffering from severe nasal congestion, apply Shea Butter 1 cm thick underneath the nose. Real or top quality Shea Butter will decongest the nasal passages within 10-30 minutes.

When you filter your Shea Butter, does it harm the quality or take away the raw, natural, unrefined qualities that Shea Butter is most famous for? Does it take away the medicinal powers or healing values?

Our all-natural way of filtering Shea Butter safely contains ALL the important nutrients that makes unrefined Shea Butter the safest organic skin healer in the world. Our method simply strains the Shea Butter for unwanted debris producing the cleanest quality available for cosmetic lotion-makers. If Shea is not filtered, you will for sure get dirty product. In our lab, we have found everything from dirt, insects, wood chips to metal, coins and clothing in our Shea Butter. Filtering is a required necessity to achieve clean Shea Butter for professional cosmetic products. All the major companies filter their products. This fall of 2013, to save on expenses and insure more efficient productivity, Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse shipped their exclusive filtration systems to the Catholic women in Ghana so that the filtering could be done during the manufacturing process of the Shea Butter and before packaging. The idea turned out to be a success! This also saves the Shea Butter from having to be melted again in the lab for the filtration process to take place to save on the priceless quality of this product.

If I heat or melt down Shea Butter does it harm the natural quality or take medicinal powers away from your product? If not, what is the best way to melt down bulk, unrefined Shea Butter?

In certain circumstances, melting down Shea Butter into a liquid form is necessary to for cosmetic makers to effectively filter, add extra ingredients and generally be able to work with Shea Butter much better. If you try this at home or in your lab, one must take great caution in doing so as a professional lotion-maker. Heating Shea Butter too hot can take away valuable quality. Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse’s experienced U.S. Lab technicians recommend using a stainless steel double-boiler system to melt down Shea Butter. The Shea should be heated by the boiling hot water, not directly by a pan with heat. The steam from the double boiler system will safely melt your Shea to a liquid or your required consistency. Only melt the Shea Butter until it achieves liquid form, no more is necessary. If you heat your boiler water no more than 175 degrees, this will gently heat the butter quickly enough. IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED TO USE A MICROWAVE OR DIRECT PAN FOR HEATING SHEA BUTTER…DAMAGE TO SHEA BUTTER’S MEDICINAL VALUE MAY OCCUR!

When making body butter products, how do I avoid making “grainy” Shea Butter? Is there a way to fix “grainy” Shea Butter?

Graininess in Shea Butter is not acceptable in body butter products made for sale to the public. You will have customers who will complain or may even want their money back! The granules in Shea Butter are a result of a crystallization process that occurs when the butter heats up in temperature causing it too melt and then is not cooled down quick enough in temperature for the Shea Butter to become user-friendly smooth. To avoid making grainy Shea Butter, once you have achieved liquid form, pour into a plastic or metal sealed container then leave sit in a freezer or area below at least 32 degrees. Leave sit for no less than 1-2 hours or when the Shea Butter is completely cooled off down with a smooth texture. You can see by the texture if your Shea Butter has turned out gritty or not. When making Body Butter to be whipped, repeat the top process, only take out of the freezer when the Shea Butter begins to harden and turn colors right before it freezes. From the freezer, pour the liquid Shea that is about ready to harden into the bowl of your stationary industrial automatic mixer. Our technicians do not suggest using a hand mixer as your new body butter might have to mix for 2 hours before it reaches the right consistency. Once you have poured your Shea into a mixing bowl, this is the time you want to add your other natural ingredients (beeswax, essential oils etc.) to the Shea so that all your additives will be evenly mixed together. Once you have your additives are all together, turn on your mixer to a slower but steady speed for 20-30 minutes. After each interval or each 20-30 minutes, let the mixer sit still for 10-15 minutes each time. When your body butter becomes creamy and has gained solidity, you have achieved a smooth, rich, user friendly Shea Butter product that is not grainy.

HINT: If you keep mixing your Shea Butter mix past the creamy stage until it is a consistency similar to whipped cream, the volume of your batch will DOUBLE in size. For instance, if you poured a 20 quart mixing bowl half full or with 10 quarts, your final quantity of Shea Butter mix will be equal to 20 quarts or more…doubling your investment of fresh body butter or hair products for sale!!!!!!!! Finally, if you are sold grainy wholesale Shea Butter for making your products, you can simply fix the grainy Shea Butter by melting your butter down to liquid and following the steps of the last two questions.

What are the different grades of Shea Butter and which one is the best for my business?

A. (raw or unrefined, extracted using water)
B. (refined)
C. (highlyrefined and extracted with solvents such as hexane)
D. (lowestuncontaminated grade)
E. (with contaminants)

Commercial grades are A, Band C. Shea Butter’s all natural, priceless ,healing power is diminished when it is refined using snythetic chemicals. ALL mainstream Shea products you find in stores such as Walmart or Walgreens have been refined, perpetually defeating the purpose of their claimed marketing strategies of the product. Using the best premium, Grade A Shea Butter available, sold by Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse, will give you the winning ingredients to make your body butter products a superior success over your competition. Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse’s Grade A Bulk Wholesale Shea Butter is made from fresh nuts every year from Ghana that contain the maximum potential of healing power that will give your products a 2 year plus shelf life.

What exactly is Class B-Stock Shea Butter sold by Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse?

Class B-Stock Shea Butter should not be confused with Grade B Shea Butter, which is actually refined Shea Butter without synthetic chemicals. Class B-Stock is Shea Butter is that may be grainy, an accidental mixture of Yellow and Ivory, powdery or stock that may have been exposed to the air from packaging breaks. At half the price of our regular Shea Butter, Class B-Stock is a great alternative for hair products, body toning, massage oils and soap products that will still do more for your body than anything you would find over the counter at Walmart!

What is the true “Shelf Life” of bulk, unrefined Shea Butter from Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse?

When Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse imports a container of fresh raw shea Butter, the nuts from the Karite Tree are fresh picked from THAT SEASON, not a few years old that have been held over in the warehouses in Ghana. The Shea Nut harvest season in the northern region of Ghana begins in June and goes through August of each year. It takes our experienced women manufacturers a month to produce 40,000 lbs of Shea Butter or a full container. So from each harvest season, the strongest full medicinal value of the unrefined Shea Butter is attained the first 18 months to 2 years depending how the it is stored. Even after the 2 year period, most Shea Butter can still be used for moisturizing, body toning and hair products. When you buy your bulk, unrefined Shea Butter from Wordlwide Wholesale Warehouse, it is NEVER over 1 year old as Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse moves Shea Butter by volume and not price. We import over 2 containers (80,000 lbs) of raw, unrefined bulk Shea Butter every year so you know yours is fresh from that same season every year when you buy. The Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse inventory is stored in a controlled climate warehouse facility in North Dakota where temperatures are mildly cool. The longer Shea Butter has been sitting in the sun or a hot atmosphere, the shorter the shelf life will be.

How can I tell if Shea Butter is too old or rancid?

Most Shea Butter that is over 3 years old has lost the Bio-active Fraction, which accounts for the 10 % of nutrients responsible for this organic product’s natural healing power. The remaining 90% of Shea Butter’s natural soothing properties are called the Moisturizing Fraction. No matter how old your Shea Butter is, this amazing cream will always attain its Moisturizing Fraction, or moisturizing capabilities that will protect your skin. Even old Shea Butter is not totally worthless. It can still be used as cooking oil, leather cleaner, lubrication or a healthy skin moisturizer. Shea Butter has a natural sweet smelling, nutty scent accept when manufactured over wood fires in Africa a burnt, wood scent. Rancid Shea Butter has a scent that is strong, intoxicating vinegar like scent that will actually burn your nostrils when smelling close. Many large cosmetic companies who are not concerned with quality will actually manufacture their products from cheap, rancid Shea Butter and hide the smell with strong alcoholic fragrances. We would suggest when looking for true, organic Shea products that you order from Worldwide Wholesale Warehouse’s retail line so you at least know that what you are getting is less that 2 years old, free of alcoholic fragrances and is manufactured of all natural ingredients so that it may not harm your sensitive skin.