Cocoa butter. Is reading this making you drool? We understand, because who doesn’t love chocolate! But, did you know that the butter derived from cocoa beans is a fantastic skin moisturizer?
Yes, cocoa butter is a boon for people with extremely dry and dull skin. It offers plenty of benefits, besides having an irresistible natural fragrance. If you want to know how to incorporate cocoa butter in your skincare regimen, keep reading!
Highlights:
What Is Cocoa Butter?
Cocoa butter is a white-coloured, creamy fat derived from cocoa beans.
The beans, separated from the pods (fruit of the cacao plant), are fermented, roasted and crushed to extract cocoa powder and cocoa butter. While the two are again combined to create chocolate bars, the butter itself is used in skincare as well as medicines.
Benefits Of Cocoa Butter For Skin
1. Rich Moisturizer
Cocoa butter has rich moisturizing properties and is used as a core ingredient in many skin moisturizers. It can be beneficial for skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis.
Filled with fatty acids like palmitic, stearic and oleic acids, it helps the protective layer of your skin to retain moisture. Naturally, moisture retention prevents your skin from drying out.
In recent studies, researchers found that phytochemicals [1], a compound in cocoa, may help you achieve healthy and smooth skin!
2. Source of Antioxidant
Cocoa butter is a powerhouse of antioxidants! It helps your skin fight free-radical damages [2], which happen due to sun exposure, smoking, air pollutants and harsh chemicals. Free radicals lead to premature skin ageing, dark and rough patches. Cocoa butter can offer you a soothing relief as it has anti-inflammatory properties.
3. Fades Scars And Marks
Popular belief is that cocoa butter can fade scars and marks from your skin, especially the stretch marks during and after pregnancy among women. Many studies concluded, even though cocoa butter will not completely remove your scars or stretch marks, it will slightly fade their appearance.
4. Good For Sensitive Skin
Dirt, dust, pollution and poor diet may damage the natural barrier of your skin. Once the protection is down, your skin naturally becomes sensitive and you may notice red patches and scaling. Cocoa butter goes well with sensitive skin. It is a rich source of polyphenols [3], which are known micronutrients packed with health benefits. It helps to reduce red patches, rashes or any type of skin irritation.
How To Use Cocoa Butter On Skin?
Cocoa butter is a natural ingredient and pretty safe for skin. You can apply it twice on your skin daily. It will improve your skin’s overall health providing resiliency, moisture and sun protection.
You can use body lotions and body creams containing cocoa butter as the prime ingredient, especially during Winters or if you have very dry skin.
Being an edible ingredient, cocoa butter is also used in lip balms, which is a good choice for dry and chapped lips.
Apart from over the counter cocoa butter products, you can make your moisturizers using cocoa butter at home!
Procedure For DIY Cocoa Butter Moisturizer
- Bring unrefined cocoa butter and melt it to make a personal range of skincare products.
- Make a mixture with cocoa butter and any carrier oil such as coconut oil and use it as a nourishing moisturizer.
- You can also combine cocoa butter and shea butter for your moisturizer.
How To Apply Cocoa Butter On Scars?
As we have mentioned earlier, cocoa butter may not remove your scars, but it can fade them slightly.
- Apply cocoa butter on the scar at least twice a day.
- Massage the affected area in a circular motion for best result.
Side Effects Of Cocoa Butter
An NCBI study [4] conducted in 2015 established that cocoa butter has some anti-estrogenic effects, which means it can decrease the effect of estrogen (female sex hormone) among women.
Cocoa butter is thick and mostly recommended for people with dry skin. Oily skin people are advised to avoid products containing a high amount of cocoa butter, as it can clog your skin pores and lead to acne breakouts. Thus, people with acne-prone skin may also want to stay away from cocoa butter.
Moisturizing products with cocoa butter also have other ingredients which may cause skin irritation, especially if you are allergic to the ingredient. Check the ingredient details on the product’s label before buying. It will keep you safe from unwanted side effects.
SkinKraft Tip
If you are using cocoa butter, do not forget to exfoliate your skin once in a week to avoid clogged pores.
Wrapping Up
With intense moisturising powers, cocoa butter is the answer to keep your dry skin soft, healthy and glowing. The edible substance also works as a lip balm. Try cocoa butter especially during Winters and you can bid goodbye to chapped skin.
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