As women, we are always hunting for new products and brands to give our skin a smooth, radiant shine, making us feel even more beautiful from the inside. The market is nowadays flooded with an array of moisturizing and nourishing creams, with various ingredients and added natural flavors. One of these is cocoa butter, which has become a lot more popular in recent years.
Cocoa butter is a form of edible fat made of cocoa beans, which is then used to make chocolate and other toiletries, ointments, body creams, and lotions. Dense with anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial fats, it is one of the best nutrients for your skin. The velvety texture of cocoa butter, its pleasant aroma, and its moisturizing properties are making it one of the most popular products in the market.
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The Mayan civilization of South America was the first to discover and cultivate cocoa, then called xocolatl or “bitter water,” around 900 AD. They also used cocoa beans as currency during that time. The legend is that Christopher Columbus’ crew, upon discovering the new continent, “discovered” the cocoa bean and brought chocolate to Europe. Soon the Europeans started cultivating cocoa trees and migrating cocoa beans to the East and other oriental countries.
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Obtained from roasting and fermenting whole cocoa beans, cocoa butter contains a high proportion of saturated fats, and it is mainly made up of triglycerides derived from stearic acid, palmitic acid, and oleic acid. Besides being acknowledged as one of the best emollient moisturizing skin care ingredients to keep your skin supple, smooth and soft, cocoa butter’s cocoa mass polyphenol (CMP) also helps in preventing heart disease and arthritis.
Here are 13 important benefits of using cocoa butter for your skin.
1. Beneficial for dry skin
Applying cocoa butter on a daily basis helps you manage dry and itchy skin conditions, as it moisturizes your skin and nourishes it from deep within.
2. Prevents premature aging
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The presence of polyphenol antioxidants in your cocoa butter cream can help you look and feel younger, as it helps protect the cells from premature oxidation, preventing your skin from aging.
3. Smoothens rough knees and elbows
Daily use of cocoa butter will help you smoothen dark, dry, and rough areas like knees and elbows.
4. Hyper pigmentation
Cocoa butter can enhance your skin tone and get rid of dark spots due to hyper pigmentation of the skin, or any other scars, dark circles, and insect bites.
5. Helps get rid of scars
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Regular use of cocoa butter can help you get rid of scar marks from pimples, acne, or any other cut. The antioxidants and healing properties of cocoa butter make it an excellent remedy to get rid of scars on your skin.
6. Protects skin from UV rays
Applying cocoa butter on your skin can also protect you from the harmful UV rays of the sun and protects you from skin cancer. Regular use of cocoa butter cream or lotions can also help you get rid of sunburns and tans.
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7. Stretch marks
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One of the most important benefits of using cocoa butter products is its ability to reduce stretch marks. It is mainly effective for women who want to get rid of the stretch marks post pregnancy. Due to its nutrients and anti-oxidant properties, cocoa butter not only reduces stretch marks but can also prevent them from forming on our body and on the face.
8. Gives you a pleasant shave
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To get smoother skin after shaving, you can use cocoa butter while shaving or by mixing it with shaving lotions. It will reduce the irritation of shaving and will give you a smooth shave.
9. Gives you soft lips
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Are you suffering from dry and chapped lips? C cocoa butter can be really effective if used as a lip balm. Applying cocoa butter on your lips on a daily basis will give you soft and plump lips very quickly.
10. Great source of antioxidants and vitamins
The presence of Vitamin E in cocoa butter is remarkably beneficial for your skin as it protects the skin from various irritations and allergies. Also, the high quantity of antioxidants in cocoa butter helps you fight free radicals that cause aging and stressed skin.
11. Soothes sensitive skin
Cocoa butter with its moisturizing properties is definitely a boon for people with sensitive skin. Use of cocoa butter products helps you soothe the skin and protects it from various diseases like dermatitis, psoriasis and eczema.
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12. Reduces stress
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Applying cocoa butter on your skin is one of the best ways to ease your tension from your body, in turn improving your skin. Its nice enchanting aroma is part of why it makes a good stress reliever.
13. Restorative qualities
If you are fed up of your dull and rough skin, start using cocoa butter skin creams or body lotions to rejuvenate your skin, regaining it its healthy, glowing beauty.
Cocoa butter is an effective natural skin care product that nourishes your skin deeply and makes your skin smooth, clean, healthy, and beautiful. It helps you improve the texture of your skin and is also effective for minor skin irritations. However, if you are allergic to cocoa and nuts, you are strictly prescribed not to try using cocoa butter products as it may cause skin irritations, redness, and skin rashes.
