~ Updated June 2022
Ever wonder why you have seen Cocoa Butter in skin care products or even spoken about in the same sentence as skin care? Cocoa is obviously extremely popular in sweets and food products. But what does it have to do with skin care? Well you are about to find out!
Cocoa butter on its own yields widely favorable benefits and uses that’ll come to the rescue of your dry skin, hair, and more. Ready to learn what they are?
Let’s get started!
What Is Cocoa Butter?
Cocoa butter probably sounds familiar because it is. If you’re a baker, chances are you have some living in your kitchen’s pantry. Or, if you aren’t so much a baker but rather a lover of sweets, it can be found in your favorite decadent desserts such as cakes, chocolate bars, even ice cream!
That said, let’s learn where it originated from and how it’s harvested before we get to the benefits and uses.
History of Cocoa Butter
If it sounds strange to slather a delicious ingredient all over your skin, maybe this will change your mind.
Turns out, cocoa butter has been used in medicine for nearly 3,000 years. Keeping that in mind, we can thank the Mayans and Aztecs for introducing it for medicinal purposes, even as a form of currency way back when.
Since modern day medicine is constantly evolving, it’s been discovered that cocoa butter contains compounds called phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are naturally occurring plant chemicals (phyto means plant in Greek) which are very beneficial to skin and body care.
How Is It Harvested?
If you didn’t already know, cocoa butter comes from cocoa beans. It is a type of fat.
When the butter is ready to be harvested, workers collect the beans from the cacao plant. After that, the beans are roasted, stripped, and pressed – that’s when the fat is separated.
With cocoa butter, it comes in a variety of forms such as raw or ground into powder. For skin care the recommended form to use is unrefined cocoa butter as it’s best for applying to the skin and hair. The Unrefined Cocoa Butter we carry is 100% pure so you don’t have to worry about any added chemicals or dilution.
What are the Benefits?
Now that we went over a little history lesson, its discovery, and what exactly it is, we can move onto the most important information: the benefits of cocoa butter. Take a look at how it can make a difference for your hair, skin, and scars if you have them.
Cocoa Butter for Hair
Is your hair looking a little dull? That means it’s lacking the moisture it needs to be healthy. When your scalp is healthy then your tresses will be vibrant and shiny.
Additional benefits of this amazing butter include:
Helps Eliminate Dandruff
Do those white flakes continue to show up, even after you’ve washed your hair? Tried various products to get rid of it with no success?
Unrefined Cocoa Butter happens to work very well at deeply moisturizing your scalp. As dandruff is caused from your scalp being dry, this butter can work wonders to get rid of those flakes for good.
Moisturizes Hair & Protects Scalp
Unrefined Cocoa Butter also helps add moisture and nutrients to your hair strands. This helps banish any dull look your hair may be forming and rejuvenates it to looking shiny and healthy again.
Use it in your hair before you shampoo. If that sounds weird, consider this: 65 percent of Americans have hard water. All the minerals lurking within that kind of water wreak havoc on hair. When you use liquefied cocoa butter on hair before you shower, it helps protects the natural oils your scalp produces.
Reduces Frizz
Flyaways can easily make a good hairdo look unkempt. To tame frizz, use this miracle-worker of a butter as a styling cream to tone down those stragglers.
Deep Conditions
Softer and more subtle hair can be achieved through a deep treatment. To use cocoa butter in this way, melt some down until it resembles oil.
Apply it to your hair and comb it through, leaving it on for a few minutes or hours, depending on how in need your hair is of moisture, then wash it out.
Cocoa Butter for Skin
Learning the amazing benefits and uses that cocoa butter provides for hair, let’s go over how it can do the same for your skin. Those suffering from dry skin can finally rejoice! Take a look.
Protects Against Free Radicals
The enemy of a youthful appearance is free radicals. These unstable atoms are the result of oxidative stress. Too much of this stress causes the body to lose its ability to fight unstable atoms. That’s when wrinkles and grey hair begins to show. To put a pause on aging, you need antioxidants. Luckily, cocoa butter is chock-full of antioxidants!
This helps put a stop to dark spots, skin aging, and dullness. Think of it as the key to halting wrinkles and age spots.
Moisturizes and Hydrates Dry Skin
Fed up with skin that’s dry and itchy? Not only is it a nuisance but can be damaging if not taken care of properly.
Cocoa butter works as a deep moisturizer thanks to its fatty acids. Your skin will be more nourished, more hydrated which results in a healthier looking appearance.
Relieves Those with Sensitive Skin
Does your sensitive skin make you think you can’t reap the benefits of cocoa butter? Think again!
It’s gentle enough to soothe those suffering from skin conditions like eczema. However, with any new natural regimen, you’re wanting to try, test an area of your skin first. That way, you can see how your skin will react. More than 90% of those who use Cocoa Butter with sensitive skin have no issues.
Cocoa Butter for Scars
Whether it’s a scar from an injury or an acne scar, their unsightliness can pose a big issue to your self-esteem. So you no longer have to be self-conscious of your skin, let’s go over how cocoa butter can improve the appearance of scars.
Improves Texture and Restores Moisture
With scars, the skin is essentially damaged. Cocoa butter makes for a great emollient. It is able to melt at body temperature which allows it to sink nice and deep below the surface layer of skin.
That layer beneath the surface is where it’s able to retain moisture better. Unlike other natural scar remedies, cocoa butter can be applied directly onto the scar and the skin around it.
While most scars are permanent and can’t be banished from the skin, cocoa butter will improve the sight of them. For example, rather than have a pinkish streak down your arm, it will be practically invisible.
Questions & Answers About Cocoa Butter
After knowing all these benefits and uses when it comes to cocoa butter, we’re sure you have questions. To satisfy your curiosity, here are answers to some of the common questions that come up.
Do I Need Both Shea and Cocoa Butter to Make Lip Balms?
The short answer? No; it’s more of a preference. That’s the good thing about making your own lip balms. You can really customize it to your liking.
However, using both ingredients does have its advantages. Unrefined cocoa butter acts like a protective barrier to lock in moisture. Unrefined shea butter, is also a powerful moisturizer that can help heal and restore moisture for long periods of time.
Together, they act as a protective powerhouse to ensure your lips look their best. Even more so, cocoa butter is rich enough to where that’s all you need to put on your lips as a balm.
Will It Help Heal a Sunburn?
Yes it will!
When we get sunburned, not only does it hurt but it’s essentially robbing that area of moisture. The best way to utilize the goodness of cocoa butter is to use it after you shower the day of getting burned. That way, your skin is clean and applying the butter will lock in moisture without impurities.
What’s the Difference Between Refined and Unrefined?
When shopping around, you may notice there are two types of cocoa butter. So you know you’re making the right purchase, we’ll go over what each one is.
| Refined | Unrefined | |
| This is technically a fancy word meaning the cocoa butter has been stripped of its scent. It naturally smells like a hint of chocolate. It also has its color stripped away so it’s no longer a light brown/gold color. While this process doesn’t add anything to the butter but rather take things away, it has been known to affect its benefits. That said, refined cocoa butter may not give you the soft skin you’ve been wanting. | Simply put: this is cocoa butter in its rawest state. It is chemical free, leaving all the goodness of this butter intact. It’s a light brown/gold color, creamy in texture and comes with all the benefits and uses we discussed earlier. Even the scent is left intact so it has a light smell of chocolate. Using unrefined cocoa butter can play to your advantage, especially when creating your own recipes. Trying to make a chocolate and mint lotion? Just use the butter along with mint to get your desired fragrance! |
How Do I Melt Cocoa Butter?
As we discussed above, to yield some benefits, you may need to melt down the butter. Here are two ways you can effectively do so.
1. Use the Double-Boiler Method
The recommended way to melt cocoa butter is using the double-boiler method. Place the butter inside a heat-safe glass bowl on top of a large pot. Fill that pot with water and bring it to a simmer.
As the water heats up, it’ll gently begin to melt the cocoa butter. Stir with a spatula so it evenly melts. Ensure it is slightly cooled before applying it to your skin or body.
2. Use the Microwave
You can also use your microwave to melt the Cocoa Butter.
Place it in a heat-safe bowl then microwave it for about 30 seconds. Depending on the thickness of the kind you bought, it may take a few more intervals of 10 seconds. Stir with a spoon to ensure it’s all melted then allow it to cool slightly before incorporating it into your hair or onto your skin.
Ready to Get Gorgeous, Glowing Skin and Hair with Cocoa Butter?
As we once knew it, cocoa butter was for desserts. Now, it holds a wide variety of uses to benefit both our hair and skin. A more vibrant appearance and healthier hair can finally be achieved with an ingredient that smells delicious!
Shea and cocoa butter aren’t the only products we specialize in. Shop our range of products from waxes to dried flowers! Everything you need to make your own skin and hair care recipes is only a click away.
