Sarah EatonIf you are a chocolate fan, you’ve had cocoa butter. It’s the fat used to give chocolate it’s creamy, smooth texture—even healthy chocolate. And even if you’re not big on chocolate, chances are you’ve used cocoa butter in another form. It’s a common ingredient in many lotions, lip balms and other beauty-related ointments. And cocoa butter benefits vary—it’s not just good for your skin in terms of beauty, but also useful in healing wounds. Read below to learn more about what cocoa butter can do for you.
Here are 8 cocoa butter benefits:
1. Prevents Skin Dryness and Peeling
Cocoa butter benefits include treating a variety of skin-related issues. For example, it makes a great moisturizer. In fact, it does more than just hydrate the skin. It actually helps it heal from the inside out, as well. Saturated fats are great for healing dry, cracked skin, as your skin can easily absorb them. Moreover, they stay on the skin for hours.
Products that naturally hydrate are a better choice than other commercial moisturizers. This is because products like cocoa butter are free from additives, fragrances, colors and dyes.
To treat or prevent dry skin, try mixing cocoa butter with essential oils, or argan, castor or jojoba oil. Apply to the affected area. Be sure to use pure cocoa butter, and if need be, mix it with a little hot water to make it spread more easily.
2. Heals Chapped Lips
Cocoa butter is an emollient. This means it adds a protective layer of hydration where it’s applied. Use it on your lips to block out uncomfortable effects of extreme weather, which can leave your lips dry.
Many lip balms you can buy in a store contain cocoa butter. To reap the best cocoa butter benefits, however, try making a batch of homemade lip balm, instead. You can mix it with essential oils, such as grapefruit, orange, or vanilla, to make it flavored.
3. Fights Signs of Aging
Cocoa butter benefits continue with the ability to diminish signs of aging. This is due to the polyphenols within cocoa butter. Polyphenols are helpful in a number of ways. For example, they help keep you looking young, sooth symptoms of dermatitis and rashes, and fight cell mutations. Polyphenols are a kind of antioxidant that promote skin health, internally as well as externally. (1)
4. Soothes Burns, Rashes and Infections
This is another area in which cocoa butter benefits apply. If you have a rash, burn, or infection, try treating it with a small amount of cocoa butter. However, make sure your cocoa butter is pure and doesn’t contain any alcohol. Added alcohol can make your condition worse.
5. Helps Treat Mouth Sores
Do you suffer from painful sores that develop inside your mouth? If so, you can use a dab of cocoa butter to help soothe the affected area. You can also use it on blisters around your lips.
6. Makes a Great Shaving Cream
Cocoa butter benefits include serving as a shaving cream. While shaving with many soaps takes away moisture from your skin, cocoa butter hydrates your skin as you shave. Furthermore, as it melts easily in warm water, it won’t clog your drain. You may consider rubbing some cocoa butter on your face after showering, too. The heat from the water will open your pores, making it more receptive to absorbing products.
7. Helps Improve Heart Health
Cocoa butter benefits include heart health, too. Although saturated fats are often equated with heart problems, with plant-derived saturated fats, it’s a different story. This is where the polyphenolic compounds in cocoa butter come into play again. They help prevent against the hardening of arteries, which is why cocoa butter is also now considered an anti-inflammatory food. (2)
Furthermore, cocoa seems to help with lipid, or fat metabolism. It also has a link to decreased risk for heart attacks.
However, while cocoa butter has polyphenols and other antioxidants, it doesn’t offer as much as does dried cocoa powder. (3)
8. Boosts Immunity
Cocoa butter benefits extend to your immune system, as well. Several studies show that plant polyphenols fight inflammation and repair DNA damages and cell mutations. Cell mutations are the underlying cause of diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and autoimmune conditions. (4)
Remember, make sure your cocoa butter is pure and free of additives. This will ensure you reap the best possible cocoa butter benefits.
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