What is Cocoa Butter?
Cocoa butter (Theobroma Cacao) is produced by fermentation of whole cocoa beans, which are then roasted and separated from their hulls. Cocoa butter has a pleasant chocolade-ish aroma, and has yellowish to brownish color. Make sure you buy unrefined cocoa butter, as only an unrefined one still contains all the beneficial compounds.
Cocoa butter is rich in antioxidants, which, along with great benefits for the skin, make this butter a very stable one, preventing the butter to go rancid. It is also very rich in fatty acids. It contains stearic acid (up to 64%), capric acid (up to 35%), oleic acid (up to 38%) and palmitoleic acid (up to 40%). It also contains myristic, linoleic and linolenic acid.
Cocoa butter’s melting point coincides with that of our body temperature, which means it melts quickly and is also quickly absorbed into the skin. It does not leave a greasy feeling.
Due to terrible working conditions on cocoa farms, including using child labor, it is important to use fairly traded cocoa butter.
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Why use Cocoa Butter?
Cocoa butter is a great antioxidant, fighting premature aging. It is a great emollient, helping the skin retain moisture. It nourishes the skin, especially very dry skin. It helps the skin with elasticity and softness. May not be suitable for eczema.
It can be used for facial skin care or as a massage body oil, alone or with other carrier oils and/or essential oils and butters.
Needless to say, Cocoa butter is extensively used as culinary ingredient as well.
Kris D’Amour face and body balm | Akamuti lip balm | Alva peeling mask | Inika liquid foundation | Lavera liquid foundation | Fair Squared lip balm | Weleda night cream | Sierra Bees lip balm | Trilogy lip balm | TEA Natura balm for face and body | Santaverde eye cream | Badger Balm lip balm | Hurraw! lip balm | Camille Beckman lip balm | Bee Naturals lip balm | Burt’s Bees lip balm | Joik lip balm | ECO Cosmetics lip balm | Antipodes lip balm | Domus Olea lip balm | Luxsit facial mask | Eco Lips lip balm | Dr Organic rose face mask
Uses of Cocoa Butter
- body lotion
- lip balm
- body butter
- hand cream
- face cream
- soap
- body scrub
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Cocoa Butter is recommended for:
- very dry skin
- undernourished skin
- dehydrated skin
- flaky skin,
- itchy skin
- chapped lips
- against stretch marks
- cuticle care
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Do you use cocoa butter in culinary? Which are you favorite beauty products containing cocoa butter?
Photo credit: Cocoa Pods by Medicaster via Wikipedia
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