Cocoa butter benefits are here.Cocoa butter , a natural substance rich in benefits and not just for lips, skin or hair. We discover all the properties of cocoa butter, the most classic and alternative uses.To produce cocoa butter, the cocoa fruit must be ripe, fermented, dried, roasted and pressed. Through this process, the butter is extracted.It is used for food or to enrich certain cosmetics, in particular lip balms or creams.
Properties of Cocoa Butter
- Moisturizing : for being rich in vegetable fatty acids.
- Emollient : ability to soften the skin. Therefore, it serves to treat callosities, for example.
- Anti-aging : Due to the polyphenols, which are part of its constitution, cocoa butter has antioxidant power. It therefore neutralizes the action of free radicals in the body that trigger cellular aging.
- Anti-inflammatory : strengthens and protects the skin from infections and inflammations.
- Cicatrizante : it contributes to the restoration and regeneration of wounds and dryings in the skin and the lips.
- Refreshing : relieves the burning of sunburn.
Uses of Cocoa Butter
By its soft texture, it is in various foods such as butters, cheeses, sweets, ice cream and especially chocolates..The oleic acid present in cocoa butter can help in reducing bad cholesterol, prevents the risk of heart disease and stroke.It has moisturizing and emollient properties. it recovers the oiliness of the tissue. Being an excellent moisturizer, it is easily absorbed by the skin, reaching into the deeper layers, making it softer.
General Health Cocoa Butter Benefits
Cocoa butter can be consumed in moderation and can bring many health benefits. Check out some of these benefits:
- Helps in Heart Health: Saturated fats are great for helping reduce cardiovascular disease. It is considered an anti-inflammatory food. The polyphenols present in cocoa butter help to reduce the risks of inflammation in atherosclerosis, which is hardening of the arteries.
- Due to the presence of important antioxidants such as polyphenols and flavonoids, cocoa butter has a great advantage to protect your body against diseases.
- Combine inflammation, DNA damage and cell mutations, which cause cardiovascular disease, cancer and autoimmune diseases.
- Polyphenols still help in improving skin elasticity, collagen production and toning.
- Promotes hormonal balance.
- It improves mood by increasing the levels of endorphin and serotonin.
- It fights constipation and improves bowel functions.
- Combats atherosclerosis (hardening of veins) due to the action of polyphenols and their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Skin Benefits
- Cocoa butter is perfect for treating and preventing dryness, eczema and dermatitis.
- It is considered a balm for the lips , due to its hydration process, and can also be mixed with essential oils. Cocoa butter is emollient, creating a protective layer on the skin of the lips against low temperatures and dryness caused by the sun.
- Cocoa butter is an excellent skin moisturizer as it is a great source of natural antioxidants found in cocoa beans. Saturated fats are especially beneficial in curing dry and chapped skin because they are easily absorbed and remain on the skin for hours.
- It is highly recommended for sensitive skin that may be allergic to other types of moisturizing treatments, such as face skin or baby skin.
- Helps in the process of production of collagen of the skin.
- The results obtained from a scientific study show that the polyphenols of cocoa exhibit a positive action on the tone and elasticity of the skin.
Health benefits
Even when taken through chocolate (dark and high-quality) cocoa butter gives us several benefits:
- It helps the immune system: it strengthens our immune system and can also promote hormonal balance.
- Beneficial for mood: chocolate, as we know, helps people feel happier. Cocoa butter increases the levels of endorphin and serotonin in the brain, which in turn improves mood in general.
- Improves heart health: it is a fat that can lower the inflammatory markers that contribute to hardening of the arteries, it also helps in fat metabolism.
- Combats constipation: cocoa and cocoa butter can help counteract constipation and improve intestinal functions.
How to choose cocoa butter
Choosing a good cocoa butter is very important, considering above all that we will use it mainly on the mouth and therefore small traces of this product can be swallowed.In the market there are many variations of cocoa butter in stick or spread with the finger, most of the times however, especially the most widespread and used ones, they do not have a clean Inci. In the formulation, mineral oils can be found that derive from the processing of oil and, in some cases, there is no trace of cocoa butter.
It is therefore good to always read the labels of the products we buy, making sure to spread a cocoa butter on our lips that really contains this substance or other ingredients of natural origin.
As for pure cocoa butter, this exists in two versions:
- Unrefined: cocoa butter in its raw form with a strong chocolate smell
- Refined: it is lighter and with a much less strong odor. This is what is usually used in cosmetics and lip balms.
