Cocoa Butter and Skincare
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Natural products are often better for your skin than synthetic ones, but not all natural products work for all skin types. People with sensitive skin still require to be selective about what they use. If you are prone to being oily, you want to keep away from things that are likely to block your pores, and that includes some natural products like cocoa butter. Cocoa butter is an excellent moisturizer. It is also used to try to fade away dark marks on the skin. But as great a moisturizer as cocoa butter is, it is still quite greasy and could cause breakouts in some people.
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What is Cocoa butter?
A look at whether Cocoa butter is comedogenic
Cocoa butter is extracted from cacao. Cacao has been grown for years and is native to South American countries. Cocoa has flavonoids. Flavonoids are compounds that possess antioxidant influences and are considered to have all kinds of additional health advantages. For that reason, cocoa is regularly studied for its positive impact on reducing heart disease, maintaining healthy blood pressure, and improving skin conditions. Cocoa butter is a plant-based fat obtained from the cocoa bean. It’s extracted from roasted cacao beans. In general, it is a rich moisturizing cream. Pure cocoa butter may be packaged on its own or processed with other ingredients and sold as a body cream.
Will Cocoa Butter clog your pores?
This butter has a strong tendency to clog your skin pores compared to related natural topical treatments. Comedogenicity is a measure of a substance’s capacity to clog skin pores and here are the ratings; 0 = will not clog your pores. 1 = low chance of clogging your pores. 2= moderately low chance, 3 = moderate chance, 4 = fairly high chance of pores being blocked, and 5 = a very high chance.Cocoa butter was also analyzed and received a rating of 4. Many professional skin care websites caution against using cocoa butter if you’re prone to acne. Cocoa butter may moisturize your skin, but an analysis concluded that it clogs your skin pores badly. Cocoa butter’s comedogenicity is substantially higher than jojoba butter and grapeseed oil, two naturally derived oils which are also beloved for improving human skin tone. Cocoa butter ranks next to coconut oil, which gets a rating of 4.
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Using cocoa butter for your face
You can rub in cocoa butter to your skin once or many times per day. Using the butter might improve the overall health and look of the skin on your face. Moisture, elasticity, and sun protection are all excellent attributes for maintaining the skin’s health. Since pure cocoa butter gets oily when melted, it would be great to try it as a natural makeup remover. Thicker cocoa butter, closer to room temperature, may work great on dry lips.
Cocoa butter for facial scars
If you’re worried about the appearance of scars, massaging cocoa butter routinely into the affected area can help. This, however, isn’t shown to reduce the look of scars more than two years old. Newer scars may benefit if you:
- Massaging in a circular motion over the scar.
- Massaging vertically across the scar.
- Massaging horizontally across the scar.
- For the best results, massage cocoa butter on the scar 2 or 3 times a day, for at least 10 minutes.
Depending on your skincare system, you may favor using it after your face has been washed and exfoliated so that your skin can really absorb it. However, cocoa butter can clog your pores, so it may be best to use it on areas other than your face.
Is there research to back using cocoa butter on your face?
No studies prove the perks of using cocoa butter on your face. In fact, it is still unclear how cocoa butter works on the skin. Most cases about the advantages of cocoa butter for your face are anecdotal. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it. But if you’re looking for guaranteed results, you should explore ingredients with scientifically proven results.
Things to remember before using cocoa butter on your face
Cocoa butter is deemed safe, as long as you’re not allergic to the cocoa plant. The butter does not have any caffeine in it, either, unlike cocoa powder. However, cocoa butter is known to clog pores. So use with caution. If you’re prone to breakouts, you may not want to use any products that list cocoa butter as one of the first seven ingredients. If this butter is listed far down the line of constituents, or if you’re not concerned about acne, you don’t have to be quite as concerned. An oil’s chemical structure defines if and how badly it clogs pores. Cocoa butter’s molecules are packed quite tightly, which makes it very comedogenic (pore-clogging).
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Benefits of Cocoa Butter
This butter is a natural product that when smeared topically has many excellent benefits for your skin. The advantages for the skin are attributed to the natural structure of this ingredient – high levels of vitamin K, vitamin E, and vital fatty acids.
Cocoa butter is rich in antioxidants
This butter is a natural product that when smeared topically has many excellent benefits for your skin. The advantages for the skin are attributed to the natural structure of this ingredient – high levels of vitamin K, vitamin E, and vital fatty acids.
Cocoa butter has anti-inflammatory attributes
The anti-inflammatory qualities of cocoa butter shield your skin against the signs of aging. By soothing the infection that causes acne, it leaves your skin healthy and ready to start the process of repairing skin cells.
Cocoa butter has anti-aging abilities
One reason cocoa butter is so precious is its high concentration of antioxidant composites that include fatty acids: oleic acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid. These fatty acids are essential for the body and aid in offsetting free radicals in the skin.The antioxidant perks of cocoa butter protect the skin from environmental and external stresses that can lead to irritation or damage to the skin. By reducing the degree of oxidative stress, cocoa butter can help to decrease the signs of aging, especially wrinkles and dark patches.
Cocoa butter is a great moisturizer
It is a common element in body lotions and creams. Because it’s an edible fat, it’s added to lip balms because it is safe for consumption. Rubbing cocoa butter products on your skin or lips every day as part of your skincare routine will keep your skin stay hydrated.
Cocoa butter is great for acne
Acne is an embarrassing problem for both men and women of all ages. The bacteria that causes the acne infection are killed off by powerful antioxidants, such as the ones present in cocoa butter. This natural ingredient has amazing skin benefits that not only kill off bacteria but also aids to smooth out the scars caused by acne.Skin affected by acne can easily become damaged, but cocoa butter serves to encourage new cell growth and faster healing. Essentially, cocoa butter helps the dry skin remaining after a breakout to be healed to smooth, soft skin, by sealing in moisture. Using cocoa butter on acne and the subsequent scars can be very helpful in resolving these skin maladies. However, it’s probably best used in small concentrations in creams or in spot treatments on healing blemishes rather than as a full-strength facial moisturizer because it can cause clogged pores.It’s also a popular treatment for scars like stretch marks, though there is no proof supporting the claim that any topical ingredient bars stretch marks. Cocoa butter does contain a high content of vitamin E, and deep-penetrating moisturizers provide the skin with building blocks for renewal, so it does support better nourished, more hydrated skin overall with regular use.
