Cocoa Butter
Many equate the smell of chocolate with delicious sweets, but it is also “delicious” in so many other ways! Cocoa Butter it often used in many skin creams and lip balms. I also use it, and it is a major component of my skin cream, and it is soooo yummy in my lip balm! It is the fatty component pressed out of the cacao bean during the manufacturing of chocolate. If you ever visit Hershey Pa., there is a train ride at the visitor center which illustrates the process of how chocolate is made. It goes through all the different steps needed; from pulling the pods from the Cacao (“ka-CA-ow”) tree to pouring and wrapping the familiar candy bar we know and love. An added plus, is that after the train ride, you may get the opportunity to taste a new Hershey product…or an old favorite.
Origin
Cocoa butter comes from the fermented beans from the cacao pod which grows on the cacao tree. This tree only grows in tropical climates near the equator, such as in areas of South America and West Africa. Once fermented, cacao beans are roasted then cold pressed. This results in an excellent cocoa butter product which retains the characteristic, deep, chocolate smell with which we are all familiar with, along with all of the beneficial fatty acids.
Refined vs unrefined
As is true with coconut oil (see my earlier post “Coconut Oil” from May 26, 2014), an unrefined form of cocoa butter is much preferred to the refined version. If the cocoa butter you are using doesn’t smell like chocolate, then you have the refined version that has been stripped of fatty acids and other organic molecules, some of which are also responsible for the many of the benefits that cocoa butter provides, along with that delicious smell.
Similar to coconut oil, this fat does not raise cholesterol due to the high levels of stearic acid, one of cocoa butter’s fatty acids. Also present is oleic acid which is known to decrease the risk of heart disease. These fatty acids also make it easier for it to penetrate through deeper areas of the skin, allowing for better hydration of the skin layers.
Other Benefits
Cocoa butter has a high level of antioxidants. These serve to neutralize free radicals that are normally formed by our metabolism, but whose levels are increased by exposure to the sun, tobacco and pesticides. Free radicals in the skin increase levels of oxidation which damages cells, increasing skin wrinkling.
It is widely noted that cocoa butter may help with the appearance of scars as well as stretch marks. Data is still not definitive however, since there does not seem to be anything available that will increase elastin, the main source of stretch marks. I know however, I tried a widely available cocoa butter cream during my pregnancies, and I remember being hard pressed to find any stretch marks afterwards. I did develop some due to insidious age-related weight gain though. It appears that the key to stretch mark avoidance is prevention. Keep the skin hydrated inside and out. Use of a cocoa butter product which also contains Vitamin E should be used. Some have suggested that elastin and collagen should be present, but I am not convinced that will help, based on my readings. My understanding is that there are no products yet, proven to increase or repair the elastin in skin containing stretch marks. It has however been reported that treatment with 10-20% Vitamin C serum will increase collagen. See my posts from July 12, 2014 for instructions on how to make a Vitamin C serum. Feel free to try it to see if it will soften stretch marks.
You will find that at room temperature cocoa butter is the harder of the three components about which I have written, but it does melt quite nicely at skin temperature. Shea butter is softer; like a stiff cream cheese. Coconut oil is hard below 76o but it melts very quickly at higher temps.
These 3 components ALONE, make a fabulous and healthy skin cream. Choosing organic sources adds an additional level of health and protection for your skin, as it makes sure you are getting all the possible advantages that these three rich oils/butters can give. Here is how you can make your own:
3 part Simple Skin Cream
-Take an 8 oz mason jar. Place within it:
- ¼ oz. of each , coconut oil, shea butter and cocoa butter.
- Place into a skillet that has about a ½ inch of water.
- Heat the pan so that the water is simmering. The 3 ingredients will melt slowly.
(optional) – Shea butter may get grainy with time should the temp be allowed to reach above 175oF, so if the temp can be controlled, this characteristic might be avoided. If your cream does become grainy, never fear, as the effectiveness of the cream will not be affected, and the little grainy particles melt upon contact with your skin.
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