Have you ever thought about using cocoa butter for hyperpigmentation?

Hyperpigmentation can be frustrating and embarrassing. Most people don’t want spots that are darker than the rest of their skin.

You don’t have to live with this forever, though. There are plenty of natural options for treating hyperpigmentation. Cocoa butter is one of them.

cocoa butter for hyperpigmentation

Cocoa butter reduces the appearance of hyperpigmentation and produces healthier skin.

Below, I cover everything cocoa butter and hyperpigmentation including why it is good for hyperpigmentation and how it works as well as the best ways to use cocoa butter on hyperpigmentation.

What Is Cocoa Butter?

cocoa butter

Cocoa butter, or cacao butter, comes from the beans of the cocoa tree, Theobroma cacao. It is a natural plant-based butter that has a delicious aroma.

Over half of cocoa butter production occurs in West Africa. The production also takes place in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

As you might’ve guessed, cocoa beans are the same thing used to produce chocolate. That’s right — that means you’ll be smelling like chocolate if you use cocoa butter.

Cocoa beans are roasted, stripped, and pressed. This separates the cocoa butter from the cocoa powder. Cocoa powder is what manufacturers use to create chocolate. Meanwhile, we use cocoa butter for our skincare routine.

Cocoa butter is the fat of the bean, and it’s great for moisturizing. People have been using it for centuries.

Click here to buy cocoa butter now.

What Is Hyperpigmentation?

Hyperpigmentation refers to the abnormal darkening of the skin. You will recognize hyperpigmentation as spots on the body.

Some spots are smaller and more localized on the body. Other spots are large and cover huge areas of the skin. Some people even experience hyperpigmentation over their entire body.

There are several reasons why you may experience hyperpigmentation. It can be a symptom of aging, sun exposure, or injury. Hyperpigmentation is not usually harmful. Still, it can be indicative of an underlying medical condition.

There are three common kinds of hyperpigmentation: melasma, sunspots, and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.

What if your hyperpigmentation doesn’t fall within one of these categories? You may want to be seen by a professional.

Melasma is a kind of hyperpigmentation that occurs because of a change in hormones. This can occur at any stage of your life, but it is most common during pregnancy. Pregnant people may experience these spots anywhere on their bodies. Yet, they are most common on the face and stomach.

Sunspots are a common result of sun damage. People spend a lot of time outside, but they may not take the proper precautions with their skin.

Over time, unprotected skin will develop accumulated damage. That damage appears in the form of sunspots. These spots are usually smaller. They will appear on areas of the body most often exposed to the sun such as the face and hands.

Is Cocoa Butter Good For Hyperpigmentation?

cocoa butter on face at night

You can use cocoa butter for skin discoloration. Cocoa butter does a great job of moisturizing and healing the skin. It also does a great job of reducing the appearance of dark spots.

How Likely Is Cocoa Butter To Treat Hyperpigmentation?

Cocoa butter contains antioxidants and is an excellent moisturizer. This suggests that it’s good at clearing hyperpigmentation. Yet, we have not performed much research to verify this. So, we can only rely on anecdotal evidence.

Melanin Production & Tyrosinase

There are many causes of skin darkening. But, it all boils down to the melanin production in your skin. Melanin is what controls your skin tone.

When you sunbathe and get a tan, it is because your body has produced extra melanin to protect your skin. Excess melanin in a localized area of your body is what causes hyperpigmentation.

Tyrosinase is the enzyme that controls the production of melanin in your body. Usually, tyrosinase should create an even skin tone. But, when something goes wrong, it may cause hyperpigmentation.

There are many plants — such as the coconut plant — that can act as an inhibitor of tyrosinase. This means that the plant has a direct effect on the production of melanin in the skin. Yet, this isn’t true for all plants.

The truth is that cocoa beans do not act as a tyrosinase inhibitor. So, how are they able to control hyperpigmentation?

Cocoa butter uses antioxidants to promote skin lightening.

Cocoa Butter Contains Antioxidants

Antioxidants are great for fighting free radicals that cause damage to the skin. Free radicals are the agents that are responsible for the aging of the skin.

Antioxidants repair damaged skin cells and promote the generation of new skin cells. They also promote skin elasticity. Elastic skin is better equipped to deal with changes and is less likely to suffer damage.

Cocoa Butter Is A Great Moisturizer

Cocoa butter acts as an emollient to moisturize and hydrate the skin. Hydrated skin is healthy skin, and is less prone to damage.

Can You Use Cocoa Butter On Your Face?

Many people deal with hyperpigmentation caused by acne scars. It’s okay for those with dry or normal skin to use cocoa butter on their face, but I don’t recommend it if you have oily skin.

Cocoa butter is comedogenic, meaning that it has the potential to clog pores. This is a bad thing if you already deal with acne breakouts.

Read all about the benefits of using cocoa butter for face especially at night here.

How Long Does It Take To See Results?

How quickly cocoa butter works on your skin depends on a few things. Severely damaged skin is going to take longer to heal. It’s also essential that you use cocoa butter regularly as occasional use won’t produce results.

Click here to buy cocoa butter and treat skin discoloration now.

Can You Use Cocoa Butter For Skin Lightening?

cocoa butter

There hasn’t been much research to support the effects of cocoa butter. Yet, anecdotal evidence suggests that cocoa butter can lighten skin.

Still, it depends on how much skin lightening you’re looking to achieve, as well as what kind.

Cocoa butter lightens abnormal skin pigmentation resulting from hyperpigmentation. If you’re using cocoa butter on damaged spots of your skin, you are likely to see results.

Still, as I mentioned earlier, cocoa butter does not affect the amount of melanin in your skin. So, it might not have as much of an effect as you would like it to.

For more prominent results, you’re better off using coconut oil or jojoba oil.

Also, cocoa butter is not designed to lighten naturally dark skin. If you have a darker complexion and are hoping to darken your skin, cocoa butter won’t be able to help with that.

Using Cocoa Butter For Hyperpigmentation

There are a few ways that you can use cocoa butter to fight hyperpigmentation.

Use Cocoa Butter As-Is

The simplest way to use cocoa butter is to use it by itself. You can buy raw cocoa butter and apply it to your dark spots on a daily basis. It will act as a moisturizer and skin lightener.

Over time, you will notice your skin become healthier, and your dark spots should begin to lighten.

Click here to buy cocoa butter now.

Buy A Product With Cocoa Butter As An Ingredient

This is the simplest method of using cocoa butter, and often the better option. There are many moisturizers and cleansers that contain cocoa butter as an ingredient.

Many times, this is a better option than using raw cocoa butter because it’ll have more health benefits. Besides cocoa butter, it may contain other ingredients that help to heal the skin.

Just be careful because the opposite can also be true. Sometimes, manufacturers will include ingredients that are bad for the skin. Be sure to check all the ingredients before buying a product.

My favorite option is creating my own recipe. When you make your own product, you choose which ingredients to include. This means that you can add ingredients that will further enhance your skin. You can also make sure none of the ingredients are bad for your health.

Here is one of my favorite recipes:

[mv_create key=”87″ type=”recipe” title=”Cocoa Butter and Jojoba Oil Moisturizer” thumbnail=”null”]

Conclusion

Cocoa butter isn’t the most effective product for reducing hyperpigmentation. Still, many people have experienced great results and swear by it. In fact, people have been using it as a skin lightener for over 3,000 years.

Want to try and lighten your skin? Want to smell like chocolate while doing so? Cocoa butter might be the solution for you. Just remember that you need to use it regularly to see any real results.

Discover more wonderful ways to use cocoa butter for lips, dry skin, scalp and face. Also know all about cocoa butter skin benefits here and using it for sunburn here. Find more cocoa butter guides here.

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