Cocoa butter is one of the most luxurious beauty products available. It’ll have your skin feeling like silk and smelling like chocolate.
Did you know that you can use cocoa butter for dry skin? You can! In fact, cocoa butter works best for people with dry and damaged skin. It will moisturize your skin to have it feel like new. It’s even effective for people dealing with things like eczema and psoriasis.
Cocoa butter is bound to help your dry skin feel better, no matter where you use it on your body. You can use it on your arms, legs, feet, lips and scalp. Some people can even use it on their faces.
Keep reading to find out how as below I describe all the benefits of cocoa butter for dry skin and exactly how to use it for the best results including whether it’s good for dry feet, scalp and more.
What Is Cocoa Butter?
Cocoa butter is a fat that we extract from the seeds, or beans, of the cocoa plant. The cocoa plant grows in West Africa, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Over 50% of the total cocoa butter production takes place in West Africa. But, it is a prominent industry in the other countries as well.
The beans live inside the large, green fruit produced by the cocoa plant. Each fruit may contain up to five beans. The beans go through a refining process so that they can create beauty products or chocolate.
Cocoa Butter & Chocolate?
That’s right, the cocoa beans that create cocoa butter are the same ones that create butter. But, we use a different part of the bean to create chocolate than we do to create butter.
The beans go through a process of roasting, stripping, and pressing. We use the fat of the bean to create cocoa butter. We use the cocoa powder of the bean to create chocolate.
We haven’t done much research on the effectiveness of cocoa butter. Still, people have been using cocoa butter for over 3,000 years to heal and moisturize their skin. If it wasn’t effective, we wouldn’t still be using cocoa butter today. Clearly, it is an amazing, natural source of healing.
Unrefined VS Refined Cocoa Butter
Now, there are two different kinds of cocoa butter: refined and unrefined. The difference lies in the way we extract the butter.
We make refined cocoa butter by exposing the beans to extreme heat and harsh chemicals. This exposure causes the cocoa butter to lose most of the nutrients that make it so good for our skin.
So, why do people use refined cocoa butter?
The answer is simple — it’s easier to use in beauty products. Refined cocoa butter is popular among manufacturers because it’s more stable. It mixes better with other ingredients, and it has a longer shelf life.
Still, I will always recommend using unrefined cocoa butter. It’s a little harder to mix with other ingredients, but it’s possible. It won’t last as long, but its nutrients will be much better for your skin. Also, because it isn’t harshly refined, you will smell like chocolate after using it!
Is Cocoa Butter Good For Dry Skin?
Does cocoa butter help dry skin? Yes! In fact, cocoa butter works better for dry skin than it does for any other type of skin. But, why is this?
In short, it’s because of cocoa butter’s hydrating properties and amazing nutrients.
Cocoa butter acts as an emollient that locks hydration into the skin. It is a thick substance that easily penetrates deep into the skin. This keeps the skin hydrated for longer.
Besides moisturizing the skin, cocoa butter is able to heal the skin. This prevents itchiness, issues like eczema or psoriasis, and future dryness.
Cocoa butter contains antioxidants and nutrients. These include Vitamin E and K, magnesium, copper, iron, and choline. Antioxidants fight free radicals that cause damage to the skin. Cocoa butter also contains fatty acids like oleic, palmitic, and stearic acid. These help with inflammation.
Cocoa Butter For Dry Face
Cocoa butter works well on the dry skin of the rest of your body. But, can you use cocoa butter for dry skin on face? This is going to depend on your skin.
Generally, cocoa butter is safe to use on your face if you have dry skin. But, this isn’t always the case.
Cocoa butter is comedogenic, meaning that it is likely to clog your pores. This is a problem if you have acne-prone skin because it can cause a break-out.
Many people who have dry skin don’t deal with acne, but many others do. So, if you have dry skin, but you also deal with acne on your face, cocoa butter won’t be a good option for you.
Can You Use Cocoa Butter For Itchy Skin?
Yes, cocoa butter can help with itchy skin. Cocoa butter is a moisturizer that also heals damaged skin. Itching is a result of damage and irritation. So, as the cocoa butter heals your skin, it will also relieve itchiness.
Can You Use Cocoa Butter For Dry Scalp?
Absolutely! Many people use cocoa butter in their hair. It strengthens and repairs damaged hair. This means that you can also use cocoa butter for dry and itchy scalp. You can buy shampoos and conditioners with cocoa butter in them, or you can create your own hair product.
I’ve included a recipe for a great cocoa butter hair mask:
Cocoa Butter Hair Mask
This recipe is lovely because it will relieve your dry, itchy scalp. It does this while also strengthening your hair and making it shinier!
Ingredients
- 6 tsp
cocoa butter - 3 tsp
jojoba oil - 3 tsp honey
How To Make It
- Using a double boiler, melt the cocoa butter on low heat
- Remove the pot from the heat
- Mix in the jojoba oil and honey
- Allow the mixture to sit for about 5-minutes until it solidifies
How To Use It
- Massage the mixture into your hair from root to tip
- Allow the mixture to soak into your hair for at least 15-minutes
- Rinse your hair
Can You Use Cocoa Butter For Dry Feet?
Yes, you can use cocoa butter on any of your skin, so feet are definitely safe. As feet are one of the most neglected body parts, cocoa butter can soothe itching, cracking, and roughness.
Benefits Of Cocoa Butter For Dry Skin
Of course, the main benefit to your dry skin is cocoa butter’s moisturizing properties. But, it has some other great properties as well.
Cocoa Butter Protects Skin
The thickness of cocoa butter doesn’t just moisturize the skin, it also protects it. It forms a protective barrier over the skin that shields it from sun damage, pollution, and dirt.
Cocoa butter is especially great at protecting against UV sun damage. The Vitamin E it contains helps to block the skin from up to 67% of UV rays.
BUT, you should not use cocoa butter as your sole protection against the sun.
Cocoa Butter Fights The Signs Of Aging
At first glance, this doesn’t seem to have anything to do with dry skin. Yet, dry, damaged skin can cause your skin to break down and age faster.
Cocoa butter promotes the creation of collagen and elastin in your skin. Both of these proteins keep your skin looking young and healthy. When your skin is healthy and more flexible, it is less likely to become dry and damaged.
Cocoa Butter Has Anti-Inflammatory Properties
Dry, damaged skin has a tendency to become inflamed and irritated. This is especially true if you deal with issues like eczema or psoriasis.
The Vitamin E in cocoa butter fights inflammation by supporting your immune system. With a stronger immune system, your skin is less likely to flare up. It will also be less likely to experience inflammation.
How To Use Cocoa Butter On Dry Skin
Cocoa butter is easy to use, but there are a few different ways you can go about applying it.
Use Cocoa Butter As-Is
Many people choose to use cocoa butter by itself, and this is very effective. You’ll simply massage the butter into your skin like you would with any cream or lotion.
Buy A Product With Cocoa Butter As An Ingredient
Another option is to buy a product that includes cocoa butter as one of the ingredients. This is a good option because it’s not hard to find beauty products that contain cocoa butter. Cocoa butter is a popular ingredient in beauty products.
The nice thing about using a premade product is that it contains other ingredients. Many times, a product may include things like coconut oil or essential oils. These ingredients will work with the cocoa butter to better heal your skin.
Unfortunately, the downside of man-made products also lies within the ingredients. Sometimes, manufacturers include ingredients or chemicals that are actually bad for the skin. Also, most products will use refined cocoa butter. Refined butter isn’t as healing for your skin as unrefined cocoa butter.
It’s up to you to use your due diligence and check the ingredients list before buying any product.
Create Your Own Cocoa Butter Mixture
Your final option is to make your own cocoa butter creation. If you don’t know where to start, there are so many great recipes out there to guide you. I love creating my own products because I know exactly what’s going into the mixture. If you make your own, you can also choose the ingredients that work best for you.
Below, I’ve included some of my favorite cocoa butter recipes for dry skin:
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[mv_create key=”95″ type=”recipe” title=”Cocoa Butter Cream For Dry Skin” thumbnail=”null”]
Conclusion
Cocoa butter, dry skin. Cocoa butter, itchy skin. If you deal with these issues, then cocoa butter is bound to help you feel better. Cocoa butter locks moisture into your skin for extra hydration. It works to heal damaged skin cells as well as promote the growth of new cells. This will heal your skin as well as relieve any itching and irritation.
If you haven’t tried it before, consider using cocoa butter on your dry skin. It’s effective on all skin, including the feet, scalp, and face. You never know, you might have just found your new favorite beauty product.
Discover more wonderful ways to use cocoa butter for lips, face and skin. Also know all about cocoa butter skin benefits here, how to use it for diaper rash here, wrinkles here and stretch marks here. You can find more cocoa butter guides here.
