When it comes to making your own beauty products, cocoa butter is probably one of the first things you buy. It’s got so many uses and so many skin benefits!
Extracted from cocoa beans, the fat is a major ingredient in the chocolate industry, but it’s also loved by cosmetic companies. And for good reason: it’s antioxidants-packed and has a long shelf life (up to five years!). It has a pleasant texture and it smells… like the best chocolate ever.
Cocoa butter is a natural anti-inflammatory [source] and it packs essential fatty acids that help it hydrate the skin and lock in moisture, making it soft and supple. It contains nourishing oleic, palmitic, and stearic acids [source], all of which are amazing for the skin.
12 Ways to Use Cocoa Butter
So if you’ve just ordered your first cocoa butter and don’t know what to do with it… we’ve got some good ideas:
1. Chocolate polish lip scrub
Get soft, kissable lips almost instantly with a combination of cocoa butter, coconut oil, sugar and cocoa powder. The ingredients are easy to procure, and entirely edible (and delicious).
The treatment can be applied once a week, and it’s particularly useful during cold winter months when your lips tend to be dry and chapped.
2. Matcha bath melts
Dry, itchy skin will benefit from these super-moisturizing, soothing bath melts. Made with an easy cocoa butter base and antioxidant matcha, they leave your skin hydrated and soft.
Bonus points: unlike bath bombs, bath melts are almost impossible to mess up and they take just about an hour to make. You can even make festive ones by using holiday soap molds and switching up the essential oils.
3. Stretch marks remedy
Cocoa butter is your friend during pregnancy! Prevent the appearance of stretch marks by applying cocoa butter to you belly and thighs on a daily basis. The moisturizing butter also helps if you already have stretch marks or scars that you want to smooth and heal.
4. Mint Chocolate Homemade Lip Gloss
Reduce the amount of chocolate you eat by using homemade mint chocolate lip gloss. This one is made with coconut oil and cocoa butter, and enriched with vitamin E and peppermint oil for soft, hydrated lips.
If chocolate is not your thing (who are you?), you might like this vegan matcha lip balm instead – it’s also made with cocoa butter, in addition to other moisturizing ingredients such as mango and shea butter.
5. All-in-One Body Balm
If there’s one balm you’re gonna make, let it be this one! It’s made with a trio of moisturizing, healing ingredients: cocoa butter, jojoba and coconut oil. The result is an amazing multi-purpose balm that can be used on your skin to heal and moisturize, to soothe sunburn, on chapped lips or cuticles, dry elbows or to tame flyaway hairs.
6. Moisturizing bath salts
You really only need Epsom salt, cocoa butter and almond oil to make the best bath salts you’ve ever tried. But we like to take it to the next level and add flower petals, citrus zest or essential oils into the mix.
7. Sugar scrub bars
These next level sugar scrubs in bar form are your ally against dry skin. You can make them striped by switching up the scents and sugar, or you can keep them simple if that’s more your thing. Either way, you’ll get nourishing, exfoliating goodness that leaves your skin feeling at its best.
8. After Sun Butter
Sunburn can happen even if we avoid sun exposure most of the time. And using cocoa butter to soothe sunburn is your best bet: it moisturizes and soothes sensitive skin, it reduces scars and fights off free-radical damage. If you want to heal faster and soothe your skin, this is the recipe for you.
9. Bronzing Caffeine Butter Bars
Bust cellulite and add some color to your skin with these easy bronzing caffeine butter bars. You basically infuse coconut oil with coffee, to rip those skin-tightening, cellulite-busting benefits, then add some natural color with cinnamon and cocoa powder. Needless to say, these butter bars have the best scent!
10. De-Stress Body Butter
You can make body butter with just two ingredients: cocoa butter and coconut oil. However, adding magnesium oil to the mix helps de-stress, reduce anxiety, headaches, fatigue and insomnia. Paired with some mood-boosting essential oils, this body butter is self-care in a jar.
11. No More Cold Sores Lip Balm
There are many factors that contribute to cold sore outbreaks, including sleep deprivation, stress, sun exposure or various illnesses. Luckily, essential oils such as melissa, eucalyptus or tea tree can keep them at bay. The cocoa butter in this lip balm helps with chapped lips, while the essential oils keep cold sores at bay.
12. Matcha Lotion Bars
These super-hydrating bars keep solid at room temp but start melt when rubbed on the skin, leaving behind a thin layer of moisture. They’re made with Vitamin E-rich cocoa butter and antioxidant matcha and sweet orange essential oil, leaving the skin soft, supple, and nicely scented.
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