Face Cocoa Butter: Properties and Applications

Any oils bring invaluable benefits in skin care.The rich composition, environmental friendliness and naturalness, versatility and impressive effect - all this explains why women around the world turn to this kind of cosmetic products. One of the best oils for the face is cocoa butter. It is not only effective, but also convenient and pleasant to use.

Cocoa butter is often referred to as “the gift of Aphrodite” or “food of the gods,” thus recalling its amazing properties. Although some people mistakenly assume that it looks like a package of chocolate butter sold in grocery stores, in fact, everything looks a little different. The color of the substance is light yellow, but the smell is indeed chocolate (someone, to be sure, calls it milky-nut), and the texture is dense and oily. Briquette of plant origin is quite hard, breaking at room temperature. Cocoa butter is able to solve many skin problems, including such complex as the restoration of tissue regeneration. Of course, it is worth adding that it is used not only in cosmetology, but also in cooking, and even in medicine.

For the first time the use of this product for beauty was noted in the ancient Mayan tribes. Today, this method is used everywhere. Butter is obtained from cocoa beans, originally grown in South Africa, but today - in other parts of the world. The beans are pressed at a high temperature and thus cocoa powder and cocoa butter are formed. Before pressing it is also necessary to carry out fermentation and sorting, high-quality cleaning and grinding.

The resulting product has a rich composition - here and nutrients, and fatty acids, and a variety of vitamins.

Speaking about the "food of the gods", it is necessary to mention its beneficial properties for the skin. Due to the presence of oleic acid, it is possible to normalize the work of the sebaceous glands, since lipid metabolism is affected. This means that the skin will become less fat and shine, as the production of sebum will be under control. It will turn out and avoid the appearance of pimples due to clogged pores.

A component such as lauric acid is able to moisturize overdried, flaky skin and keep it in a similar state for a long time. It works great in combination with linoleic acid and retains moisture in the cells. If you use this product regularly, palmitic acid will make the face fresh and radiant, as well as relieve various spots and redness. Finally, arachidic acid helps skin cells to better absorb nutrients.

In addition to acid, cocoa butter is rich in vitamins, which also have a beneficial effect on the skin. For example, vitamin E helps get rid of wrinkles. It produces collagen and elastin fibers, which, in turn, turn the skin into elastic and taut. Vitamin K provides a means of amazing ability to heal wounds, burns or cracks, and, in addition, lighten the pigment spots. It is important to mention phytosterols - these components are responsible for cell regeneration.

First, the use of the “gift of Aphrodite” as a cosmetic tool is strictly prohibited to those who are allergic to this product. To check whether unexpected reactions will occur, you can do the following: put the substance on the elbow bend and leave it there for about ten minutes. If irritation, itching, redness does not occur, then there is nothing to fear.

Secondly, you should not smear your face in the case when the skin is too oily and even inflamed - this way the tool will clog the pores even more, and there will be no positive effect. But this refers to the pure product, if the oil will be used as a component of the mask, everything will go fine. In general, in any case, in order not to clog the pores, before carrying out cosmetic procedures it is necessary to thoroughly cleanse the skin.

Finally, thirdly, due to the large amount of fatty acids, one will have to be careful about those with facial implants or purulent processes.

Having found out contraindications, it is worth clarifying in which situations you should definitely try the effect of this drug. These include irritation and dryness of the skin, scars, wrinkles, scratches, post-acne and redness. Cocoa butter will have to be applied by the way, when the skin is already beginning to age, because the product guarantees regeneration and rejuvenation.

A good recommendation is to test the product to the owner of oily skin - the components of the oil normalize and balance its work. In addition, the product is often used in the sunny season as a protection against ultraviolet radiation.

Reviews of cosmetologists say first of all that the use of the “gift of Aphrodite” at home is permitted only if several important rules are observed. It is important to buy oil only from authorized sellers, making sure that the product is natural and does not contain additives. In order for the solid butter bar to become liquid, it will have to be melted in a water bath, turning on a small fire. But sometimes it will be enough and just to warm it in your palms.

Before using the product for the face, it will need to be checked on the crook of the elbow or the wrist - this is how the presence of allergic reactions is checked. It is better to mix the individual components of the cosmetic using a blender - so the structure will be homogeneous.

As soon as the mask or cream is ready, they should immediately be applied to the face. Otherwise, the cosmetic will harden, and it will be much more difficult to work with it. When the procedure is performed at home, all cosmetics should be washed off first, then steaming is performed to open the pores and scrub. Oil is applied along the massage lines, without pressure, in a circular motion.

After the procedure, the cocoa-butter mixture is removed with a cotton pad or cloth, previously soaked in warm milk. Oil rubbing is followed by paper toweling. Wash better not worth it. After the cosmetic ritual with cocoa butter will be held ten times, somewhere for a couple of months it will be necessary to allow the cells to recover and rest from fatty acids.

In order to rejuvenate cosmetologists recommend using a rejuvenating mask. A teaspoon of melted cocoa butter to be mixed with a tablespoon of grape seed oil, without removing the substance from the water bath. Everything is thoroughly mixed and removed from the heat, then the product is supplemented with a teaspoon of aloe leaf pulp. It will be necessary to apply the mask, without waiting for it to cool. Nourishing cream will be salvation for flaky, dry skin. Conveniently, you do not even have to carry out any additional procedures - the oil is slightly warmed up in the palms, and the face is rubbed before bedtime. Substance does not even need to be washed off.

Russia is famous for frosty winters, so in the cold season you can supplement the nourishing cream with a protective one.To do this, half an hour before going out on the street, the skin is rubbed with oil, also flooded in the palms, and when it comes time to go outside - get wet with a paper towel. The same procedure can be carried out in the summer, going to the beach. Cocoa butter is able to protect the cover and not allow the liquid to evaporate. Additional hydration of the skin around the eyes can also be accomplished using cocoa butter. It is melted to the required consistency, and then the delicate area is treated with a cotton pad. It is believed that it is possible to eliminate bags under the eyes and fine wrinkles.

To the surprise of this product will help even the eyelashes. If you mix it with castor oil and apply for ten minutes, then their condition will significantly improve. It is important not to maintain a solution on the eyelashes more than the specified period. Everything is then removed with a cotton pad.

Speaking of lips, here too “the gift of Aphrodite” will come to the rescue - a couple of drops per day applied to this part of the face are enough. A more complex variation looks like a tablespoon of “food of the gods”, a teaspoon of beeswax (also melted) and two tablespoons of wheat germ oil. In order not to burn yourself, the mixture will have to be cooled for a while.

Of course, oil masks - combinations of cocoa with dogrose, peach, sesame or almond are particularly popular. Usually all solutions are used in equal proportions. As an example of a mask, we can mention a mixture of a tablespoon of cocoa butter, a teaspoon of wild rose, a teaspoon of sea buckthorn, four drops of vitamin A, four drops of vitamin E and a tablespoon of regular cream.

For a high-quality cleansing a good idea would be to prepare a honey scrub. To this end, combine a tablespoon of liquid quality honey, two tablespoons of cocoa butter, a tablespoon of crushed almonds and a tablespoon of oatmeal.

You can calm down after a hard busy day with a compress. In melted butter, gauze is moistened, then the cloth is placed over the eyes and everything is covered with a towel. A similar procedure copes with circles under the eyes. Gauze is also wetted in melted butter, then laid out in the necessary area for ten minutes. After completing the procedure, the face is washed with cold water, and then the frozen parsley extract is treated under the eyes.

As a prevention of wrinkles, problem areas can be treated with a mixture of cocoa and sea buckthorn oil. A good supplement will be vitamin E or a couple drops of rose essential oil. All other ingredients are taken in equal proportions - one tablespoon. This mask can be used thrice a week.

Another effective tool is considered a natural nut scrub. In addition to two tablespoons of cocoa butter, crushed walnuts, oatmeal, ground into flour, and a tablespoon of honey are taken. Everything is mixed and applied twice a week. Dry lips will save a mixture of a tablespoon of "food of the gods" and a teaspoon of beeswax. In addition, two tablespoons of wheat germ are introduced into the liquid substance. Apply to the sensitive skin of the lips it can only be in the cooled state, and stored in the refrigerator.

For how to make cocoa butter day cream, see the next video.