Do you know chocolate & cocoa are terrific for your skin?
“Chocolate is a gift of love to yourself.”
Sonja Blumenthal
Sonja Blumenthal
Who doesn’t love chocolate! Sweet, rich, delicious and so sinfully pleasurable that just one bite lifts up mood like nothing else. However, what most people don’t know that chocolate is just as wonderful for skin too.
Applying chocolate to skin – the right kind of chocolate applied in the right way, of course – can help keep your skin hydrated, soft and youthful. Yes, really!
Let’s discover why chocolate works for your skin, and how you can include it in your skincare regimen.
Applying chocolate to skin – the right kind of chocolate applied in the right way, of course – can help keep your skin hydrated, soft and youthful. Yes, really!
Let’s discover why chocolate works for your skin, and how you can include it in your skincare regimen.
Chocolate comes from cocoa, the superfood
Cocoa beans (also called cacao beans) – the raw material for chocolates - are superfood rich in vitamins A, B1, C, D & E. These also have healthy fatty acids, caffeine and minerals such as manganese, iron, copper and calcium, along with the very potent flavonoid antioxidants.
Cocoa beans are harvested from the cocoa or cacao (Theobroma cacao) plant that’s native to South America. Post harvest, cocoa beans are fermented and dried. Then cocoa butter (plant fats) and cocoa solids (non-fat components) are extracted from these. Both cocoa butter and ground cocoa solids (also called cocoa powder) are processed along with sugar, milk fats and flavourings to make the confectionary we know and love as chocolates. Please note, it is the high sugar content in chocolate that’s linked to obesity risk. Darker chocolates, low in sugar and high in cocoa butter, are actually excellent for your health and skin.
Cocoa beans are harvested from the cocoa or cacao (Theobroma cacao) plant that’s native to South America. Post harvest, cocoa beans are fermented and dried. Then cocoa butter (plant fats) and cocoa solids (non-fat components) are extracted from these. Both cocoa butter and ground cocoa solids (also called cocoa powder) are processed along with sugar, milk fats and flavourings to make the confectionary we know and love as chocolates. Please note, it is the high sugar content in chocolate that’s linked to obesity risk. Darker chocolates, low in sugar and high in cocoa butter, are actually excellent for your health and skin.
Not just for eating, works for topical application too
You must have heard that if a food is good enough to go into your mouth, it is good enough to go on your skin too. Well, it is absolutely true in case of chocolates and cocoa.
Chocolate doesn’t just taste divine; because of cocoa’s rich nutritional and antioxidant profile, it also has a divine effect on your skin.
All top spas and salons provide skincare treatments woven around chocolate and cocoa. These decadent treatments are truly nourishing and pampering for the skin and leave it feeling lush, loved and luscious.
Chocolate doesn’t just taste divine; because of cocoa’s rich nutritional and antioxidant profile, it also has a divine effect on your skin.
All top spas and salons provide skincare treatments woven around chocolate and cocoa. These decadent treatments are truly nourishing and pampering for the skin and leave it feeling lush, loved and luscious.
Skin benefits of chocolate and cocoa
A quality chocolate in any form contains a good amount of both cocoa butter and cocoa powder. Cocoa butter is rich in palmitic, stearic, and oleic fatty acids. These nourish the skin and are great for leaving the skin moisturized, hydrated and smoother than before.
Cocoa solids or powder are rich in caffeine, vitamins, flavonoids, a group of potent antioxidants, and minerals. These help check photo damage (skin damage due to sun’s UV rays) and free radical damage due to pollutants. Caffeine in cocoa powder boosts blood flow to reduce collagen breakdown that’s otherwise responsible for fine lines and wrinkles. This gives chocolate excellent anti-aging qualities and keeps age spots and fine lines at bay.
Cocoa solids or powder are rich in caffeine, vitamins, flavonoids, a group of potent antioxidants, and minerals. These help check photo damage (skin damage due to sun’s UV rays) and free radical damage due to pollutants. Caffeine in cocoa powder boosts blood flow to reduce collagen breakdown that’s otherwise responsible for fine lines and wrinkles. This gives chocolate excellent anti-aging qualities and keeps age spots and fine lines at bay.
Chocolate in your exfoliation ritual
No need to go for expensive spa/salon treatments. You can give your skin the benefits of chocolates by incorporating it into your skincare regimen right at home.
One excellent and totally no-fuss way to do this is by using Body Cupid Chocolate Body Scrub once a week.
One excellent and totally no-fuss way to do this is by using Body Cupid Chocolate Body Scrub once a week.
Enriched with premium cocoa butter and cocoa powder, along with fine quality walnut shell powder, Body Cupid Chocolate Body Scrub not only removes dirt, impurities and dead cells, it also reduces signs of pre-mature aging and reveals younger and firmer skin from underneath. This awesome scrub has two superb ingredients – Cocoa Powder and Cocoa Butter – to do wonders for your skin. Cocoa Powder is loaded with caffeine and antioxidants. Caffeine boosts blood circulation to firm up skin. Antioxidants neutralize harmful free radicals to slow down skin aging. Cocoa Butter works as emollient for moisturizing, softening and nourishing the skin. Fine Walnut Shell Powder helps remove dead cells and impurities. Used regularly, this scrub makes rough spots and dead skin disappear gradually. What you do get is firmer, smoother, younger and more glowing skin.