Why do so many skincare products contain cocoa butter?
This is the first part of a series taking a dive into New England Apothecary’s ingredients. I’m working on an ingredient library page as well for a brief overview.
Cocoa butter is the main component of the seeds inside cocoa pods (Theobroma cacao). Cocoa pods are first fermented and roasted, and then ground into nibs from which cocoa butter is pressure-extracted. Cocoa butter is popular in cosmetic products because it is a highly effective moisturizer, containing both emollients and occlusives, and is jam-packed with antioxidants. Here’s a closer look at precisely why I use cocoa butter in my Rescue Bar and Lip Conditioner.
What is it? Organic fair trade cocoa butter (also called Theobroma oil). This ingredient is of natural origin.
Why do I use it? I love cocoa butter for its deeply moisturizing properties and solid structure at room temp.
With a melting point just below body temp, it melts on skin contact and glides on smoothly.
Where do I use it? I like it as a solid butter in my lip balm & rescue bar. I also use it as one of the solid butters in my soap formula (to help create an extra-hard bar of soap).
Fun facts/properties:
Cocoa butter is loaded with fatty acids (triglycerides of stearic, oleic, and palmitic acids are the main constituents of its fatty acid profile). Stearic and palmitic acid are saturated, contributing to the hardness of cocoa butter at room temperature as well as it’s properties as an occlusive agent in moisturizers. Occlusives form a protective film over the skin, reducing transepidermal water loss. Triglycerides of oleic acid are effective emollients, lubricating and softening the skin. (This is an important distinction from oleic acid as a free fatty acid aka not attached to a glycerol which is known to be a barrier disruptor https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5796020/).
Cocoa butter also contains a lot of antioxidants (mainly flavenoids)
Thought to be good for the skin, may possibly scavenge free radicals that could otherwise damage the skin
Also good for product stability
Yes it’s the same ingredient as is used in chocolate
Why I buy organic/fair-trade:
Organic: environmentally friendly because the farm is certified to not use synthetic fertilizers.
Fair-trade: I care about ethical sourcing of materials! Cocoa has a child and slave labor problem, and buying fair-trade is one way to cast an economic vote for fair wages and practices throughout the supply chain.
Comedogenicity: if used on skin alone (ie 100%), cocoa butter can clog pores. I include other ingredients in my solid moisturizers (such as kokum butter and coconut oil) so that this is less of a concern. Still, as someone with extremely breakout-prone skin, I would not recommend use of the Rescue bar on the face.
Common ingredient claims (beyond moisturizing):
Stretch marks - anecdotal - science does not indicate that cocoa butter will reduce or prevent the occurrence of stretch marks more than a placebo lotion - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjd.13426
Scar healing - also anecdotal
Eczema/dermatitis - will help to relieve dryness associated with these conditions. As far as I can tell, this seems to be both factual and anecdotal. This is because the relief of dryness is as a result of the occlusive and emollient properties of cocoa butter’s fatty acids, so as a result it wouldn’t really make sense to run a controlled/randomized trial to assess cocoa butter versus other well known occlusives— you would expect the answer to be that they’re about the same. Do note, tho, that all the claims are related to relief of the symptoms of dryness/itchiness, and not actually curing or treating eczema or dermatitis.
More reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa_butter
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjd.13426
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5796020/
https://labmuffin.com/video-skincare-oils-free-fatty-acids-science/
Skincare Oils and Free Fatty Acids: The Science | Lab Muffin Beauty Science
https://labmuffin.com/fact-check-how-to-use-comedogenicity-ratings/
https://foodispower.org/human-labor-slavery/slavery-chocolate/
https://theconversation.com/child-slavery-in-west-africa-understanding-cocoa-farming-is-key-to-ending-the-practice-170315
