What does cocoa butter do on the skin?
Cocoa butter is the fat from the beans of the cacao tree. It is hard at room temperature and softens at body temperature, as it melts at around 30 to 35 °C. Most of its fatty acids are stearic, oleic and palmitic acid. On the skin it leaves a dense film that slows down water evaporation and keeps dry areas supple. It brings no water of its own, so it is best applied to slightly damp skin. Profile: Cocoa butter
What is in our body butter?
The solid body butter has six ingredients: cocoa butter, olive oil, beeswax, sunflower oil, shea butter and aloe vera extract. Because it contains no water, it needs neither an emulsifier nor a preservative. No perfume or essential oils are added; it smells slightly of honey, which comes from the beeswax. For the same reason it is not vegan. Each raw material is explained in What is in the solid body butter.
How to apply it
Ideally straight after a shower, on warm skin that you have only patted dry. Stroke the bar over the dry areas or warm it in your hands and massage the butter in. Take a little and add more if needed: the oils spread, while butter and wax stay as a thin film. If your skin is still shiny after a few minutes, it was too much. Whether oil or butter suits you better is explained in Body oil or body butter?, how soon after showering in The three-minute rule.
Also for hands, feet and face?
On hands, feet, elbows and knees, yes. On the face it is at most something for individual dry patches. In rabbit-ear tests, cocoa butter scored high on the blackhead scale; but those tests looked at raw materials on animals, not finished products on people, so they allow neither a yes nor a no. If you try it, use very little and test on a small area first. The butter is not meant for the lips or the eye area. More: Body butter for hands, feet and face
Tin, refill and travel size
The 40 g tin lasts for about 100 applications. After that, top it up with the refill: the same butter, 40 g, without a tin. For travelling there is the 8 g travel size for about 18–24 applications, and the body care set gives you tin and refill together. In summer warmth the butter softens because cocoa and shea butter melt early; that does not mean it has spoiled. Let it set again somewhere cool: Storing solid cosmetics
More on the topic
Lotion bar: what is a solid lotion? · Dry elbows and knees · Why does skin feel tight after a shower? · Skincare with shea butter · For dry skin
