All About Cocoa Butter–Protect Your Skin With The Best Brands!

Cocoa butter is something so many of us grow up knowing and loving. To me, the smell of cocoa butter is evocative of warmth, softness and love. And chocolate, obviously. It’s something we’re so familiar with but still know so little about. Let me put you up on cocoa butter game, so you’ll know what to look for when stocking up for cold weather season!

Cocoa butter comes from the cocoa bean, and it’s also used to make chocolate. It’s a vegetable fat that’s extremely emollient, and many of us have been led to believe it can help to prevent stretch marks (although research indicates that’s more of a wishful thinking thing). Whatever. It feels good, it smells good, and it really does impart long lasting moisture to the skin!

 

If you’re familiar with the stuff, you know there’s cheap, thin, why-did-I-buy-this cocoa butter, and then there are products of quality. The kind that offer thicker, more substantial, more penetrating moisture. The kind that is worth your money. I’ve tried cocoa butter lotions and potions of all kinds, from the high end department store variety to the bargain basement why-are-there-shards-of-plastic-in-here kind, to the solid brick of real deal Holyfield kind. These are some of my favorite butter blends, whips and lotions to keep your situation moisturized all winter long. Some you may already know and love, others you may now be getting introduced to!

Palmer’s – Some brands dabble in the cocoa butter biz. Palmer’s is ALL ABOUT it. they’ve got cocoa butter everything, from scar serum to lip butter, BB cream, heel repair, facial cleansing wipes – you name it, they make it with their cocoa butter formula. My personal favorites of their products are the classic lotion and the body butter cream, both are super rich and penetrate my skin beautifully (especially when I’m still wet from the shower).

Queen Helene – You already know I have strong feelings about Queen Helene! I’m a fan of so many of the veteran brand’s products, and looking back I think this was one of the first cocoa butter products I ever tried. I still have a soft spot for the cocoa butter crème, and the solid is great for winter legs and feet.

Oyin Handmade  – I stan for Oyin Handmade because their products are all AMAZING! Their No Ash At All lotion is the PERFECT cocoa butter lotion – the right texture, consistency, scent and it’s SO effective on my dry skin. I just ran out and I’m already in panic mode – it’s that serious! Aloe juice, olive oil, shea butter and vegetable glycerin combine to make my skin so luxuriously soft.

Soap & Glory – Maybe you’ve seen the distinctive pink retro-with-a-sassy-twist packaging on shelves at Sephora, but if you haven’t yet tried Soap & Glory, know that you’re missing out! Their Butter Yourself is a lush combination of shea butter, cocoa butter, plus “exfoliating AHAs, orange waterjuice™, shea butter, peppermint oil & fruitliquid fig.” What does it smell like? Fruity, fabulous, fresh and damn near edible.

The Body Shop – There are those who swear by The Body Shop body butters to face Chicago’s winters, and I totally understand why. The texture and lasting effects of their butters are always excellent. The cocoa butter is exactly what you’d want it to be – thick, creamy and dreamy. Best applied to damp skin.

Those are my 5 fave cocoa butter recommendations – which is your fave? If I missed yours, let me know in the comments below!