Chocolate is both delicious and healthy! Even though you shouldn’t eat too much of it, there are no limits when it comes to chocolate in beauty products. How and where is chocolate produced? What cosmetic benefits does it have? Check out my recipe for a home chocolate massage.

Where & how is chocolate made?

Saying that chocolate grows on trees isn’t exaggeration. It grows on cocoa trees – evergreen plants found in rainforests. They bear fruits all year round. A cocoa tree has shiny leaves and pink flowers which change into big, long fruits. Each one contains a few dozens of cocoa seeds.

After taking the seeds out, they must lie on banana leaves for a week in order to ferment. Next, the seeds are dried and roasted – fatty pulp is squeezed out from them. If chocolate is made for the food industry, the pulp is just mixed with sugar, powdered milk and water, and beaten for smooth mass. Cosmetic chocolate, on the other hand, requires more advanced technologies.

Chocolate – ingredients

The seeds of cocoa, which chocolate is made from, are the priceless ingredient in many beauty products. They are jam-packed with vitamins (including vit. A, group B, E and PP), magnesium, iron, zinc, as well as carbohydrates, flavonoids, caffeine, and theobromine which has a conditioning effect. Chocolate replenishes lipid layer, intensively moisturises and nourishes skin. Thanks to theobromine and caffeine, it helps lose weight, fights off cellulite, boosts skin firmness, elasticity and tone. Moreover, it enhances blood circulation and stimulates the flow of lymph, removing the excess of water and toxins, reducing swellings at the same time. Vitamins and mineral salts in combination with polyphenols and flavonoids slow down aging processes and keep skin healthy.

All in all, a chocolate body massage is among the most luxury therapies offered by beauty salons. It uses products abounding in the most valuable ingredients – the mixture of cocoa, cocoa butter, fats, spices and milk. An evening is the best time for performing the chocolate massage. The first step usually involves a body scrub with cocoa seeds which does away with dead skin cells, moisturises skin and primes it for a real treat: a chocolate mask or warm chocolate massage.

Chocolate – beauty benefits

Keeping skin supple is an important yet not the only function of cocoa seeds. There are few other natural ingredients which add radiance and brighten tired skin so quickly and effectively. What’s more, chocolate rapidly moisturises, smoothes and protects skin from aging.

In order to keep most of the properties, cocoa seeds are mixed with milk – this allows easier absorption and skin repair at the same time. Cocoa seeds are base products for body lotions, bubble bath formulas, face creams, makeup primers and lip protective balms.

Manufacturers of some chocolate-enriched products, infuse them with a bit of cinnamon, aromatic pear or raspberry or whipped cream. This is what makes them smell like some mouth-watering desserts. Obviously, the fragrance isn’t the only asset. Such products have a body-tightening and slimming effect – caffeine in cocoa seeds takes credit for that. Even though caffeine is found in  nearly every anti-cellulite product, it’s not always obvious when you smell it. On the other hand, it’s been proven that an aroma plays a key role when it comes to body care products.

Chocolate – other benefits

Chocolate beauty products enhance the condition of skin and facilitate the function of nerve cells thanks to easily absorbed nutrients. Additionally, zinc and selenium encourage endorphins which let you deal with stress and neurosis. People in love are said to have the highest level of endorphins so chocolate cosmetics are often treated like remedies for various problems and blues. Studies show that we become calmer and milder thanks to chocolate, as well as more resistant to viruses.

My recipe for a home chocolate massage

Before getting down to the massage, we should do a full body scrub. Choose dark chocolate which has a high protein content. You need around 2 bars of chocolate for the whole body. Melt them in a pot and control the heat – hot chocolate will burn your skin. Add a few drops of oils e.g. cinnamon or argan oil to easily spread the mixture on skin.

I do the treatment myself but you can ask someone for assistance. I pour some chocolate on the skin and massage it in with circular motions. The massage lasts around 30 minutes. Afterwards, I rinse the chocolate out using lukewarm water. A sponge comes in useful, too.