Chocolate for beauty

Shahnaz Husain *

Who doesn’t love chocolates ? Resisting chocolates is hard, no doubt! Chocolate tastes good and it’s easy to overeat it. Well, it's not just the perfect treat to lift your mood, but a great ingredient for the skin too because your skin loves chocolates as much as your palate.

The good news is that chocolate facials suit almost every skin type. Pure dark chocolate and cacao are actually rich in antioxidants, which help support optimized functions in our skin.

Rich in vitamins A, B1, C, D and E, plus iron and calcium, it can boost your skin's moisture, protect from sun damage and diminish wrinkles. Dark chocolates are very nutritious and have a number of beauty benefits.

As tasty as chocolate is, of late this sweet treat is being revered for everything it can do for your skin.

Here’s all you need to know about this luxurious facial and its benefits.

In the high-end spas and salons, chocolate facials are premium treatments. It also helps to nourish the skin and make it soft and smooth. Chocolate is also said to induce relaxation, which is an advantage in skin treatments.

Chocolate range used in home facials comprises of a scrub, a cream and a mask. The scrub for exfoliation contains coffee beans along with cocoa powder. These products also contain plant ingredients and oils, like walnut, aloe vera, almond oil, grapefruit, rose, etc. The facial softens the skin, calms the senses and imparts a glow.

The anti-oxidant properties of chocolate also help to rejuvenate the skin and preserve its youthful properties. To derive the benefits of chocolate skin care, chocolate face packs can be made at home, using chocolate or cocoa powder along with some kitchen ingredients. Plain chocolate can be powdered and used in the pack.

Now chocolate waxing has caught on. It is done with a specially formulated wax, which contains cocoa beans or dark chocolate. Research has revealed that dark chocolate benefits the skin due to its cocoa content. It is said to be very high in antioxidants, which help to prevent oxidation damage by free radicals. It also boosts the skin’s cell renewal process.

As far as using chocolate wax is concerned, it offers all the benefits of applying chocolate on the skin. For example, chocolate helps to soften and smoothen the skin. It also boosts the skin’s cell renewal process due to its antioxidant properties. Cocoa beans are also anti-inflammatory. In this respect, chocolate waxing reduces inflammation and there is less redness and even pain.

It is said that chocolate waxing causes less discomfort. The effects are also longer lasting. As we all know, chocolate has a delicious aroma and is said to actually induce relaxation, because it has mood altering properties.

It calms the mind and provides a “feel-good” mental state. Therefore, it has aromatherapy benefits, because the delicious aroma of chocolate is most appealing and helps to induce relaxation. This helps the entire waxing process.

Here are a few chocolate masks which you can mix at home:

Mix together three teaspoons cocoa powder and 2 teaspoons oats with egg white and one teaspoon each honey and curd. Adjust the ingredients, so that it is a thick paste, which does not drip. If it is too thin, add more cocoa powder.

To make it thinner, add more curd or milk. For dry skin, add egg yolk, instead of egg white. First cleanse the skin and then apply the mask, avoiding the lips and area around eyes. Wash it off after 20 to 30 minutes with plain water.

For an oily skin, mix cocoa powder or chocolate with Fuller’s Earth or “multani mitti”, egg white and rose water. Apply on the face and wash it off when it is dry. In fact, fruit pulp can also be added to this pack.

Ripe papaya would be ideal. It contains enzymes and helps to loosen dead cells and help their removal. It also helps to remove tan. Mashed banana can also be added to the pack, as it helps to tighten the skin.

You can also make a chocolate scrub at home. Mix cocoa powder with coffee powder, ground almond or walnut powder and curd. In fact, you can have a luxury treatment at home, using chocolate formulations. After cleansing, apply your home made scrub. Leave it on for a few minutes.

Then, moisten with water and rub gently on the skin with small circular movements. Wash off with water. Exfoliation with scrubs helps to remove dead skin cells and brighten the skin.

A chocolate nourishing cream can be used to massage the face with a little cold water, using outward and slightly upward movements. Massage with creams suits normal to dry skin. Wipe off with moist cotton wool.

After the massage, give the skin cold compress with chilled rose water and cotton wool pads. Then apply your Chocolate face pack, avoiding the lips and area around eyes. After 20 to 30 minutes, moisten with milk and then wash off with water.