December 2017 - Rachel Ellen

Tuesday 5 December 2017

Does cocoa butter cause spots?


Cocoa butter is a vegetable fat extracted from the cocoa bean. It's used in chocolate and in some toiletries. It has a long storage life, and has moisturising properties that are often recommended for prevention of dry and itchy skin.

For many people, cocoa butter is an excellent moisturiser. It is thought to have been used for improving skin tone as far back as 1000 BC. But is it good to use on acne prone skin?

Moisturising is important for all skin types (even oily skin) and can help clear acne, but it's important to get the right product. 

Though cocoa butter has excellent moisturising properties, it also has pore clogging properties. 

The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology analyses different natural oils and have assembled a rating system to rate how much they clog pores:

"The Journal has assembled a massive list of the comedogenic properties of skincare oils. Comedogenicity is a measure of a substance’s ability to clog skin pores, and the Journal has invented 6 ratings. 0 = will not clog your pores. 1 = low chance of clogging your pores. 2= moderately low chance, 3 = moderate chance, 4 = fairly high chance of pores being blocked, and 5 = a very high chance." (source)
Cocoa butter scores 4 on the comedogencity scale (the same score as coconut oil).

For some people, cocoa butter based skin products will be a great solution to dry skin. But for those who regularly suffer from acne, it's probably best to stay away and opt for something that would rank a lower score on the comedogenicity scale.

Do you know any moisturisers that are good for acne prone skin?

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