There are many concerns that arise when one finds out she is pregnant. Aside from hoping the baby won’t have 12 fingers or inherit grandpa’s hooked nose, many moms are rightfully afraid of the S-word. That’s right, stretch marks.
If you’re one of the lucky few who managed to pass adolescence without a stretch mark or five, pregnancy is one of those times that will, again, test the limits of your thighs, belly and hips. That’s why our pregnancy stretch mark cream Tummy Butter has been a continuing best seller at The Spoiled Mama. (Everyone wants to be a cougar and not a silver-striped tiger!)
One of the main ingredients in our lotion for stretch marks is cocoa butter. (If you’ve ever smelled Tummy Butter, the cocoa butter is that chocolate-y aroma you’re sniffing.) This week, we want present to you the As, Bs and Cs of one of our favorite moisturizing ingredients.
What is cocoa butter?
Cocoa butter, also called theobroma oil, is a pale yellow fat extracted from fermented and roasted cacao seeds. Up to 58-percent of the residue left behind once the beans are separated gives us the gooey good stuff. As one of the most stable and highly concentrated fats available, the butter is a main ingredient in commercial production of white and milk chocolate.
Moisturizing Benefits
Cocoa butter works well as a moisturizing agent because it’s a lightweight fat, explains LiveStrong.com. It melts at body temperature and is easily absorbed into not only the top layer of the skin, but also the dermis layer where the body is able to retain more moisture.
Cocoa Butter for Stretch Mark Scar Treatment
Cocoa butter’s ability to go deep into the skin makes it a great treatment for scars. You know what are considered scars? Stretch marks.
Following a strict application of cocoa butter during pregnancy can help you avoid and heal those stubborn stretch marks (GreenSuitcase/Flickr).
You can spend hundreds of dollars on pregnancy stretch mark lotion, but if you dedicate yourself to a skin regimen early enough, you can save yourself a lot of time and hassle. For new pregnancy stretch marks that are still reddish-purple and slightly raised, daily cocoa butter application can do wonders.
We suggest Mamas massage the butter on the growing parts of the bodies to help keep the skin soft and retain its elasticity. (Our belly butter is enhanced with vitamin E, also, which will help heal the skin.) Apply up to twice a day. Trust us, it’ll be worth it when you look back upon your stripe-free, post-baby body.
History
According to Cocoa-Butter.com, the first recordings of the cocoa tree come from South American Indians before 1000 B.C.; however, it would become a great staple of the Mayan civilization (who aside from determining doom’s day calendars, were also great chocolate lovers and actually used cocoa beans as currency).
By 1570, this beloved bean had traveled to Europe, where the cocoa plant and chocolate drinks were considered an international delicacy. It was used as a medicine, as well as an aphrodisiac. It wasn’t until nearly three centuries later when it began used as a massage butter, and only recently that its medical properties were revealed.
