I’m sure many ladies can appreciate my near-constant desire to eat chocolate. So when I stumbled upon the chocolate exfoliating scrub a few days ago, I was both delighted and shocked — why waste chocolate on your skin when you could just gobble it up? As it turns out, topically applying chocolate has some great benefits for the skin and makes you smell lovely all day long. All that you need to make this is dark chocolate; sesame and olive oil; cocoa butter; beeswax; and some self-restraint.
Just remember that when you’re looking for ingredients on your own, you want to make sure that you get cosmetic-grade materials. Not everything in the grocery store is held to the same standards as those that are for skin care.
Another thing to remember is that “natural” isn’t synonymous with “non-irritating.” You may have allergies to some of these ingredients, which is why it can often be more beneficial to use makes that have been tested by cosmetics companies.
Beeswax Forms a Protective Barrier
Beeswax is the waxy stuff that comprises a bee’s honeycomb, but it also creates a waxy casing over your skin and keeps in moisture. The wax contains polyphenols, which are antioxidants that will fight against free radicals (i.e germs, dead cells) that would otherwise deteriorate our skin’s quality and appearance (International Journal of Integrative Biology).
A study published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine noted that a mixture of beeswax, honey, and olive oil greatly reduced symptoms of psoriasis and dermatitis, as well as lesion leaking in some patients. The mixture was about 80 percent successful, left no residue and patients did not report adverse side effects. Moreover, beeswax’s soothing polyphenols and antibacterial/inflammation properties have made it a popular agent for skin burns and irritation.
Though we probably wouldn’t think of beeswax as much of a skin healer, it actually will heal dried and roughened skin, and also form a protective barrier over skin (NC State University).
Oatmeal, Breakfast Food that’s Good for Skin
As far as breakfast foods go, I think oatmeal is pretty boring. But as a skin treatment, it’s utterly fabulous. A study published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology found that using colloidal (powder-form) of oatmeal significantly reduced symptoms (itching, irritation) and appearance of patients with eczema.
But what makes this humdrum breakfast cereal so spectacular? When mixed with water, colloidal oatmeal creates a protective surface barrier that locks in moisture and keeps out harmful free radicals, while its starches hydrocolloid return elasticity to skin. Similar studies over the decades have linked topical oatmeal with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, exfoliating, and antioxidant agents.
Of special interest to users is oatmeal’s antioxidant compound avenanthramides, also known as avena sativa kernel extract. Avenanthramides work to inhibit/correct the cell protein NF-kB, that is responsible for handling responses to stress, free radicals, and other damaging outside factors. So when applying this to your skin, you will not only be reducing inflammation and itching but also eliminate some free radicals, bacteria, and other pesky agents that would damage your skin (Journal of Drugs in Dermatology). It’s very reasonable that oatmeal’s multipurpose nature will reduce pimples, heal dry and damaged skin, minimize irritation, and defend against incoming external factors like bacteria and stress.
Cocoa Powder Has More Evidence to Support Eating it
It seems that researchers, unlike the rest of us, aren’t too interested in what topically applying cooca powder will do for your skin — that, or that they’ve gobbled up the chocolate powder before they could test it (kissing!). However, there is ample evidence about what cocoa powder can do for the skin when ingested that gives us an idea of what it could do for skin. For example, it contains numerous antioxidant flavonoids such as epicatechin and quercetin that will work to clean up free radicals, bacteria, and even some tumor cells in some cases, leaving a healthier you (Journal of Nutrition).
A study published in Antioxidants and Redox Signaling did acknowledge that topically applied preparations protect against UV damage and oxidative stress, which is often linked to signs of aging, wrinkles, and generally weakened skin.
It’s reasonable to assume that when applied topically, these antioxidants would work to similarly scavenge harmful cells and bacteria that diminish our skin’s appearance. Moreover, chocolate may even protect against cancerous cell or tumor formation topically, though there isn’t enough evidence to support this. Even though there isn’t enough evidence for cocoa’s topical benefits, it seems safe to say that cocoa has some potential as an anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, and anti-agent that we might see in future studies.
Milk Smoothes Skin
Whoever said that milk grows strong bones didn’t think to mention about the benefits it gives your skin when applied topically — drinking it is a little more complicated. Milk’s lactic acid work to improve skin thickness and flexibility (Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology), meaning that it should make skin appear firmer and smoother to the touch.
You should also consider lactic acid if you have photo damaged skin. In one study, a cream using lactic acid was found to noticeably reduce skin roughness from sun damage, along with skin discoloration/mottling and an ashen color.
Personal Use and Opinion
The recipe that I used was a combination from several different sites, as people have come up with hundreds of chocolate facial recipes, all that have some good scientific weight to them. Here are the amounts of everything that I used, which are just enough for one person:
4 tbsp. Milk
3 tbsp. Oatmeal
2 tbsp. Cocoa powder
1 tbsp. Beeswax (pellets or bar)
3. tbsp. Water
Other variations include avocado oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, and yogurt.
Mix everything into a bowl until it has a paste-like consistency, and let sit for five to 10 minutes (otherwise it hardens and is no fun to peel off).
So, did the chocolate facial live up to my expectations? No – it exceed them by a mile. My face felt so exceptionally smooth and clean after using this mask that I was tempted to use it everyday, morning and night (you should only do it once or twice a week, though). When you first put it on, the mask gives you this really cool, rejuvenating feeling, like when you go to a spa and they put the little cucumbers on your eyes. When I took it off, my face felt much smoother and moisturized, and the small little pimples hiding beneath my skin felt less prominent.
My only complaint is that after using the mask a few day’s later, the oatmeal left my face with a little bit of ashy residue, so you should definitely make sure to wash your face well.
Bottom Line
The chocolate face mask, using milk, oatmeal, cocoa powder and beeswax, makes for an innovative and rejuvenating alternative to our tried-and true drugstore favorites. Plus it’s very cost-effective. It left my face feeling exceptionally smooth, moisturized, and just generally healthy.