There are many health and personal products that use cocoa butter as the main ingredient because of its general benefits for the skin and hair. If so many of these personal care products contain this ingredient, it stands to reason that it would be just as good for beards. But is this actually the case, and is cocoa butter good for beards?
Cocoa butter is good for beards. It helps to reduce hair breakage and makes wild beards more manageable. It also acts as a conditioner and makes your beard fuller with more volume. Cocoa butter is rich in vitamin E, which promotes healthy skin, as it improves circulation and moisture retention and healthy skin makes for a healthy beard.
Cocoa butter is a good product for hair and skin, and the benefits it gives cannot be disputed. Still, even though it is in many products, it may not be good for everybody, and some people consider that there are products with other ingredients that are better for beards than cocoa butter.
What Is Cocoa Butter Made From?
Cocoa butter is a healthy, naturally occurring oil that is extracted from the cocoa bean and is light yellow in color. It is an edible oil or fat, and it is not only used extensively in the production of health and beauty products, but it is also used in the production of chocolate.
The cocoa beans are fermented, dried, and then roasted, after which the outer husk is removed. The internal part of the bean is then ground and pressed to extract the fat (cocoa butter).
Cocoa butter is a solid at normal room temperature but melts at body temperature, which adds to the erotic appeal to the substance, and why it is used as a body butter both in the bedroom and for massages!
A cool, manly fact about cocoa butter is that it fluoresces in ultraviolet light, just like a scorpion does. So if the use of cocoa butter on your beard is stretching the bounds of your manliness, just claim that it is scorpion juice and stick to that story!
This is also a way to test how pure the cocoa butter is. The purer it is, the more it fluoresces under ultraviolet light.
Why Is Cocoa Butter Good For Beards?
Because cocoa butter is actually a solid at room temperature, it will coat the hairs of your beard, and when it dries, it forms a protective layer that prevents moisture loss and also promotes softness and volume.
This layer also allows your beard, to some extent, to be shaped and retain the shape during the day. Cocoa butter is not as good at retaining your beard shape as beard oils or beard balms do, but it does a satisfactory job.
The biggest advantage I find that cocoa butter has over beard oils is that cocoa butter does not leave your beard feeling oily or greasy like beard oils and balms, which can stain clothing, bedsheets, or pillows.
Cocoa butter is packed full of vitamin E, which is a great vitamin for skin health. It helps to moisturize your skin, stimulates blood flow, which is not only good for your skin but promotes good beard growth! Vitamin E contains antioxidants, which have been shown to work as a preventative for premature graying, so if that is a particular concern for you, you may want to look into trying cocoa butt on your beard.
The vitamin E and the Cocoa butter helps reduce split ends in your beard hairs and act as an effective treatment for dandruff, sometimes also called beardruff, in your beard.
Many men who suffer from eczema or who have sensitive skin may find that beard oils and other beard treatment products irritate their skin and cause itching and inflammation of the skin and rashes under their beard.
Cocoa butter is a much gentler product on the skin, so guys with this kind of problem may find that cocoa butter will work better for them than other products.
When Is Cocoa Butter Not Good For Beards?
There are a couple of instances where cocoa butter is not good for your beard or for your skin underneath your beard.
The first case is if you have oily skin or are prone to acne. The properties of cocoa butter that are good for moisturizing are what is working against you if you have oily skin. If your skin is prone to be a bit oily, the best thing for your skin is for the pores to remain open so that the oils can drain and remain clear.
The application of cocoa butter will block the pores of oily skin, which leads to a build-up of oils and skin cells and eventually produce lumps under your skin behind the blocked pores. It can also lead to an outbreak of pimples under your beard. If you have a skin type that tends towards the oily side or suffered from acne in the past, then cocoa butter is not the product for you.
The second instance where cocoa butter is not great for your skin or beard is when the cocoa butter is not the main ingredient, and the amount of fragrances, alcohol, and other additives puts the cocoa butter way down on the list.
Cocoa butter products with many additives are less likely to give you’re the benefits that cocoa butter offers because the percentage of cocoa butter in the product is reduced or the quality is compromised due to the other ingredients.
You may also find that if you have sensitive skin, you may have a reaction to the other ingredients, which has the opposite of the desired effect of the cocoa butter.
You need to look for a cocoa butter product that is as pure and organic as possible with as few other ingredients as possible!
What Can You Use Instead Of Cocoa Butter On Your Beard?
There are many different beard treatment options, and the right treatment for you will depend on your beard type, your skin type and sensitivity, and what you need your beard treatment to do for you.
Alternatives to cocoa Butter for your beard can include beard oils, beard balms, and products similar in consistency to cocoa butter but which are made from other ingredients, including avocado oils, amongst other items.
In some instances, even straight salad oils, such as olive oil or sunflower oil, have been used with some success, but I would only recommend these if you can’t find a specialized beard product that works for you.
Finding the right beard maintenance product will be a process that you will need to explore for yourself, but if you are at a loss at where to start, I can highly recommend cocoa butter as a kick-off point. It is gentle and suitable for most skin types, other than oily skin, and it is relatively inexpensive!
Conclusion
Cocoa butter is a product that I like to use as a beard treatment, even if it is only an occasional treatment when the whiskers start to become a bit dry and unruly!
The awesome thing about cocoa butter is that it is readily available, wherever you may find yourself. Most drug stores or even convenience stores will stock it as a standard shelf item since it has multiple applications in the household other than taking care of your beard!
One of the things I like the most about cocoa butter is that it makes my beard feel soft and silky, especially since my beard tends to be a bit dry and coarse.
A bonus feature that I really like about cocoa butter, however, is the smell! The fragrance it leaves in your beard can last the entire day, and it always reminds me of a tropical beach paradise!