Does cocoa butter assist sunburn? Science says… Form of, however probably not. Ouch.
Sunburn is the final word oops second of summer season. One minute, you’re basking within the solar, absorbing the heat. The subsequent, your pores and skin feels prefer it’s been set on hearth, you’re glowing redder than a cease signal, and each motion is painful. And also you’d put actually something in your pores and skin to make it cease. Why not attempt cocoa butter?
Cocoa butter is understood for being wealthy, creamy, and deeply moisturizing, so it is sensible that it’d assist with a extreme sunburn – particularly if in case you have delicate pores and skin. However earlier than you go digging into that jar of cocoa-scented lotion, let’s get actual. Does it truly work, or is it simply one other outdated wives’ story?
Let’s break all of it down, with out the fluff or false hope, and get to the reality about whether or not cocoa butter is your sunburn savior… or simply one other fable that’ll make your pores and skin tremendous delicate however received’t truly assist when it’s screaming for aid.
What Is Cocoa Butter?
Cocoa butter comes from the seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree. Yep, the identical tree that provides us chocolate. Yummy! These seeds (aka cocoa beans) are fermented, dried, roasted, after which pressed to launch their pure fats, which we name cocoa butter. These items is thick, creamy, and melts at physique temperature. No surprise pores and skin loves it a lot!
Cocoa Butter Advantages For Pores and skin
1. It’s Tremendous Moisturising
Ever surprise why cocoa butter feels so wealthy in your pores and skin? This butter is loaded with saturated and monounsaturated fat, the identical forms of fat present in coconut oil and avocado. These fat create a protecting barrier in your pores and skin that locks in moisture, stopping it from drying out.
Cocoa butter improves pores and skin hydration by stopping trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL), a flowery approach of claiming it retains moisture from escaping your pores and skin. In plain English, it’s wonderful for dry, cracked pores and skin, and even eczema. However right here’s the factor: Simply because one thing is a good moisturizer doesn’t imply it heals sunburn (we’ll get to that in a sec).
P.S. That is true of different butters, like shea butter, for instance.
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2. It Has Antioxidant Properties
Cocoa butter is wealthy in polyphenols, flavonoids, and Vitamin E, highly effective antioxidants that combat free radicals, aka, the injury your pores and skin will get from UV rays, air pollution, and simply current within the fashionable world. A current research discovered that cocoa polyphenols stimulate collagen manufacturing to enhance pores and skin elasticity and scale back indicators of ageing.
3. It Has Delicate Anti-Inflammatory Properties
Just a few research counsel that cocoa butter has gentle anti-inflammatory properties that assist calm irritations and soothe painful pores and skin. Something that may scale back irritation is sweet information for pores and skin – not needed a treatment for sunburn. Cocoa butter isn’t as cooling or soothing as, say, Aloe Vera Gel, cool baths or chilly compresses, so it received’t work as properly. In different phrases, cocoa butter is nice for holding pores and skin delicate and stopping future dryness, nevertheless it doesn’t pull warmth out of a burn or velocity up therapeutic.
Does Cocoa Butter Helps Sunburns? What Science Says
Cocoa butter has a fame. Individuals swear by it for holding pores and skin delicate, lowering stretch marks (FYI, it doesn’t work for this both, however this can be a subject for an additional submit), and making their legs appear like a glowing Instagram advert. So when your pores and skin feels prefer it’s been roasted to a crisp, it’s tempting to succeed in for that thick, creamy goodness.
However right here’s the deal: sunburn is not only dry pores and skin. It’s precise pores and skin injury. You didn’t simply overlook to placed on lotion; you mainly slow-cooked your self below the solar’s UV rays, and now your pores and skin is screaming for sunburn aid. That’s the place cocoa butter falls quick. Let’s break down why.
1. Cocoa Butter is a Moisturizer, Not a Healer
Moisturizing is nice, nevertheless it doesn’t restore burned, broken pores and skin. Let me clarify: You get a sunburn when UV rays penetrate deep into your pores and skin and injury the DNA in your cells. With the intention to shield you, your physique reacts by rising blood stream to the world (which is why you flip purple), and in excessive circumstances, it actually kills off the burned cells to stop mutations (why you peel).
Cocoa butter seals in moisture and prevents dryness, which is nice for later phases of therapeutic. However analysis exhibits that cocoa butter doesn’t comprise the lively components wanted for repairing broken pores and skin. It received’t cease peeling, received’t velocity up restoration, and received’t undo UV injury. So when you’re making use of cocoa butter pondering it’s going to repair your sunburn, sorry. It’s simply holding the world hydrated, nothing extra.
2. Cocoa Butter Doesn’t Cut back Irritation
Let’s get one factor straight: sunburn is an inflammatory response. Your pores and skin isn’t simply dry. It’s offended. Your immune system detects broken cells and floods the world with inflammatory proteins. In flip, your pores and skin turns purple, swollen, and sore. Aloe vera, hydrocortisone cream, and ibuprofen work as a result of they actively scale back irritation and assist calm the burn.
What does cocoa butter do? Not a lot on this division. Whereas cocoa butter comprises some antioxidants that may have gentle anti-inflammatory results, it’s nowhere close to as efficient as all the opposite treatments already talked about. You already know, those truly designed to combat irritation.
Consider it this manner: in case your pores and skin is on hearth, you want one thing cooling and soothing, like aloe vera or a chilly compress. Cocoa butter? It’s like making an attempt to place out a fireplace with a thick blanket. It received’t make issues worse, nevertheless it’s probably not fixing the issue both.
So… Is Cocoa Butter Ineffective for Sunburn?
Cocoa butter received’t assist when your pores and skin is sizzling, purple, and painful, however it may be helpful later, as soon as the burn begins to heal. Right here’s how:
- It retains peeling pores and skin from drying out: Sunburn sucks the moisture proper out of your pores and skin. Cocoa butter helps lock hydration in, so that you don’t find yourself feeling like a shedding lizard.
- Relieves the itching: You already know that annoying peeling section the place you need to scratch your pores and skin off? Cocoa butter helps tone that down, so that you’re not continuously preventing the urge to scratch.
- Prevents cracking: As your pores and skin heals, it might get stiff, tight, and uncomfortable. Cocoa butter retains it delicate, so that you don’t find yourself with tough, dry patches.
However let’s be actual: cocoa butter received’t do something for redness, swelling, or ache.
The most effective transfer? Let your pores and skin settle down first with aloe, chilly compresses, or anti-inflammatory therapies. When you hit the dry, peeling stage, cocoa butter can assist preserve your pores and skin hydrated and feeling good whereas it heals.
Greatest Methods To Deal with Sunburns
Cocoa butter won’t be the magic repair for sunburn, so right here’s what works (based mostly on science, not hype):
1. Aloe Vera
Aloe vera is palms down among the best issues you may placed on sunburnt pores and skin. It cools your pores and skin immediately, helps scale back irritation, and retains the burn from drying out too quick. Research discovered that aloe vera accelerates therapeutic and reduces redness and peeling. Simply ensure you’re utilizing pure aloe vera gel and never the stuff loaded with synthetic colours and fragrances.
2. Ibuprofen or Aspirin
Ibuprofen or aspirin aren’t only for complications, They’ll truly assist with an itchy sunburn, too. These drugs combat irritation from the within to cut back swelling, ache, and redness. Pop a dose as quickly as you discover the burn and preserve taking it for the subsequent day or two to maintain irritation down. Preserve taking it as directed for the subsequent 24-48 hours.
3. Chilly Compress
A chilly compress is the quickest solution to cease a sunburn from getting worse. Solar injury doesn’t finish whenever you get out of the solar. Your pores and skin continues to overheat and that deepens the burn. Cooling it down as rapidly as attainable helps to slows the method and reduces ache. Research discovered that reducing pores and skin temperature instantly after UV publicity helps forestall additional injury. Simply soak a fabric in chilly water and press it onto the burned space for 10-Quarter-hour.
P.S. Questioning if a chilly bathe has the identical impact? Yep, you could possibly have a cool bathe too, when you’ve courageous sufficient (I’m SO not!).
4. Hydrocortisone Cream
Hydrocortisone cream is nice when your sunburn feels additional swollen, itchy, or irritated. It’s a light steroid that helps calm irritation and scale back discomfort, particularly within the first couple of days. Hydrocortisone cream can fast-track the therapeutic course of and scale back signs sooner than moisturizers alone Apply a skinny layer a couple of times a day, however don’t overuse it. Lengthy-term steroid use can skinny your pores and skin.
Different Sunburn Remedies That Can Assist
Together with these primary therapies, just a few different issues can relieve the signs of sunburn:
- Drink loads of water: Sunburn dehydrates your physique and pores and skin. Further fluids assist your pores and skin heal sooner.
- Keep away from tight or scratchy clothes : Stick with delicate, unfastened materials that received’t rub in opposition to burned pores and skin.
- Keep out of the solar: Your pores and skin is already broken. Extra solar publicity will simply make issues worse.
- Don’t pop blisters: In case your burn blisters, depart them alone! Popping them will increase the danger of an infection.
- Keep away from important oils: These little buggers sneak their approach into so many lotions and potions, however can irritate the affected space.
Stop Sunburn
Sunburn is pores and skin injury – and extra time it might result in pores and skin most cancers. The excellent news? You may 1000% forestall it, when you play it sensible. Right here’s how one can benefit from the solar with out regretting it later:
- Use sufficient sunscreen (as a result of most individuals don’t): SPF 30+ is the minimal, nevertheless it solely works when you truly use sufficient (a few shot glass price to your physique and a nickel-sized quantity to your face).
- Keep within the shade between 10 AM and 4 PM: That is when the solar is at its peak, which means you’ll burn approach sooner than within the morning or night. If you wish to benefit from the sunshine, discover shade, put on a hat, or take breaks indoors.
- Cowl up: Extensive-brimmed hats, sun shades, and UV-protective clothes can save your pores and skin when sunscreen wears off (particularly when you don’t reapply it recurrently).
Backside Line
If you happen to’ve already peeled and healed, cocoa butter can preserve your pores and skin delicate and stop it from trying like a shedding snake. However when you’re purple, in ache, and hoping for a miracle treatment for sunburn, cocoa butter isn’t it. So save your cocoa butter lotion for post-burn hydration, and subsequent time, put on a broad-spectrum sunscreen (and reapply it recurrently!).
About Gio
Hello, I am Gio. I am a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is pores and skin coach and author on a mission that can assist you obtain your finest pores and skin day ever – every single day. I bust skincare myths and debunk advertising and marketing jargon that can assist you work out what’s definitely worth the splurge and what’s finest left on the shelf – utilizing science, not hype. I additionally provide skincare consultations that can assist you create the very best skincare routine to your distinctive wants.
