Does cocoa butter assist sunburn? Science says… Type of, however probably not. Ouch.
Sunburn is the last word oops second of summer time. One minute, you’re basking within the solar, absorbing the heat. The following, 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 strive cocoa butter?
Cocoa butter is thought for being wealthy, creamy, and deeply moisturizing, so it is smart that it’d assist with a extreme sunburn – particularly you probably 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 Does it truly work, or is it simply one other outdated wives’ story?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 tender however gained’t truly assist when it’s screaming for reduction.
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 marvel pores and skin loves it a lot!
Cocoa Butter Advantages For Pores and skin
1. It’s Tremendous Moisturising
Ever marvel 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 method of claiming it retains moisture from escaping your pores and skin. In plain English, it’s superb for dry, cracked pores and skin, and even eczema. However right here’s the factor: Simply because one thing is a superb 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 struggle free radicals, aka, the harm your pores and skin will get from UV rays, air pollution, and simply present within the trendy world. A current examine discovered that cocoa polyphenols stimulate collagen manufacturing to enhance pores and skin elasticity and cut back indicators of getting older.
3. It Has Gentle Anti-Inflammatory Properties
A number of research counsel that cocoa butter has gentle anti-inflammatory properties that assist calm irritations and soothe painful pores and skin. Something that may cut back irritation is nice 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 gained’t work as properly. In different phrases, cocoa butter is nice for holding pores and skin tender and stopping future dryness, however it doesn’t pull warmth out of a burn or pace up therapeutic.
Does Cocoa Butter Helps Sunburns? What Science Says
Cocoa butter has a repute. Folks swear by it for holding pores and skin tender, decreasing stretch marks (FYI, it doesn’t work for this both, however it is a subject for an additional publish), and making their legs appear to be 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 harm. You didn’t simply neglect to placed on lotion; you principally slow-cooked your self underneath the solar’s UV rays, and now your pores and skin is screaming for sunburn reduction. 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, however 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 harm the DNA in your cells. With the intention to shield you, your physique reacts by growing blood move to the realm (which is why you flip crimson), and in excessive instances, 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 include the lively substances wanted for repairing broken pores and skin. It gained’t cease peeling, gained’t pace up restoration, and gained’t undo UV harm. So in case you’re making use of cocoa butter pondering it’s going to repair your sunburn, sorry. It’s simply holding the realm hydrated, nothing extra.
2. Cocoa Butter Doesn’t Scale back Irritation
Let’s get one factor straight: sunburn is an inflammatory response. Your pores and skin isn’t simply dry. It’s indignant. Your immune system detects broken cells and floods the realm with inflammatory proteins. In flip, your pores and skin turns crimson, swollen, and sore. Aloe vera, hydrocortisone cream, and ibuprofen work as a result of they actively cut 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 understand, those truly designed to struggle irritation.
Consider it this fashion: 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 attempting to place out a hearth with a thick blanket. It gained’t make issues worse, however it’s probably not fixing the issue both.
So… Is Cocoa Butter Ineffective for Sunburn?
Cocoa butter gained’t assist when your pores and skin is sizzling, crimson, 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 understand that annoying peeling part the place you wish to scratch your pores and skin off? Cocoa butter helps tone that down, so that you’re not continually preventing the urge to scratch.
- Prevents cracking: As your pores and skin heals, it may get stiff, tight, and uncomfortable. Cocoa butter retains it tender, so that you don’t find yourself with tough, dry patches.
However let’s be actual: cocoa butter gained’t do something for redness, swelling, or ache.
One of the best transfer? Let your pores and skin calm down first with aloe, chilly compresses, or anti-inflammatory remedies. When you hit the dry, peeling stage, cocoa butter may also help 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 arms down the most effective issues you may placed on sunburnt pores and skin. It cools your pores and skin immediately, helps cut back irritation, and retains the burn from drying out too quick. Research discovered that aloe vera accelerates therapeutic and reduces redness and peeling. Simply be sure to’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 medicines struggle 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 approach to cease a sunburn from getting worse. Solar harm doesn’t finish once you get out of the solar. Your pores and skin continues to overheat and that deepens the burn. Cooling it down as shortly as potential helps to slows the method and reduces ache. Research discovered that decreasing pores and skin temperature instantly after UV publicity helps forestall additional harm. 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 may have a cool bathe too, in case you’ve courageous sufficient (I’m SO not!).
4. Hydrocortisone Cream
Hydrocortisone cream is nice when your sunburn feels further swollen, itchy, or irritated. It’s a light steroid that helps calm irritation and cut back discomfort, particularly within the first couple of days. Hydrocortisone cream can fast-track the therapeutic course of and cut 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 Therapies That Can Assist
Together with these principal remedies, 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 : Keep on with tender, unfastened materials that gained’t rub towards 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 chance of an infection.
- Keep away from important oils: These little buggers sneak their method into so many lotions and potions, however can irritate the affected space.
Learn how to Stop Sunburn
Sunburn is pores and skin harm – and extra time it may result in pores and skin most cancers. The excellent news? You’ll be able to 1000% forestall it, in case you play it sensible. Right here’s learn how to 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, however it solely works in case you truly use sufficient (a couple of shot glass value on your physique and a nickel-sized quantity on your face).
- Keep within the shade between 10 AM and 4 PM: That is when the solar is at its peak, that means you’ll burn method 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: Broad-brimmed hats, sun shades, and UV-protective clothes can save your pores and skin when sunscreen wears off (particularly in case you don’t reapply it repeatedly).
Backside Line
For those who’ve already peeled and healed, cocoa butter can preserve your pores and skin tender and stop it from wanting like a shedding snake. However in case you’re crimson, in ache, and hoping for a miracle remedy 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 repeatedly!).
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 will help you obtain your greatest pores and skin day ever – each day. I bust skincare myths and debunk advertising and marketing jargon that will help you determine what’s definitely worth the splurge and what’s greatest left on the shelf – utilizing science, not hype. I additionally supply skincare consultations that will help you create one of the best skincare routine on your distinctive wants.