THEOBROMA CACAO SEED BUTTER

Name of the plant

Chocolate Tree; Cocoa Tree; Cocoa

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Used plant parts

Seeds (kernels)

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Type of preparation

Butter (vegetable fat)

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Function(s) of this ingredient in cosmetic products

FRAGRANCE

Enhances the smell of a product and / or perfumes the skin

SKIN CONDITIONING

Maintains the skin in good condition

SKIN CONDITIONING - EMOLLIENT

Softens and smoothens the skin

SKIN PROTECTING

Protects the skin from external influences

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Origin

plant (Information may exclusively reflect the status at initial entry of this ingredient into the relevant INCI dictionary; technological progress may have added new manufacturing options based on substances of different origin)

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Occurrence in cosmetics

Stick products, eg lipcare sticks, body butter, soap bases, decorative cosmetics

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Occurrence in other products

Foodstuffs, eg chocolate

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Background information on use in cosmetics

Cocoa is obtained from cocoa beans and is a popular foodstuff which contributes to our wellbeing in the form of chocolate or drinking chocolate. Mainly the theobromine contained in it can create a mood-lifting effect. The most well-known product from cocoa production is cocoa butter. In some cosmetic products cocoa is also included in the form of cocoa butter (INCI: THEOBROMA CACAO SEED BUTTER). Because of the skin-caring properties, cocoa butter is used in lipsticks and as a caring addition to lotions, bath additives, skin creams and for body butter, here often in combination with shea butter. Cocoa butter is also commercially available in a “pure” condition. Cocoa butter is rich in fatty acids and melts at a temperature of 31 to 38 °C. Nonetheless it is solid at normal ambient temperature; once applied on the warmer skin, it melts tenderly and develops a pleasant caring effect. The direct rubbing in of cocoa butter on the elbow, shoulder, upper arm, knee and shin generates caring, stimulating and at the same time soothing effects. The cocoa tree (theobroma cacao) is part of the genus theobroma in the mallow family (previously genus sterculia). It can only be cultivated under certain climatic conditions and requires good soils, enough water and only bears fruit between 20 degrees north and 20 degrees south of the equator. The countries in which the tree is excellently flourishing are, for instance, the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, Brazil, Cameroon and others. The plant parts of the cocoa tree (theobroma cacao) used are, for instance, the peels, the fruits, the seeds or the leaves. Depending on the plant part or the extraction or processing methods (pressing, alcoholic, oily and aqueous extracts, drying and pulverisation of the peel), the different constituents of the plant are used for different purposes in cosmetics. Fragrances or mixtures of fragrances are often referred to in the cosmetics area as "perfuming agents" or "perfume oils" or "parfum oils". On the cosmetic products they are declared with the INCI name "PARFUM". These are undiluted individual substances or their mixtures which originate from natural raw materials or can be produced (semi-) synthetically. They are starting materials for the production of perfume, eau de parfum, eau de toilette, eau de cologne and other perfumed cosmetic products. The average content of fragrances amounts in perfume to 15-30 %, in eau de parfum to 10-14 %, in eau de toilette to 6-9 %, in eau de cologne to 3-5 % as well as in skin creams, shampoos, hair and deodorant sprays to approximately 0.2-1 % and approximately 1-3% in deodorant sticks. The perfume oils include essential oils, resinoids and absolutes. The sources are, amongst others, flowers, leaves and stems, fruits and fruit peels or roots of plants; woods, grasses or herbs, needles, resins and balsams. Moreover, compounds isolated from natural products such as aldehydes, ketones, esters, alcohols etc. are used (geraniol, citronellal, citral, eugenol, menthol). Semi-synthetic (citronellol, geranyl acetate, jonone) and synthetic scents (eg phenylethyl alcohol and linalool) are used too. Scents of animal origin such as musk and ambra are only rarely used.

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Belongs to the following substance groups

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Regulating cosmetics

Cosmetics Ingredients are subject to regulation. Please note, different regulations may apply to cosmetic ingredients outside the EU.