Not everybody feels the same about chocolate, some people simply love eating this decadent treat and some people simply do not, but a person does not necessarily have to enjoy eating chocolate in order to enjoy its benefits.

This weekend I decided to indulge in chocolate in a slightly different way.

You see Chocolate has numerous great benefits despite the fact that it is mostly only associated with weight-gain and pimples, in fact dark chocolate is great at helping the body release endorphins, and could very well help you deal with fatigue, and this is but to name a few of its more constructive traits. You can read a bit more about the health benefits of eating chocolate here

But have you ever considered the benefits of applying chocolate directly to your skin? My teenage daughter of course, believes that this is complete and utter sacrilege, but on the contrary chocolate is great for your skin as it can;

• Moisturize dry skin
• Relieves inflamed problematic skin
• Refreshes tired skin
• Reduces pigmentation
• revitalize damaged & leathered skin
• Improves oily skin.

And if you are still wondering how all this is possible... let me explain:

Cocoa contains;

Vitamin PP / Niacin, This has restorative properties and will help heal and repair damage to skin as well as promote skin elasticity.
Vitamin A This is great for dealing with inflamed and dry skin
Pantothenic Acid This is a brilliant revitalizing agent, and it will help to reduces the appearance of fine lines & wrinkles.
Vitamin B9 / Folic Acid Soothes irritated & inflamed skin
Iron Ensures that skin receives the necessary oxygen, giving it a great natural glow.
Pottasium Is very needed when it comes to keeping the skin moisturized.
Calsium This is great for new skin cell generation
Starch Whitens, brightens and softens skin.

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Here is a simple yet effective cocoa face-mask that I ended up making for me and a friend this weekend.

Hydrating Face-mask

1/4 cup of Cocoa
Honey
Vitamin E Oil / Tissue Oil
Tablespoon of PLAIN Yogurt

Mix all the above ingredients together, then apply to the face avoiding the eye area. Let the mask sit for 15 - 20 minutes, then rinse off with cold water and apply your favorite moisturizer!

Here is what happened when I got faced with this cocoa mask:

Right so I am sure as you can tell by the picture above, this was a very sticky affair, and I must admit that applying this mask and keeping it on your face in stead of dripping off all over the place is certainly the hardest part, well second to getting it off of your face when you are done of course.

But despite its challenges it was well worth the effort, and all and all for me it was a fun (and entertaining) way to spend a Saturday morning with my best friend. before treating ourselves to an ice cold Elderberry Gin and Tonic while soaking up the afternoon sun.

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If you would like to dive a bit deeper into the skincare element of cocoa, here are some other Chocolate skincare recipes that I found worked quite nicely if you would like t try them:

Face & Body Scrub

3 tablespoons of cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
1 teaspoon of ginger powder

Milk (just a little to make it more spreadable!)
Cinnamon and ginger helps with blood circulation that in turn feeds & oxygenates skin cells better, and improves cell metabolism, for a healthy glowing skin!

Mix all the ingredients above together then gently exfoliate face & body, rinse off in shower.

Another great one was the Cocoa Treat for Feet

Cocoa Foot Soak

Indulge your feet in a milky cocoa bath. Mix a few of cocoa powder with warm milk in a large bowl.

Soak you feet in this mixture for 10-15 minutes.
The cocoa with moisturize whilst the milks lactic acid softens the feet. Adding a foot massage will enhance circulation and put you on cloud nine in chocolate heaven