Chocolate therapy: what it is and what benefits each type of treatment has

What is chocolate therapy? It’s about a treatment that consists of doing soft massages using cocoa as a base. Massages can be body or facial. In both cases, the use of chocolate, due to its properties, adds extra value to the massage.

Despite the remarkable cosmetic properties of cocoawhat has made beauty treatments with chocolate boom is, after all, the pleasure for all the senses with which so many women identify chocolate.

It’s about a food that excites and that appears on all the dessert menus of the best restaurants. Perhaps this explains why it can be sublime to wrap oneself in soft products with the delicious aroma of chocolate and give yourself the pleasure of a massage with exfoliating cocoa powder. we tell you what benefits it has and the types of chocolate therapy that exist.

Benefits of chocolate therapy

The use of cocoa butter in cosmetics is not so new as it may seem. generations of Native American and African women have benefited from its properties:

High moisturizing power. For his powerful moisturizing effect They have even used it for cases of extreme dryness on the skin, burns and cuts.Anti-aging.Cocoa butter has natural antioxidants that prevent premature skin aging.Anti-cellulite. Combined with other products, It can act as a sensual anti-cellulite, since it activates the circulation of the skin.Relaxing. Cocoa beans are rich in various slightly sedative substances, such as tryptophan. Applied to the skin as part of some body treatments and massages, they contribute to a state of relaxation. Many people report experiencing a kind of relief or release of tension when they eat chocolate.Mood improvement. Aside from the mix of fats and sugar, it could have to do with the levels of certain brain neurotransmitters such as serotonin or endorphinslinked to the feeling of well-being, or to the fact that Some of the brain receptors for the substances present in cocoa are the same ones that are activated by marijuana.euphoric. Besides, cocoa also seems to have some euphoric effect due to its theobromine content, an ingredient that slightly stimulates the central nervous system, although to a lesser extent than coffee or tea.

Types of chocolate therapy

There are many cosmetic treatments with cocoa.

Chocolate massages. What has become the most fashionable are the chocolate massage. There are cold and temperate, and take advantage of the sensual aroma of chocolate to relax.Exfoliations with cocoa powder. The most complete chocolate therapy massages offer cocoa powder scrubs, followed by massages. Hydration with cocoa butter. At the end of the massage, a moisturizing treatment can be performed with products that contain cocoa butter. Cocoa butter exhales the soft aroma of chocolatealthough it is somewhat more delicate. The color, however, is lighter.

It is the liquor and cocoa powder that actually share both the color and aroma of chocolate. That’s why products with cocoa butter tend to be whitishwhile what they contain in addition to cocoa powder are dark brown.

Even so, always pay attention to labels of products, as some brands give priority to dyes and perfumes to make them appear more attractive.

chocolate therapy at home

The alternative to a professional chocolate treatment It is an imaginative bathroom at home.

Scented candles. By lighting chocolate-scented candles in the bathroom you can achieve a soft and very relaxing atmosphere.Cocoa soap. The bathtub is filled with hot water and a few drops of olive oil, which will serve to hydrate the skin. Ideally, opt for a bar of soap rich in cocoa butter. Relaxing should be easy.Moisturizer. After the bath you can use a moisturizing cocoa cream, which will soften and hydrate the skin and impregnate it with a soft aroma of chocolate. You can insist on the legs with a light draining massage.

Origin of chocolate therapy

Five hundred years have passed since the Spanish conquistadors discovered that The Aztecs made a cocoa drink and also used the seeds of this plant as currency.

However, Chocolate continues to arouse the same passions in the 21st century as it did in Moctezuma’s empire.

Today it is not only the flavor of cocoa that is all the rage but also the multiple cosmetic properties of its seeds. The Cocoa butter-based beauty treatments and products They proliferate on the shelves of stores and beauty centers.

But, despite the fact that cocoa has real cosmetic properties Only 1% of the world production of cocoa butter is currently used for the production of beauty products.according to the International Cocoa Organization.

The seeds of this plant they are still used mostly for the production of chocolate.