For Long, Healthy Natural Kinky and Curly Hair - Your Dry Hair Days Are Over!
  • About
  • Queens
    • QueenOfKinks
  • Hair Blog
    • Magazine
    • Headbands
    • Scarf
  • TV
  • FreeInfo
  • Courses
    • HotOilTreatments
    • HairButters
    • DIYshampoos
    • DIYconditioners
    • DIYmoisturizers
    • DIYdetanglers
    • Property
  • Contact
    • FAQs
    • Advertise
  • About
  • Queens
    • QueenOfKinks
  • Hair Blog
    • Magazine
    • Headbands
    • Scarf
  • TV
  • FreeInfo
  • Courses
    • HotOilTreatments
    • HairButters
    • DIYshampoos
    • DIYconditioners
    • DIYmoisturizers
    • DIYdetanglers
    • Property
  • Contact
    • FAQs
    • Advertise
Search

What Is Cocoa Butter? What Are Its Benefits To Natural Hair?

13/1/2014

 
Cocoa Butter is an edible pale yellow vegetable fat extracted from cocoa beans. 

Benefits of Cocoa Butter to Hair:

All butters that can be used for hair have more or less the same benefits. They:
  • Nourish hair and the scalp with vitamins and minerals thereby helping to keep both healthier for longer. This nourishing feature makes oil great for treating dry, damaged and frizzy hair in hot oil treatments and for massaging the scalp. 
  • Have moisture sealing properties thereby keeping hair softer for longer. However, all liquid oils (except coconut oil (which is actually solid anyway) and jojoba (which is actually a wax and not an oil)) can seal hair better than butters because they have a higher proportion of polyunsaturated fats – the type that cannot penetrate the hair cuticle.
  • Penetrate the hair cuticle to fortify hair from the inside; they do this better than oils because they have a higher amount of saturated fats and monounsaturated fats.
  • Help to boost hair’s shine but not as well as liquid oils.
Picture
Picture
Different butters perform each of these functions to a different degree. 

Compared to other butters cocoa butter is relatively hard. This means that any hair butter or moisturisers with cocoa butter will tend to get thicker or harder over time.

Good Substitutes For Cocoa Butter: 

In the cosmetics industry, seven butters are considered substitutes for each other: cocoa, illipe, kokum, sal, shea, mango and palm but they are not perfect substitutes.

Illipe is apparently considered to be the best substitute for cocoa butter because it has a very similar fatty acid profile. However, illipe contains 3 times more vitamin e (tocopherols). It also has higher phytosterol levels so illipe would be more beneficial to you than cocoa butter if your scalp is inflammed or itchy.

My research suggests that kokum and sal butter are the next best alternatives to cocoa butter. Sal butter also has a similar melting point to cocoa butter.

Fat Composition Of Cocoa Butter:
SATURATED c.60%
  • stearic acid (24–37%)
  • palmitic acid (24–30%)
  • myristic acid, (0–4%)
  • arachidic acid (1%)
  • lauric acid (0–1%)
MONOUNSATURATED c.37%
  • oleic acid (29–38%)
  • palmitoleic acid (0–2%)
POLYUNSATURATED c.3%
  • linoleic acid (0–4%),
  • α-Linolenic acid (0–1%)
Picture
Melting Point Of Cocoa Butter: 34–38 °C (93–100 °F)

This means it will melt quite easily when you rub it in your hands to put it in your hair.

Picture

​Get your FREE ebook on How To Grow Long, Healthy Natural Kinky or Curly Hair.


You might also like:
  • Neno Natural's DIY Hair Recipes
  • What Is Shea Butter? What Are Its Benefits To Natural Hair?
References: wikipedia.org, swiftcraftmonkey, 

Nickesia
14/7/2014 01:08:46 pm

thanks for that info.... but how can i go about whipping cocoa butter to use in my hair? what can i mix it with?

Beauty Ideas link
15/12/2014 02:11:11 am

How much butter is recommended to put on the hair?

Muriel De Souza
18/9/2015 04:19:02 pm


Comments are closed.
    I now blog about wealth creation - so if you have any money questions meet me there, you can do all sorts of cool things like leave me a voicemail.
    Follow @NenoNatural
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    By Heather Katsonga-Woodward

    I was a natural hair blogger and mixtress living between London & Chicago from 2012 to 2017. I always thought I was 4C but some say 4B; images below - you decide! Heather xx

    p.s. I now blog about wealth and personal finance on my personal website.

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    About
    Aloe Vera
    Bad Chemicals
    Bad Hair Practices!
    Baggying
    Big Chops
    Braids Weaves Wigs
    Brands
    Breakage/thinning
    Butters
    Carrier Oils
    Carrier Oils & Butters
    Children
    Color
    Conditioning Hair
    Co Washing
    Cultural Issues
    Damage
    Dandruff
    Detangling
    Detangling/combing
    Diet & Hair
    Dreadlocks
    Essential Oils
    Events
    Exercise
    Food For Hair
    Frizz Control
    Giveaways!
    Growth Phases
    Growth Stimulators
    Growth Tips
    Hair Type
    Hard Water Solutions
    Heat
    Homemade Hair Recipes
    Ingredients In Products
    Interviews
    Itchy Scalps
    Lice
    Magazines
    Makeup
    Matted Hair
    Max Hydration Method
    Microfiber
    Moisturising Dry Hair!
    Other Naturals
    Ph And Hair
    Porosity
    Pregnancy
    Press And Publicity
    Product Reviews
    Protective Styling
    Queen Of Kinks
    Random
    Regimen Building
    Salon Reviews
    Scalp Conditions
    Science
    Shampoos
    Shiny Hair
    Silicones
    Sleeping
    Stretching Hair
    Styles
    Swimming
    Texture Issues
    Thin Hair
    Tips & Challenges
    Tools & Products
    Transitioning
    Trimming
    Vitamins
    Washing
    Weather

    Picture
    Click for free eBook!
    Picture
    Check out the podcast!

    Archives

    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    October 2011

    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photo used under Creative Commons from robertivanc
  • About
  • Queens
    • QueenOfKinks
  • Hair Blog
    • Magazine
    • Headbands
    • Scarf
  • TV
  • FreeInfo
  • Courses
    • HotOilTreatments
    • HairButters
    • DIYshampoos
    • DIYconditioners
    • DIYmoisturizers
    • DIYdetanglers
    • Property
  • Contact
    • FAQs
    • Advertise