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Cocoa oil is the cold-pressed fat from the bean of the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao, the same bean chocolate is made from, in a form that is liquid at room temperature. On the label of our cocoa oil the ingredient reads Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter, which is the INCI name for the fat of the cacao bean and the same name you find on a block of cocoa butter; the label adds cold-pressed and made in India, and there is no second ingredient. The difference is the form: cocoa butter is hard, and the fat in this bottle is liquid, sits in dark glass with a pipette and spreads like an oil. It comes in 30 ml and 100 ml.
Many people search for 'cocoa oil benefits' or search for 'cocoa oil for skin'. We make no claim about what this oil does in or under the skin or to the hair: the label says nothing about that, and neither do we. What you can check yourself is what the label says, how the oil differs from the butter, that it smells of cocoa and is fuller than a seed oil, and how to use it, in what amount. That is what this guide is about.
Cocoa oil at a glance
- Label: Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter, the only ingredient; cold-pressed; made in India.
- Plant: the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao; the fat comes from the bean, the same bean as for chocolate.
- Form: liquid at room temperature, in a bottle with a pipette; cocoa butter with the same INCI name is hard.
- Smell: mild and warm, of cocoa, with no added fragrance; largely gone after an hour on the skin.
- Texture: fuller than a light seed oil; glides for a while and then absorbs.
- Use: dry skin on face and body, elbows, knees and heels, hair ends, home-made body butter or balm; external use only.
- Bottle and storage: 30 ml or 100 ml, dark glass with pipette; cool, dark and closed, finish within twelve months.
Oil or butter: what is the difference?
Both come from the same bean and carry the same name on the label. Cocoa butter is the whole fat of the bean: hard and brittle at room temperature, melting only around body temperature, which is why it has to be warmed between the fingers before it spreads. Cocoa oil is the part of that fat that stays liquid at room temperature, in the trade also called the liquid fraction; it pours from a pipette and spreads like an oil. You choose the butter for a balm, a soap or a firm body butter, and the oil for anything you want to apply straight from the bottle. In a home-made body butter, the two are often used together: the butter for firmness, the oil to make it spread.
How the oil smells and feels
It smells mildly and warmly of cocoa, not of chocolate with sugar and milk in it, and nothing is added: the smell is that of the bean. On the skin it is largely gone after an hour. The texture is fuller than a light seed oil such as jojoba oil: the oil glides for a while, which makes it easy to spread over a large area, and then absorbs. In a cold room it thickens and can turn cloudy; in the hand it turns clear again, and that is not spoilage.
On dry skin on the body
Half a teaspoon per arm or leg after showering, on skin that is still damp. The oil glides for a moment, which makes spreading over a large area easy, and then absorbs. This is the use the 100 ml bottle is for: half a teaspoon per limb is about 2.5 ml, so a 100 ml bottle covers the whole body about ten times.
On elbows, knees and heels
A few drops on the places that feel rough, massaged in at night. This is the use the fuller texture suits best; where a thin oil is gone in a minute, this one stays a little longer. Let it absorb before getting into bed, or wear cotton socks over oiled heels.
On the face
Two to three drops on lightly damp skin in the evening, pressed in with the flat of the hand. The oil is fuller than a face oil like jojoba, so most people keep it for dry skin and the winter; on skin that shines quickly, one drop mixed into the night cream is enough. Three drops is about 0.15 ml, so a 30 ml bottle lasts two hundred evenings.
On the hair ends
One or two drops rubbed between the palms and spread over dry ends, after each wash. As a mask, a tablespoon through the lengths, half an hour under a towel, then one or two shampoos. The smell of cocoa stays in the hair until you wash.
In a home-made body butter, balm or scrub
Cocoa oil is the liquid part in a blend with a butter: it makes a hard butter smoother and gives the whole blend the smell of cocoa. A simple whipped body butter: melt 60 grams of shea butter in a bain-marie, take it off the heat, stir in 20 ml of cocoa oil, cool in the fridge until it starts to set, then whip. For a sugar scrub, three parts sugar to one part cocoa oil, made fresh and used within a few weeks. Other butters and oils to blend with are in the pure butters and carrier oils collections.
How much you use and which bottle to choose
For the face, the hair ends and elbows and heels, 30 ml lasts for months. For the body or for blends, 100 ml, and anyone who uses the oil daily over the whole body chooses 100 ml or mixes it into a body butter. Both bottles hold the same oil, in dark glass with a pipette, and can also be ordered by three or six. More oil than the skin takes up stays on top of it.
How to store it
Cool, dark and tightly closed, preferably not in the bathroom, and finish an opened bottle within twelve months; the label gives no shelf life and we give none either. If it thickens or clouds in a cold room, warm the bottle in the hand. If the oil smells sharp or rancid instead of mildly of cocoa, do not use it any more.
What to watch out for
External use only: this is a cosmetic oil, not pressed or packed as food, so it is not to be swallowed or cooked with, even though it is the same fat as in chocolate. Apply one drop to the inside of the wrist first and wait a day; that goes especially for anyone who reacts to cocoa or chocolate. Avoid contact with the eyes and rinse with lukewarm water. Keep out of reach of children. Other single-ingredient oils are in the pure oils collection.
Frequently asked questions
Is cocoa oil the same as cocoa butter?
Same bean, same name on the label, different form: the butter is hard at room temperature, the oil is liquid and comes with a pipette.
Does it smell of chocolate?
Of cocoa, mildly and warmly, without sugar or milk; the smell is that of the bean and is largely gone after an hour on the skin.
Why has it gone thick or cloudy?
Because the room is cold. In the hand it turns clear again; that is not spoilage.
Can I use it on the face?
Yes, two to three drops in the evening. It is fuller than a seed oil, so on skin that shines quickly, one drop in the night cream is enough.
