Dark Chocolate and its Beautifying Abilities + 2 DIY Self Care Recipes
Blog post by Lindsay Mustard, Holistic Nutritionist
Avocados, olive oil, apple cider vinegar and honey get all the rap when it comes to foods that support your hair, skin and nails. But what about vegan dark chocolate? We’re here to show some love to vegan chocolate, a sidelined skin glowing and hair growing superfood! We expect to find chocolate at a restaurant or dessert bar, but we rarely expect to find it in our bathroom! In this blog post, we are going to be sharing the endless benefits that sugar-free vegan chocolate has to offer including its ability to moisturize, protect your skin from sun damage, soothe irritation, and promote hair growth. Ready, set, grow!
The History of Chocolate:
When we hear the word, “chocolate,” most people think of the candy bars, the M&M’s, chocolate ice cream and chocolate syrup. Essentially, chocolate in every form. Little do they know that years ago chocolate was more commonly consumed as a hot beverage and contained zero sugar. Picture that, rich, bitter dark chocolate that you could control yourself around because it wasn’t so sweet. Fast forward to today and we over consume chocolate in every form because of its high sugar content and its addictive flavourings and ingredients.
Chocolate is often referred to as “cacao” and refers to the beans before they are processed. The origin of the chocolate refers to “a bitter drink brewed from cacao beans,” while the Latin name for the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao means “food of the gods.” Chocolate has been around for over 2000 years and is native to Mexico and was commonly used as an energy booster, aphrodisiac and for sacral ceremonies.
In today’s world, chocolate is consumed every Valentine’s Day, at every movie, in most desserts and is drunk in the colder winter months in liquid form, aka hot chocolate!. Chocolate is a part of our lives and is now part of our rituals - but what if we could put it to more uses than we thought! Let’s talk about the other benefits that chocolate has to offer!
Benefit #1: Moisturizing
Cacao beans, also known as cocoa and chocolate, are loaded with healthy fatty acids that are both nourishing and leave your skin and hair feeling super soft. It is rich in Vitamins A, B1, C, D and E, iron and calcium that help to replace lost moisture. Coupled with its powerful exfoliating abilities, the cocoa butter found in the chocolate helps skin to maintain its elasticity and tone, without leaving you feeling greasy!
Benefit #2: Skin Protection
Sugar-free dark chocolate is an antioxidant powerhouse that helps to protect your skin from free radical damage. We encounter free radicals when we are exposed to X-rays, cigarette smoke, air pollutants, and industrial chemicals or when our body derives them from normal metabolic processes occurring within us. Either way, antioxidants help to protect us from the damage by acting as both a moisturizer to your skin and an exfoliant. Coupled with honey, a humectant, which helps to retain moisture in your skin, this mixture will help you go from “gahhhh” to “hello glow!”
Benefit #3: Hair Growth
If chocolate helps your hair grow, we’ll be ordering it in bulk! All joking aside, dark chocolate is rich in minerals like copper, iron, zinc, all of which help to enhance cell growth and increase blood flow to the area making it easier for the skin and scalp to receive and transport nutrients to the cells. Better blood flow leads to better, stronger and healthier hair! Magnesium, another nutrient that is plentiful in dark chocolate, helps to combat hair loss. In other words, if anyone asks, just tell them you are eating chocolate for the minerals to support hair growth and thickness!
So whether you’re looking for a moisturizer, skin protector or hair growth superfood - turn to vegan, sugar-free dark chocolate. Zazubean has an extensive line up of the highest quality dark chocolate on the market. Your hair, skin and nails will thank you, but so will your body for the copious vitamins and minerals that you feed it nourishing it from the inside out!
Recipes:
Best Ever Hydrating Hair Growth Mask
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Zazubean dark chocolate, melted
1 tsp castor oil
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp honey
Add all the ingredients into a small bowl and mix until smooth. If the honey is hard, simply add the ingredients to a small saucepan and melt over low heat. Let cool before applying!
Apply to the roots of your hair, making sure to massage it in thoroughly and working the mask down to the tips. Leave the mask in for 1-2 hours before washing it out and then follow your normal shampoo/conditioning routine.
Best Ever Dark Chocolate Face Mask
Ingredients:
¼ cup Zazubean dark chocolate, melted
1 tbsp heavy cream or milk
1 tsp honey
Add the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Apply this mask to your face and neck and let it set for 20 minutes. Wash it off and wipe your face with a tissue to remove any last remains. Follow with a toner to freshen up your skin and to close the pores.