Ingredient Highlight: Cocoa Butter

This month’s ingredient highlight is cocoa butter… and honestly, I’ve been excited to write this one.

If you’ve been around here for a while, you know I love learning about plants and where ingredients actually come from. To me, it matters. These aren’t just “ingredients”… they’re gifts from creation, and I think they deserve a little respect and understanding. Cocoa butter is one of my favorite ingredients for winter skincare. It’s rich, protective, and deeply nourishing… exactly what dry, tired skin needs this time of year. It’s also the ingredient I chose to highlight in my once-a-year Valentine Rose Magnesium Body Butter… because when I make that special batch, I want every ingredient to feel intentional.

Getting to know the Cacao Tree

Cocoa butter comes from the seeds (or “beans”) of the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao.

And I love this part… the name literally means “food of the gods.” How beautiful is that?

Cacao trees are tropical evergreens native to Central and South America. They produce these large, colorful pods… yellow, red, sometimes green… and each one holds about 30–40 seeds inside.

One of my favorite little plant facts is that cacao pods grow straight out of the trunk and older branches, not just from the tips. It’s such a unique, almost surprising way for a tree to grow fruit.

After harvest, the seeds are fermented,

dried, roasted, and then pressed to separate the rich cocoa butter from the cocoa solids. It’s a long process… and it gives me even more appreciation for this ingredient.

Every time I work with it… especially in my Valentine batch… I think about that journey from tree to jar.

How it supports your skin barrier

Cocoa butter is naturally rich in fatty acids that closely resemble the oils found in healthy skin. Because of that, it absorbs beautifully and helps support the skin’s natural barrier.

Instead of just sitting on top, it works with your skin to hold onto moisture and stay soft and resilient.

It’s also naturally high in antioxidants, which help protect the skin from everyday environmental stress.

This is one of the reasons I chose it over shea butter in my Rose Magnesium Body Butter… it creates a silkier texture and deeper nourishment that feels especially comforting in winter.

I talk a lot about the skin barrier because it really matters.

When your barrier is healthy, your skin feels good. When it’s damaged, everything feels off… dryness, tightness, irritation, sensitivity.

Cocoa butter helps by:

• Sealing in moisture

• Reducing water loss

• Softening rough areas

• Supporting natural repair

That’s exactly what I want in a winter body butter… something that supports both muscle relaxation and skin health at the same time.

A little Valentine's Day tradition

Every year around Valentine’s Day, I create one small, limited batch of Rose Magnesium Body Butter. It's my way of offering something soft, comforting, and a little indulgent during the coldest part of the year.

The combination of cocoa butter, pure magnesium, and real rose essential oil feels like a quiet kind of luxury… not flashy, not overdone… just deeply nourishing.

It’s meant to be a reminder to slow down, care for your body, and treat yourself with kindness.

As always, every ingredient I use is chosen with intention, care, and respect… for both the plant and the person using it.

Thank you for letting me share a little of my herbalist heart with you.

-Sarah, Old City Apothecary