Antioxidant Skin Care: Chocolate
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Feed Your Skin With Chocolate!
Chocolate. It’s delicious, versatile and filled with antioxidants. In only 1.5 ounces of undutched cocoa powder, you’ll find 13,396 ORAC units. Compare that to acai berry, one of the leading antioxidant foods, which has 18,500 ORAC units in a 3.5 ounce serving size. The antioxidant powers of chocolate are well-known, which is why more and more skin care companies are using this delicious substance in their anti-aging skin care products.
Due to chocolate’s antioxidant skin care benefits, it is able to help prevent the onset of premature signs of aging, such as fine lines, wrinkles and loss of elasticity. Dark chocolate, which is rich in flavonoids, may also be able to help protect collagen and prevent against UV damage. Finally, chocolate has shown the ability to moisturize, rejuvenate and exfoliate dead skin cells, thereby restoring a radiant and smooth quality to the complexion.
If you want to get your daily dose of antioxidants by eating dark chocolate, it is important that you choose a chocolate treat containing at least 50% cacao. Selecting a semisweet chocolate that is a minimum of 70% cocoa solids will provide you with 6,649 ORAC units per 1.5 ounces consumed. That’s more than twice as many ORAC units than the recommended 3,000! Unfortunately, milk chocolate lovers will lose out on the antioxidant supplement benefits, as research suggests that dairy products may inhibit the proper absorption of antioxidants.
Even if dark chocolate doesn’t float your boat, you can still get the antioxidant benefits and sweet aroma of chocolate by using chocolate-infused skin care treatments. To moisturize, comfort and revive, try Chocolate!, a moisturizer and lip treatment by Karin Herzog that also contains orange and avocado oils, or Chocolate Mousse Hydration Masque by Eminence, an all-natural, organic treatment mask that helps reduce visible signs of aging. For oily or acne-prone skin, Chocolate Mousse Primer by Colorescience will prepare your skin for flawless makeup application while controlling excess oil, hydrating without greasiness, protecting with an SPF of 20, and reducing redness, inflammation and fine lines.