There are few things in life that chocolate can’t fix. PMS? A bad day? A break-up? Grab yourself a Snickers bar and everything will be A-OK. But there’s one thing you probably haven’t tried the cocoa cure-all for yet: Your skin problems. So, is it really possible that chocolate is good for your skin?
“Chocolate makes us feel good and increases endorphins and decreases stress. This can result in less oxidative damage and less collagen reduction,” says Dr. Purvisha Patel. Patel is a board certified dermatologist, Mohs and cosmetic surgeon, dermatology faculty at the University of Tennessee, owner of Advanced Dermatology & Skin Cancer Associates, and the creator of Visha Skin Care. In other words, she knows what she’s talking about when it comes to skin care.
“Chocolate, more so dark chocolate, is rich in flavonoids that protect the skin from the sun. It also contains essential skin minerals such as zinc and magnesium — collagen needs these to form and rejuvenate.”
Even though Dr. Patel technically told me that eating chocolate is a much better way to get these benefits than, say, rubbing it all over your skin, when I heard that “chocolate therapy” was an actual thing that exists in Argentina, I had to give it a try.
According to the spa’s website where I found out about this drool-inducing ritual, the two hour treatment includes “body and facial exfoliation with chocolate and apricot gel, a chocolate wrap, and a sound massage with crystal quartz bowls.” They also claim that the treatment “combines relaxation and cosmetics through the many benefits derived from products of cocoa: it is purifying, relaxing, and exfoliating.”
