Does Nivea Cocoa Butter Lighten the Skin? Nivea cocoa butter doesn’t lighten the skin that is, it doesn’t make your skin fairer than it already is, nor would it darken your skin on its own. It would only make you fair if that’s your real complexion.
I make this claim based on reviews and personal experience with Nivea Cocoa Butter. Before you could understand why this is so, you need to know what Nivea Cocoa Butter is, how it was formulated, and the origin of its main ingredient– Cocoa Butter.
Let’s get to it.
Also Read: Everything You Need to Know About Cocoa Butter!
What is Nivea Cocoa Butter?
- For Deep And Long-Lasting Moisture
- Cocoa Butter And Vitamin E
- Intensively Hydrates Skin
- Dry To Very Dry Skin
- Firmer Skin Fast
- Enriched with Antioxidants
- Ideal for Dry Skin
- Rely on NIVEA Products
- Cocoa butter and vitamin E
- Deep nourishing
- Creamy formula for dry skin
- Leaves skin intensively hydrated
Nivea Cocoa Butter is a rich creamy formula, infused with their Deep Moisture Serum, Cocoa Butter, and Vitamin E.
It delivers intense moisture to dry skin for up to 48 hours, and leaves skin radiant and lightly scented after just one application. Nivea Cocoa Butter is produced from natural cocoa butter extracted from the beans of the cacao plant.
The beans are first fermented, dried, roasted, and then separated from the cocoa nibs.
The nibs are ground into a paste, and then the thick butter is separated from the solid residue by pressing it with special mechanisms. The solids that remain after pressing the cocoa butter out of the paste are what is used in making chocolate.
This explains why cocoa butter in its raw state has the smell of chocolate. Nivea was so creative by adding Nivea Cocoa Butter to their line of products. They only added a few ingredients to it and made it just for dry skin.
Some people have doubts about this new product because they argue that nothing can beat the original Nivea cream. However, a good friend of mine Jane, whose family has been using Nivea body cream for decades now, claims that Nivea Cocoa Butter is the closest to the original nourishing and moisturizing Nivea Cream.
Is this claim correct?
In this post, I’d discuss the benefits and special qualities of Nivea Cocoa Butter in detail so that you can judge for yourself. Let’s start with Nivea Cocoa Butter on black skin.
Nivea Cocoa Butter on black skin
There have been some misconceptions about whether or not Nivea Cocoa Butter is good for the different kinds of black skin tones. Let’s see how it affects African and African-American skin.
Is it good for African skin?
Cocoa Butter in itself has been associated with black-skinned people for centuries now.
I guess one reason was that it is grown mostly in tropical regions like Central and Southern America, and also in certain parts of Africa, like Ghana for instance.
Africa is popularly known for its hot climatic conditions. For this reason, deep moisturizing becomes very necessary if you don’t want to have unsightly dry skin. The cocoa butter in itself is thick, and thus it’s able to lock moisture into the skin.
That’s why blacks have relied on it for decades to take care of their skin needs.
Nivea’s formula of Cocoa Butter has all the special benefits of natural cocoa butter, and therefore it is very suitable for anyone in Africa who can’t have access to pure cocoa butter. You could say that it’s a great alternative to naturally occurring cocoa butter.
Also Read: Is Nivea Cocoa Butter Good For Dark Skin?
What about African-American skin?
Is it good for African-American skin?
African-American skin behaves in the same way as any other black skin. The difference between America and Africa would be probably because of the winter added to their seasons.
During winter, Nivea Cocoa butter becomes a necessary staple for those with African-American skin.
Here’s why.
The chilly weather in the winter season makes the skin very dry, no matter the kind of skin tone you have. It becomes worse for those with black skin because black skin looks very ashy when it’s dry.
This ashy look is a result of the dead skin that looks lighter in color than the original skin tone. The dryness causes the skin to become flaky, and that’s why the skin looks ashy. Using Nivea Cocoa Butter would help reduce the ashy look and feel, lock moisture into the skin, and keep your skin glowing all day long.
How about those with white skin?
Also Read: 18 Best Cocoa Butter Lotion for Black Skin: For a Natural and Perfect Skin!
Nivea Cocoa Butter on White Skin
White skin tones can use Nivea cocoa butter too. Here’s why. No matter what skin tone you have, the skin will always be skin. The only thing that differentiates one skin tone from another is a substance called melanin.
Melanin is simply the name given to the pigments that determine your skin color, the color of your eye pupil, or your hair. The amount and type of melanin you have in your skin would determine if you would have lighter or darker skin.
The more melanin, the darker your skin would become. Indeed, the kind of melanin you have is mostly determined by your genetic makeup. However, other factors can affect the amount of melanin you have in your skin.
Exposing your skin to sunlight is one of those factors. That’s why overexposing your skin to the sun without sunscreen on would make you tanner than you already are.
Also read: Does Cocoa Butter Lighten Skin?
Nivea Cocoa Butter doesn’t temper your melanin level, and hence a white-skinned person can use Nivea Cocoa Butter as well. However, some people claim that Nivea Cocoa Butter is making them darker than their natural skin tone. Is it?
Does Nivea Cocoa Butter Darken Skin?
A lot of people have experienced their skin darkening after using Nivea Cocoa Butter. There are at least two reasons why this happens.
One reason is that they spend too much time in the sun without sunscreen on. And two, because they were using bleaching cream before they turned to Nivea Cocoa Butter.
No matter the kind of skincare regimen or the moisturizer you use, going about in the sun without sunscreen on would tan you, whether you like it or not. This happens because the sunlight makes your skin produce more pigment, or should we say melanin.
This pigment production is what causes hyperpigmentation and tanning of the skin. For years, people have used cocoa butter as tanning cream. They apply cocoa butter on their skin and then walk about in the sun. With the cocoa butter on, moisture is not quickly lost in the skin, so the skin tans beautifully.
It’s like deep-frying ripe plantain or chicken breasts. When it is suspended fully in the hot oil, it cooks nicely into the golden brown delicious-looking food. In the same way, using cocoa butter or even shea and then walking in the sun without sunscreen would give you a tan.
It’s like frying your skin in the sun.
That’s why using Nivea or any other cocoa butter without sunscreen on would make you darker. Aside from that, Nivea cocoa Butter on its own would never make you darker than your natural skin tone.
Instead, it would give your skin its natural luster and glow. Now that you’ve seen the kinds of skin tones that can use Nivea Cocoa Butter, let’s take a look at how the skin benefits from using it.
Also Read: Does Nivea Cocoa Butter Darken The Skin?
Benefits of Nivea Cocoa Butter
- The unique scent of Nivea Cocoa Butter helps to develop your sense of smell. How so? According to Harvard research, the body’s ability to determine smell diminishes with age. However, this could be resolved to some extent by training your sense of smell.
Dawn Goldworm once said; “When you are walking down the street, consciously indicate what you’re smelling… the more you use [your nose], the stronger it gets”.
The more molecules of smell you inhale, the stronger your sense of smell would become. Using Nivea Cocoa Butter daily would unconsciously fill your nose with scent molecules and then sharpen your sense of smell.
That’s how it’ll develop your sense of smell.
- Nivea Cocoa Butter has the added benefit of vitamin E. This vitamin is known for its ability to combat free radicals in your skin produced by the metabolism of food and toxins from the environment.
Vitamin E also helps to reduce the damage of ultraviolet rays from the sun. Therefore using it consistently would maintain your skin’s health.
- I noticed that glycerine was among the ingredients used in formulating Nivea Cocoa Butter. This explains why the cream moisturizes and hydrates the skin effectively.
Glycerine contains humectants that form a lining over the skin to allow it to retain moisture, has emollients that soften the skin and has antimicrobial properties.
Another thing about glycerine is that when it is applied to the skin, its humectant properties improve the hydration of the skin and make it soft. Hence it makes exfoliation easier. That’s why using Nivea Cocoa Butter leaves your skin glowing and radiant.
- Cocoa butter in its raw state is popular for its super hydrating and nourishing properties. Now that glycerine has been added to it, imagine how its hydrating and moisturizing effects would exponentially increase.
Jane, mentioned earlier, says that Nivea Cocoa Butter makes the skin supper butter soft and smooth. Such a fitting description!
- Dullness of the skin happens when dead skin has accumulated on the skin’s surface. Using Nivea Cocoa Butter softens these dead cells, and its heavy nature smooths out the dullness. In the end, you’d be left with glowing radiant skin.
- Among these benefits, there is one that stands out to me. Even though other brands of cocoa butter may have the same benefits, Nivea Cocoa Butter absorbs so quickly that you can immediately get dressed after applying it all over your body. It absorbs within seconds.
Have you ever experienced that time when you have to wait for the moisturizer to get absorbed into the skin because you must apply makeup?
Yes, it happened to me. I don’t want to be the one badmouthing someone’s business, therefore I wouldn’t mention the name of that product. Probably you may have experienced that too.
Nivea Cocoa Butter wouldn’t put you into that frustrating situation.
Another thing that sets this body cream apart is that it could be used in different ways too, apart from being a skin moisturizer.
Best Uses of Nivea Cocoa Butter
Nivea Cocoa Butter has been formulated such that apart from its use for dry skin, it could be used for both hand and foot cream.
This is possible because of its deep moisturizing benefits. Using it frequently on your feet and hands would make them silky smooth and glowy. In addition, Nivea Cocoa Butter has been infused with a nourishing serum that helps the skin to heal and regenerate itself.
One more thing. You only have to apply it once and it’ll keep your skin moisturized for up to 48hours. Well, I haven’t experimented with its 48hour moisturizing benefit because I’d have to take my bath the next day.
Please experiment and give me your feedback in the comments. No matter the number of benefits a product has, there are a few downsides to them. Nivea cocoa butter is no exception.
Here are a few disadvantages I’ve noticed.
Disadvantages of Nivea Cocoa Butter
- Cocoa Butter on its own makes oily skin worse, and Nivea Cocoa butter is not an exception. Hence, if possible avoid using it on your face if you have oily skin. If not, then apply it sparingly. It doesn’t mean that those with oily skin cannot use it at all.
It’s a great option for the winter season. However, in the summer days, I’d recommend that you use the original Nivea Cream instead of the Cocoa Butter because it’s not as ‘glowy’ as the Cocoa Butter.
- Even though Nivea Cocoa Butter has a unique smell that comes with adorable health benefits, not everyone would appreciate it. There are people out there who have allergic reactions to fragrances; therefore it wouldn’t be the right fit for them.
- Pure cocoa butter is believed to treat certain skin blemishes such as dermatitis and eczema. However, there hasn’t been any evidence that proves that Nivea cocoa Butter has any of those healing properties.
Your turn…
In all, Nivea Cocoa Butter wouldn’t tone you down or up. Instead, it helps to maintain your natural skin color and makes it brighter. You only have to take care when using it. Avoid the sun at all costs by using sunscreen whenever you need to go out. That way you’re sure that your skin has maximum protection.
Nivea Cocoa Butter is good for all skin colors, but they have a wide range of products for different kinds of skin types and tones. You have to look out for the one that suits you the most.
However, from my observation, you would never go wrong with the original Nivea Cream. I’m referring to the one with the blue container.
As someone said, nothing can beat the original. The Cocoa Butter formula is the closest to the original Nivea with the blue container. Therefore, if you have really dry skin and have to choose a Nivea moisturizer, please go for the Nivea Cocoa Butter.
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