Do you want to show off your body and its beautiful black skin in the warmer months?  Well now is the time to start your body care regimen.  So the first question to ask yourself is, what are the best ingredients to look for in Natural Body Products for your beautiful black skin?

When you think of natural body products for African American skin three ingredients come to mind: Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter and Jojoba Oil .  Why these three?  Because Shea butter is a great moisturizer, cocoa butter has been used for generations to lighten dark spots and even out skin tones and jojoba oil is the closest oil to the chemical composition of your skin.

These three ingredients top the list in enhancing the beauty of your skin.

After a cold winter and that’s being nice about it, you’ll soon be pulling off those heavy layers of sweaters, thermal underwear, thick socks and putting your blankets away for a few months.

I know from talking with a lot of you that you don’t always feel like getting body treatments in winter months but when you do, it makes the transition into spring and summer skin much easier.

Let’s take a look a some of the best natural ingredients for African American body care:

Shea Butter – Whether it’s part of a moisturizing body butter of part of an exfoliating body butter scrub, Shea butter is a great ingredient when caring for black skin. It’s packed with natural Vitamin A and has been said to have exceptional healing properties for your skin.

In Shea butter Vitamin A is known to improve skin conditions like blemishes, wrinkles, eczema and dermatitis.  A good Shea butter cream is good for sunburn, dry skin, cracked skin and rough heels.

My favorite way to use Shea butter is to exfoliate with a body butter scrub. Shea butter, sea salt, turbinado sugar and jojoba wax beads will give the skin on your body a radiant glow and take away all of the ash and dead skin cells.

Try this recipe out and see if it helps relieve some of your dryness especially around your knees and elbows and on your feet:

5 tablespoons of sesame base oil
3 tablespoons of Shea butter
10 drops cardamom essential oil
10 drops ginger essential oil
10 drops sweet orange essential oil

In a small sauce pan over low heat or in a double boiler, warm the sesame oil and Shea butter until melted.  Remove it from the heat and gently stir for a 1 (one) minute to blend ingredients.  Allow to cool down to body temperature. Add the essential oil and stir again.  It will take about 24 hours for this product to harden.  You shouldn’t need to refrigerate  but if you’re in extreme heated climates it might be necessary.  Keep in a cool place and as with all natural products use them within 6 to 12 months.

Cocoa Butter – Often referred to as the ultimate moisturizer, cocoa butter helps to keep your skin soft to the touch from head to toe. It’s also used for eczema and dermatitis and when applied to your skin, it will create a barrier between your skin and the environment to help retain its moisture.

Cocoa butter contains a number of antioxidants that kill off a wide range of different free radicals that can destroy your skin cells and lead to premature aging.  Not only does your face show signs of aging but so does your body.

You’ll begin to see your skin sagging at your neck, on your butt, around your knees and elbows and under your armpits.   A good body moisturizer with cocoa butter will help relieve the dryness and bring a youthful appearance to your skin in these areas.

It’s been scientifically proven that cocoa butter will prevent the harmful effects of UV light from the sun that also cause dehydration.

Jojoba Oil – In essence this is a wax that most closely resembles your skin.  While this might sound scary, you can actually use jojoba oil on oily skin.  It will help to regulate the amount of oil your skin produces.

As a head-to-toe moisturizer, jojoba oil is great for giving your skin the right amount of softness and radiance.  It’s non greasy, a natural antiseptic and encourages the development of new cells.

These are three of the best natural ingredients for African American body skin care. I’ll keep you abreast of body care trends in other articles.  So until next time …

As Always …

Dedicated To Your Beauty,

Juliette Samuel
Esthetician/Author/Publisher

Nyraju Skin Care