The chance of having any chocolate left over after the Easter weekend is as slim as having Champagne left over after New Year’s Eve!
But one can only eat so much chocolate until you actually start to feel ill or guilty just thinking about all the extra hours you’ll have to spend in the gym to work it off.
If you did manage to resist the temptation to over-indulge, here’s a way to make use of that chocolate that will make your skin happy.
Because chocolate, especially dark chocolate, contains powerful chemicals like flavonoids and polyphenols that nourish and protect skin from environmental stresses and ageing, makes it the perfect ingredient for DIY home beauty treatments.
“Chocolate contains more than 300 skin-healing compounds including iron, zinc, copper and magnesium. Applied on the skin, it nourishes and calms the complexion,” says Janey Lee Grace, author of Look Great Naturally ... Without Ditching The Lipstick.
Here are three yummy chocolate the recipes to make your skin smile:
Yummy choco lip balm for dry lips
Ingredients
1 tsp Vaseline
1 tsp grated chocolate
Small clean and empty holder
Method
Place a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan filled with boiling water. Add the Vaseline and grated chocolate in the bowl and as the two ingredients start to melt stir continuously until thoroughly mixed. When melted pout the hot liquid into the clean small container. Once it’s cool and set it’s ready for use.
Dark chocolate face mask for glowing skin
Ingredients
50g dark chocolate (ideally 70% cocoa solids)
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp full-fat natural yoghurt
3 tbsp fine oatmeal
Method
Melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of hot water. Stir in the rest of the ingredients once the chocolate has melted. Allow the mixture to cool slight then to your face. Avoid the eyes and mouth area. Leave mask on for 20 minutes. Use warm water and a cloth to remove.
Conditioning chocolate and honey hair mask
Ingredients
20g dark chocolate egg
Small pot of full-fat natural yoghurt
1½ tbsp honey
Method
Melt the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave. Stir the melted chocolate into the yoghurt and honey, then, while still warm, apply the mixture to the ends of your hair, not the scalp. Wrap your hair in cling wrap and leave the mask on for an hour. Scrape the excess mask off your hair with your hands, then rinse with warm water.