Americas - Cocoa

According to Aztec legend, the cocoa tree was given to man by the god Quetzalcoatl, as a tribute to a princess sacrificed for refusing to betray her husband. From the blood of the young woman, the god created a tree whose fruit (cocoa pods) contained a wealth of seeds (cocoa beans) as bitter as pain, as strong as virtue and as red as blood. To be suitable for consumption, cocoa beans must go through a series of processing steps: fermentation, drying and roasting. They are then dehulled to extract the kernels from which cocoa pulp is derived. Both cocoa butter and cocoa powder are derived from this pulp.

Traditionally, cocoa butter nourishes the skin and protects it from dehydration. In cosmetics, cocoa extract promotes skin hydration and cocoa powder extract has soothing and anti-free radical properties. Clarins Laboratories use organic cocoa butter.