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Cupuaçu butter gives delicious flavor to desserts and is also a natural and national alternative for skin and hair care

Cupuaçu butter is a natural product of vegetable origin, with a texture similar to a paste, whitish in color, and used mainly to combat the dryness of the skin and hair, as it maintains its hydration, among other various properties.

Cupuaçu butter has a high capacity for absorbing liquids, about twice that of lanolin, which comes from animal origin and is often a product that causes allergies. Furthermore, cupuaçu butter is a great vegan alternative to animal derivatives.

• Vegan philosophy: know and ask your questions

Cupuaçu butter comes from the cupuaçu tree (Theobroma grandiflorum) is a tropical tree native to the Amazon rainforest. It is a small tree that grows from four to eight meters tall when cultivated domestically or up to eighteen meters tall when it grows in the wild. It belongs to the same family and genus as cocoa. Cupuaçu is still not well known in Brazil, except in the northern region, where it is a natural food source. However, there is a popularization process for this product due to its versatility, since it can be used in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic purposes.

It is a large, cylinder-shaped fruit with rounded ends, reaching 30 cm in length with an average weight of 1.2 kg. Upon ripening, the fruits fall off without the stalk, when they begin to release the characteristic smell. Its interior contains an edible, succulent and creamy white pulp, adhered to approximately 25 large, oval seeds. Cupuaçu butter is extracted from seeds that contain approximately 45% oil. Production in commercial plantations starts from the third year and reaches an average of 12 fruits per tree. Its pulp and butter are of growing importance in the region's exports.

sustainable way of obtaining

There are two methods of obtaining cupuaçu butter: with or without solvents or chemical substances. In the sustainable method, cupuaçu fruits are harvested in the jungle itself, as they fall to the ground as they mature, and are collected by cooperatives located on the banks of the Amazon River, constituting a source of income for local residents.

The pulp is removed with scissors and the residue that remains in the seed is washed away. After this process, the pulp is frozen and can be sold over long distances. With this refreshing pulp, it is possible to make all kinds of sweets, juices, drinks, creams, liqueurs, brandies, among others.

The butter is extracted from the seeds by a natural cold pressing process. This method has an advantage over the solvent technique, as it produces butters that are superior in terms of stability, in addition to being ecologically correct because they are biodegradable, not polluting the environment. The bark and other residues can be used as natural fertilizers, and this makes this production method practically non-productive.

Main properties

Cupuaçu butter has excellent properties that make it suitable for use on skin, hair, lips and nails. It is a triglyceride (lipid or fat) that has a balanced composition of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, which gives it a low melting point of approximately 30°C, ie, above this temperature, it changes from a solid to a liquid state. This makes it easier to use, as it melts quickly on contact with the skin. It has a certain degree of absorbance of ultra violet (UV) rays, mainly UVB and UVC (but there is no way to measure the equivalence of the product in terms of sun protection factor - SPF).

Skin

Like body butters, cupuaçu butter is an emollient that provides a pleasant touch, softness, smoothness and nutrition to the skin, enabling the recovery of its natural moisture and elasticity through the replacement of lipids (fats), especially in dry skin and mistreated by external aggressions. In addition, cupuaçu butter contains several beneficial fatty acids (including palmitic, stearic and oleic acids), many polyphenols and phytosterols.

Oleic acid belongs to the class of monounsaturated fatty acids, which are organic compounds that make up lipids (fats), vital in the construction of the cell membrane, being present in the epidermis, protecting it and being part of its natural barrier, thus preventing its dehydration by through the loss of water from the skin. This makes it also assist in healing processes.

The natural polyphenol in cupuaçu butter acts as an antioxidant, which helps to destroy the atoms or groups of atoms known as free radicals, which occur as a normal result of human metabolism and exposure to sunlight, pollution and cigarette smoke, for example. . Free radicals are highly reactive and can start a chain reaction of damage to your cells, leading to premature aging and even different types of cancer. That's why cupuaçu butter is also an anti-aging agent.

The phytosterols present provide a water-lipid balance to the skin's surface layer, maintaining its hydration and also providing a calming and anti-inflammatory effect, as they help to control irritation and inflammation, such as eczema, psoriasis (a chronic disease that causes redness and irritation ) and dermatitis (allergy).

Due to the aforementioned properties, it also has beneficial effects on the hands and feet, providing softness to the cuticles, and acts as an excellent moisturizer for tired feet and, for those with cracks, it helps in the healing process, accelerating the restructuring of the injured skin.

Hair

Cupuaçu butter promotes smoothness and softness to the hair, increasing its natural moisture and elasticity, conditioning it due to its high water absorption power, as mentioned above, and thus preventing dehydration. It is ideal for brittle, dry and dry hair due to its long-lasting moisturizing properties that replenish moisture, promoting the sealing of the cuticles and providing a healthy shine with a reduction in the volume of the strands.

Ways to use

skin, lips and nails

Cupuaçu butter can also be applied directly. To do this, add the desired amount to your hands, rubbing them so that the butter becomes more malleable (this depends on the temperature, at higher temperatures the butter will be softer) and apply to the desired region in circular motions, massaging it until it occurs the incorporation of the product by the skin.

Hair

As with shea butter, there are several ways to use cupuaçu butter on hair. Here are some suggestions that can be adapted according to each specific need:

Pre-shampoo: put a little cupuaçu butter on your hands and spread it well. Then rub it well between your hands until it turns to oil. Apply on dry and unwashed strands, especially on the ends and strands/drier parts. There is no specific break time, you can leave it as long as you like, it won't harm your hair. Wash as usual afterwards.

Capillary moisturizing mask: after washing the hair, remove excess water with a towel and apply the cupuaçu butter, avoiding the root and scalp so that they are not too oily, but if you want to help treat psoriasis or dermatitis, for example, these regions must be understood. Put on a shower cap and leave for 30 minutes. Then, just rinse the strands with plenty of warm water.

Natural ointment: do as in the previous tip, spread between your hands and rub well until it turns into oil. Then, just apply on the strands you want to style. If you are going to use it on the wires as a replacement for silicone, remember to apply very little amount to not make them look heavy.

Night treatment: if you don't have time to moisten the hair, you can apply cupuaçu butter to your hair before bed. But it's important to wash your hair in the morning, as it can make your hair very oily and heavy.

Cupuacu ice cream

Another way to obtain the benefits of cupuaçu butter is through the consumption of its ice cream, a form of cupuaçu consumption that has become popular in Brazil, as well as the consumption of açaí. Cupuaçu ice cream is delicious, creamy and has a pleasant aroma and a light citrus flavor, in addition to providing health benefits.

environmental awareness

And the most amazing thing of all is knowing that it is possible to enjoy all the properties of cupuaçu butter in a sustainable way, with minimal environmental impact. For this, it is necessary to use 100% pure cupuaçu butter, that is, not added with other synthetic components or obtained in a way other than the cold pressing described above. Know where to buy this type of butter.

It is necessary to be aware of whether the butter is pure or just another component of a conventional cosmetic, as many products use its name only as a marketing strategy to attract an audience that seeks more sustainable and natural products, but actually hide actives chemicals and petroleum derivatives (also known as petrolatum), which harm the environment, as they are not biodegradable and make sewage and effluent treatment processes more difficult and expensive.

It is possible, yes, to maintain our daily beauty and nutrition routine with natural products that present excellent results in a less aggressive way to our own body and the environment in which we live. Know how to purchase.

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