Pictured: 2 examples of cocoa butter. On the left, bleached cocoa butter chips from a cosmetic ingredients supplier. On the right, raw cocoa butter chips from a local health food shop.

I will often try a formula with ingredients (in different formats) from different suppliers before giving it a stamp of approval for release (be it a formulation developed for a client or a formulation intended for a publication). Not everyone can source the exact same ingredient - even something as universal as cocoa butter. So I like to be sure.

These 2 butters have been trialled in a series of products I am working on and both have passed muster.

TIP: Both food grade and cosmetic grade cocoa butter are suitable for skincare products.

The books below both include formulations that feature cocoa butter.