3 Natural Products That Can Replace Regular Lotion

The search for natural products that are equally equipped to handle beauty needs as well as those in the kitchen has basically taken over as a hobby. When it comes to lotion, studies have found that the products we buy at the pharmacy or grocery store contain ingredients that are potentially harmful to the body, such as mercury which can cause kidney and neurological damage and petroleum jelly which can cause cancer. Freaky, right?

On the bright side, this scary information does not mean that your skin has to be bound to dryness forever. There are other natural and beneficial products that can moisturize your skin better than store-bought lotions and give you long-lasting results.

1. Coconut Oil

The vodka-soda of all-natural moisturizers; coconut oil is most people’s first choice. It is made up of 100% fat, 85% of which is saturated fat. The best part about coconut oil is that if you run out, you can probably find extra in the kitchen, too. Some of the benefits of coconut oil include Vitamin E, Lauric acid and anti-bacterial properties that moisturize and fight bacteria. There are two things to be aware of regarding coconut oil: first, know that purchasing it, you should make sure to look for cold-pressed, virgin and organic coconut oil to prevent exposing your skin to unknown preservatives and second, coconut oil seems to be safer when applied topically and not ingested in large quantities.

2. Shea Butter

Shea butter comes from the seed of a fruit from the Shea tree. When used as a lotion replacement, it penetrates the skin and provides it with anti-inflammatory and anti-aging fatty acids. Other than its moisturizing and inflammation-reducing properties, shea butter is also recognized for smoothing out wrinkles and stretch marks with the combination of Oleic, Stearic, Palmitic and Linolenic acids it contains. There are certain things to watch out for when purchasing shea butter, the most important being that purchasing Grade A shea butter contains the correct amount of Cinnamic acid, which is the healing component of the butter when compared to the refined options.

3. Cocoa Butter

Cocoa butter comes from cocoa beans; it is the separated fat that has been pressed out of the beans after they are roasted and stripped. This butter is extremely similar to shea butter, sharing a lot of their healing abilities. Cocoa butter also has the anti-aging and moisturizing properties that the other butters boast but cocoa butter additionally smoothes out stretch marks, wrinkles and other marks on the skin. Not to mention, it smells amazing