Cupuacu butter is a hair ingredient that can meet natural hair’s burning desire for a rich, moisturizing emollient with lasting effects. Let’s dig deep into the history and benefits of cupuacu butter, and how you can start using it in your natural hair routine.
What is Cupuacu Butter?
Cupuacu butter is a rich, highly beneficial butter for the hair and skin. It is being formulated in more textured hair products due to its valuable and long lasting conditioning benefits. It is typically cold pressed, filtered, and refined of the cupuacu tree, found in the rainforests of Brazil and Cuba. This tree is related to the familiar cacao tree, and cupuacu seeds have often been used to make white chocolate and other delicious treats. The butter is known to be an excellent plant based alternative to lanolin, a long-standing popular emollient staple in hair and skin products derived from the natural sebum of sheep.
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However unlike lanolin, an abundance of phytosterols in cupuacu butter benefits and repairs dry and damaged skin along with free radical fighting polyphenols. According to LUSH, the fresh handmade cosmetic company, “Free radicals are highly reactive and can start a damaging chain reaction in our cells, the results of which have been linked with aging.” This butter is known to heal and restructure the skin and scalp and improve elasticity and hydration levels. As a natural skin protectant, cupuacu has the ability to absorb UVA/UVB rays and functions as an anti-inflammatory and emulsifying agent. The attributes are endless.
Cupuacu in Your Hair Products
Product developers are well aware of the goodness cupuacu butter can bring to their customers so extensive research has gone into the best ways the butter can live out its potential. Rachel E. Blistein, founder of Original Moxie Product Company describes why she chose to indulge us with the butter, “Cupuaçu butter is rich in phytosterols and possesses a high capacity for water absorption. For this reason, it has a unique ability to help retain moisture by regulating the balance of natural lipids within the hair. In our testing, we discovered an especially effective synergy between the penetrating qualities of cupuacu butter and the sealant properties of castor oil. When they are combined, as they are in our Emollience Pre-treatment, they produce an extremely effective at combating chronic dryness.”
In our testing, we discovered an especially effective synergy between the penetrating qualities of cupuacu butter and the sealant properties of castor oil.
Cupuacu Butter as a Pre-Poo Ingredient
After looking into the Original Moxie Emollience Pre-treatment it was clear why this ingredient would be used in this fashion. The pre-treatment is a formula that is applied to the hair while dry and prior to cleansing. Cosmetic chemists have warned us for years about the damage that can occur from frequent styling and manipulating the hair, which even includes shampooing and conditioning. Fine hair or damaged hair could use some extra strength and protection, even before operating their common cleansing ritual. But this product is for every hair type. Original Moxie goes the distance to communicate that the cupuacu advantage can be obtained by any curl pattern and hair density. Listen as Owner Blistein, explains her reason for creating the Emollience Pre-Treatment:
“I was inspired to create a pre-treatment based on my own experience of extremely dry hair, particularly in the winter months. Inspiration struck when I was washing dishes one day. I realized that, just like a sponge, if your hair is wet, it cannot absorb as much oil because the surface area is already fully saturated. But if the lipid core of your hair is depleted, it needs oil first and water second. This is often the culprit with chronically dry hair, or hair that persistently remains dry and brittle despite heavy conditioning and leave-in products being applied. The Emollience Pre-Treatment is intended to infuse the hair with oil so that, when water is applied, the hair can better retain that much-needed moisture.”
Cupuacu butter has rushed to our aid at just the right time. Cupuacu can benefit any curly struggling with moisture retention, dry brittle hair, or breakage by infusing your hair with moisture, increasing elasticity, and softness. Products with cupuacu would be good for all hair types, those who wash and go, chemically-treated hair, and curlies who live in extreme weather conditions.
Have you tried cupuacu butter on your hair?
