Posted Monday, February 13, 2012 by Grace Gold,

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With Valentine’s Day upon us, the foil- wrapped chocolates abound come with the extra inches to hips we swore we’d work off after the holidays.

But there’s one place where chocolate only does a body good: on your skin.

Cocoa butter has been used for centuries, and across countless cultures, as a rich, hydrating skin treatment. A creamy fat that is extracted from cacao seeds, the emollient is renowned as a scar and stretch mark antidote. Experts say it’s the butter’s ability to penetrate and retain moisture in the deep levels of the skins that makes it such an effective treatment for scars. It’s also one of the few fats that works equally well in several places, from hands to lips, and even your hair.

In The Body Shop‘s new Chocomania range launching this month, the socially conscious retailer blends 12 community fair trade ingredients from around the world to make a lavish, smooth, and quick-to-absorb version of cocoa butter that combats dryness for up to 48 hours after application.

The permanent line covers a full range of bath and body products, but these three picks stand out as luxurious, yet affordable, gifts to spread some love this Valentine’s Day.

Chocomania Bag of Heart Soaps, $6

Filled with cocoa butter and bits of exfoliating coconut shell, these adorable soaps lather up surprisingly rich and leave skin blanketed in chocolate sweetness. The heart shape makes them easy to hold, and to gently scrub in an exfoliating motion.

Chocomania Shower Cream, 3 minis for $10, 2 for $12, 3 for $12, 4 for $16

 Soap-free, this cocoa butter shower gel features organic honey for even more hydration. Use in the shower to cleanse and moisturize in one step, or pour two cap fulls into the tub for a decadent bath. If you have refillable bathroom soap dispensers, the pearlescent gel makes for a lovely hand wash as well.

Chocomania Shower, Moisture & Scrub Collection, $25

To spoil someone special, this espresso-colored gift box does a fine job at a budget price. The set comes with soap, shower cream, body scrub, body butter, lip butter, and an exfoliating bath lily sponge – making it the perfect pick for skincare fiends and bath lovers everywhere. Turn the gift even more luxe by including a small box of chocolates or mini pastries for a taste of something sweet.