IT smells good enough to eat but there is more to cocoa butter than its wonderful fragrance.

The benefits to your skin can be incredible, especially at this time of year when we have spent months bundled up in winter woollies with the central heating on full blast.

Whether you prefer a rich cream, a light lotion or a body butter, slather it on skin and hair daily.

A great source of antioxidants, it helps fight the signs of ageing, restoring dry, parched skin.

High in fatty acids, it can penetrate deep down into the skin and hydrate from within.

It is also a great help for anyone with sensitive skin, helping to heal eczema and soothe psoriasis to leave skin soft and supple. And it will help heal scars and scratches too.

Cocoa butter melts at skin temperature, no wonder it is the perfect ingredient for lip balms, hair conditioners and skin moisturisers.

Super hydrating, smoothe on Kiehl's Creme de Corps, £8.50, after a shower to lock in moisture.

The cream is light yet deeply moisturising and sinks in quickly, leaving skin super soft.

No chemical processes are used in the manufacture of Neal's Yard Remedies Organic Cocoa Butter, £9. Perfect for dry, damaged or mature skin, smooth it on daily.

For a best-selling budget buy it's hard to beat the original Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula, £2.39.

The rich, creamy lotion also has vitamin E to relieve dry skin. Use it every day.

The extended range now includes hand cream, solid formula cocoa butter and concentrated formula as well as firming butter.

For a touch of magic in a bottle, try Body Shop Cocoa Butter Beatifying Oil, £9, a lightweight blend of nut oils with a sweet cocoa scent.

A little goes a long way, use it on the face and hair for instant hydration with a shimmering finish.