Monday, November 10, 2014

Coconut oil


**Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor or coconut professional. I'm just giving you some insight on how I use this magical white stuff. **

I know that more than enough people have written about it (this one is really good at explaining health benefits!), so I'll keep this post short. :)

Over this summer, I started using coconut oil more regularly, but I recently started using it 2-3 times a day for random things: 

Cooking- the most obvious one, FOOD. All I do is replace oil in a recipe with this wonderful stuff, or even just use it to sauté some onions. I haven't tried baking with it- sounds a little more complicating. Its melting point is about 76* F (vs butter, 95* F), so it melts at a cooler temp!

Facial Scrub- Pictured above is a super simple mixture of coconut oil, some sugar, old coffee grounds & a pinch of salt. It leaves my face soft and smooth. Just apply to your face, leave it on for 10 or so minutes (I think I had it on for an hour one time, it doesn't really matter!), then rinse it off.

Face Wash- sounds crazy, but it works. Yes, I wash my face with coconut oil. I only do it once at night. And guess what, I've been having less breakouts, so it's a keeper. And here's the science behind it: around 50% of coconut oil is made up of the fatty acid, Lauric Acid. When Lauric Acid is broken down, it kills bacteria (which is the cause of breakouts. It also won't dry out my skin like other cleansers do. :) 

Hair- I massage it into my hair and leave it in over night in a braid. Make sure to wash it out in the morning (or leave it if you want to look like a crazy caveman at school/work/etc.) I do it about 3 times a week. To keep the oil from getting everywhere, I wrap a small fleece blanket around my pillow- works perfectly.

In the words of Weird Al,
Just Eat It- eat a spoonful every once in a while. It takes some getting use to, but it's delicious and so good for the body and supposedly give an energy boost like caffeine, but yes, it's still an oil, so don't go crazy.


I haven't gotten to the use-it-as-tooth-paste or blend-it-in-my-coffee stage yet. Picture a girl with her jar of coconut oil in the bathroom. Swishing it in her mouth, putting it on her face and brushing it through her hair, and then eating some while she's at it. Haha, I hope it never comes down to that.

If you want to learn more ways on how to use coconut oil, just google it. The "101 Ways to use Coconut Oil" article is so repetitive (use it as lotion, make it into lotion bars, use it as a massage oil, make it into homemade lotion, use it as sunscreen, use it as chapstick, use it as a facial moisturizer... you get the point?), so just read one with 10-20 uses. But it honestly boils down to just 2 uses: topical and oral...

Anyways, go buy yourself a jar and start using it!



No comments:

Post a Comment

i love comments; they're the best.
:) thanks for stopping by & have a blessed day.