Coconut oil has recently become quite a popular replacement for cooking oil, but turns out that it has way more uses than just cooking.
It’s good for pretty much everything. If you really wanted to, you could probably find 101 uses for coconut oil. It’s good for your skin, hair, health and hygiene.
Today however I decided to focus my attention on how you can use coconut oil for beauty and health benefits.
1. Moisturize
Сoconut oil is the best moisturizer there is. Other oils are too greasy and only work on the surface, making your body feel greasy. Coconut oil molecules are small enough to actually go deeper into your skin and moisturize it from within. Try rubbing a small amount of coconut oil on your body. At first it will feel a little greasy, but after a minute the oil will sink into your skin leaving it feeling smooth and silky. Coconut oil is also often used as a massage oil for the same reason.
2. Fade dark spots
Coconut oil has proven to help fade age and sun damage spots. It’s not a miracle product, of course it won’t immediately erase all the pigmentation, but if you apply a small amount of coconut oil onto the dark spots on your skin, over time it will lessen their appearance and help to fade them. As an added bonus, coconut oil will help you heal any kind of inflammation you might have on your face, because of it’s curative properties.
3. Soften dry skin
Coconut oil will do magic to dry, even cracked skin, trust me on this one. If you have really dry elbows, or dry, cracked heels – this is your magic potion. Seriously, don’t even bother buying any sort of special cream. It’s pointless and overpriced. Just take a small amount of coconut oil and rub it into your elbows/heels every day. You’ll see results in a week.
4. Remove makeup
No matter what kind of makeup you have on, coconut oil will take it off. Just rub a small amount of oil onto your face and see how your makeup melts away with it. Even the waterproof kind. Just wipe it away with a cotton ball and you’re done.
5. Use as lip balm
Coconut is perfect as lip balm. Probably because it’s actually solid at room temperature, until you touch it. You can either use it on it’s own, or mix it with some pigment. Either way it will make your lips feel soft and smooth. It’s also great for healing chapped lips. Plus, it’s natural, there’s no ingredients you can be allergic to, you can lick your lips all you want and it won’t be bad for you. Unless you’re actually allergic to coconut oil.
6. Use as toothpaste
When combined with baking soda, can be used to brush your teeth. Coconut oil has antibacterial properties, and research shows that just massaging it into your gums prevents decay and cavities in your teeth. The baking soda in this DIY toothpaste acts as an abrasive and whitening ingredient. To improve the taste you can add peppermint oil or cinnamon, depending on what you like more.
7. Conditioner/hair mask
If you have damaged, dry or bleached hair, coconut oil should be your best friend. For deep conditioning, scoop out some coconut oil and rub it into your hair. You can either put the coconut oil into a microwave for a few seconds, or just melt it by rubbing it in your hands. Do this about an hour before you wash your hair. Put on a shower cap and wrap a towel around your head. This will ensure that you hair stays warm and hair follicles open up to absorb the oil better. Afterwards wash off with a shampoo and enjoy super soft and shiny hair. For a hair mask do the same thing, but leave overnight.
8. Aid weight loss
Coconut oil makes a surprisingly good coffee creamer. If you want your coffee to taste delicious but you don’t want to add milk – this is your alternative. Just add a little coconut oil to your drink, and it will instantly taste sweeter, smoother and more rich. Adding coconut to your coffee will also benefit your digestive system and make sure everything works well. There’s even proof that coconut oil can aid weight loss. However, for weight loss it’s better to melt a teaspoon of coconut oil in herbal tea, no coffee, and have it before a meal.
