| Fairly recently I discovered how beneficial and effective using coconut oil on your skin can be. I was shopping in the city when I saw a pot of coconut oil in one of the promotions and I’d heard that it can be good for adding moisture to your hair so I picked it up and thought I’d give it a try. |  |
Before I used it I decided to do a bit of research as to why it was good for you and how it can be used. Turns out it has loads of purposes and can be very beneficial to your hair and skin.
Firstly were going to look at what coconut oil is and what are it benefits. Coconut oil is simply a type of fat, it is a highly saturated oil and at room temperature it is solid, however when heated up it becomes a liquid. It has many benefits not only for your hair and skin but it can also help with various health conditions, in particular it can be used to help lower LDL cholesterol levels as well as many other health benefits.
Some benefits that coconut oil has on hair and skin are:
Firstly were going to look at what coconut oil is and what are it benefits. Coconut oil is simply a type of fat, it is a highly saturated oil and at room temperature it is solid, however when heated up it becomes a liquid. It has many benefits not only for your hair and skin but it can also help with various health conditions, in particular it can be used to help lower LDL cholesterol levels as well as many other health benefits.
Some benefits that coconut oil has on hair and skin are:
- Can help to treat acne. Many people assume that because coconut oil is, well… oily that it is a bad idea for people with already oily and greasy skin to use as they think this can worsen their acne, this however doesn’t appear to be the case as studies have shown that lauric acid (found in coconut oil) has been found to kill the bacteria linked to acne, in fact it has been shown in another study that it can be more effective at clearing acne than benzoyl peroxide (a popular ingredient used to clear acne). It’s anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties also help to clear acne.
- Studies on animals have shown that coconut oil has anti-inflammatory properties. It is not certain that we can translate this onto humans as the research that I found on this was performed on rats, however it does give us an indication.
- Coconut oil has anti-microbial properties, making it great for fighting against infections on the skin, it is has been found effective for killing fungi and bacteria.
- It maintains the hydration of your skin, causing you less prone to develop skin conditions such as eczema and providing a barrier for your face to keep out bacteria.
- Coconut oil has been found to stimulate the growth of hair, it can also prevent hydral fatigue, this basically means keep your hair hydrated.
- So now we know a few of the benefits, but how do we use coconut oil and where can we use it? Here are some ways coconut oil can be used:
- First of all, moisturizer, I cannot stress enough how amazing this stuff is when it comes to keeping my skin hydrated. I just scoop a small amount of it out of the tub, rub it between my fingers to melt it and massage it into my face, since I’ve been doing this not only as my skin cleared up drastically, it feels softer and much more hydrated. I apply coconut oil to my face every morning and night after washing. It also works as a brilliant moisturizer for your body, you can literally cover yourself head to toe in it! A good tip is you can also give yourself a mini facial with coconut oil, just apply it to your face in circular motions and massage into your skin for 5-10 minutes, you will notice the difference I promise!
- Another great use for coconut oil is removing make-up, sometimes I find it difficult to remove all of my makeup after I’ve washed my face, especially when it comes to mascara. If you have this issue too then look no further, all you have to do is take a generous amount of coconut oil, rub it onto the area that you want to remove the makeup and wipe over with cotton pad, guaranteed you will be able to remove it all.
- Coconut oil is great to put on your lips, I carry around a small pot throughout the day with me because I’m always on the go and whenever I need to top up on my lips I just get a little bit of coconut oil and it helps with hydration.
- Sometimes I put coconut oil on the ends of my hair before going to sleep and wash it out in the morning, I find that my hair looks more shiny and feels softer when I’ve done that, however I don’t do this too frequently as my hair isn’t particularly dry, but this would be great for someone with dry, brittle hair to incorporate into their routine.
- Once of my favorite uses for coconut oil, which I think is brilliant is using it as a highlighter. Sometimes I use coconut oil as a highlighter when I’m going for a more dewy effect and it really does work and look great, the one thing I will say about this thought is that I find that it tends to fade fairly quickly, maybe this is just because the skin has absorbed it, maybe it’s just me, I’m not quite sure but I’d definitely recommend giving it a try.
In conclusion, I'm glad that I bought coconut oil as I have noticed the difference in how bright and healthy my skin looks and I am definitely going to continue to use it. One of the best things about coconut oil as well is that it’s widely available and it’s very affordable, so most people have access to it! Have any of you tried coconut oil before, what do you think of it if so?
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