Let me just dive right into it. Every single person needs coconut oil in their life. Yes it sounds like a cooking ingredient, and I’m sure to those of you who know how to cook things beyond oatmeal and toast can use it in the kitchen to make delicious things, but I personally keep my coconut oil in the bathroom.
Coconut oil is something I stumbled upon at the beginning of the summer. You see coconut oil advertised in every type of product possible for women, shaving cream, hair products, deodorants etc. etc. So it clearly is a product that has some credibility in the cosmetic world. I personally have what the professionals like to call “combination skin.” Some of my face is oily and some is super dry. Makes for a great time when trying to figure out what face cream to use… So as a pure experiment I put the coconut oil on my face as an after-shower skin cream and I was instantly hooked. Yes it’s called coconut oil but it is not oily at all. It goes on and absorbs into the skin and there is no oily after-effect! Looks like I’ve found my perfect combination skin cream.
This bottle of coconut oil sat in my bathroom cupboard and was used as my daily moisturizer. But then one day as I was fighting to brush my tangled hair after a shower I figured I would toss a little coconut oil on my tangled mess and see if that made the process any less painful. And oh my gosh did it ever! I’m not one to spend a lot of money on hair products, so having coconut oil as my new hair detangler is such an amazing find. Use caution if you are going to put it on your hair because it can make your hair a bit greasy if you use too much. And stay away from your roots, just smooth a little bit into your hair near the tips. Brushing my hair is now a breeze and my hair smells delicious!
Having discovered these two uses for the magical oil I figured why stop here, let’s keep trying different things out! So I decided to try it out as shaving cream. Here’s how to do it. Before getting in the shower, lather your hairy legs up with the coconut oil and let it soak in a bit. In my experience the shower does wash a bunch of the oil off before you have the chance to shave, so I lather up a bit of soap and coat the legs before taking the razor to it. The presence of the coconut oil is felt almost instantly. My legs shave smoother than ever before and they seem to stay smoother longer!
Now I can’t take credit for this next use as I did look it up on the internet, but I can absolutely attest to its validity! Make-up remover can be costly and at times ineffective. I figured I would give it a try at the end of the day I got out my jar of coconut oil and spread some onto a cosmetic pad and removed my makeup with ease! Another amazing use for my new favourite oil.
Some tricky things to watch for…
Although coconut oil is amazing in every way possible, it is also oil which means it is slippery. When applying it to your face, hair, legs eyes or anywhere on your body be careful not to let chunks fall to the ground as they become a huge slip hazard. Yes I am speaking from personal experience… It is also important to be mindful of the slippery oil in the shower if you are using it for your legs. Showers are already a slip hazard, so the addition of excess oil on the shower floor can be a bit dangerous.
Coconut oil is amazing in that it can melt and harden time and time again and still retain its usefulness. Since I keep mine in the bathroom it has a tendency to melt a bit after hot shower but it goes back to a harder consistency very quickly.
There are obviously many more cosmetic uses for coconut oil that I am yet to discover and I invite you to discover some of your own!!
