You are surely familiar with coconut oil because it is recommended just about everywhere for a wide array of uses. Most of the uses revolve around health and beauty because this oil has many uses in these areas, such as for improving the health of hair and skin. This oil is versatile so you can apply it directly to most parts of the body or you can ingest it to promote health from the inside out. This oil also works well to cook with and it has fewer calories and unhealthy fats, compared to other oils that are commonly used for cooking.
Healthy Fats
When you use coconut oil to cook, you are ensuring that you get plenty of healthy fats and you cut the unhealthy trans fats. This helps to ensure you have a healthy heart and that you enjoy healthier cholesterol levels. You can use this type of oil to fry foods to make them healthier, to bake and as a substitute for just about anything you use oil for when it comes to cooking.
Weight Loss
Coconut oil may help to promote weight loss when you combine it with a healthy diet and regular exercise. This oil has been tested in clinical studies and the conclusions are that it may help to suppress your appetite due to reducing carbohydrate cravings and since this oil contains healthy fats, which burn slower than carbohydrates.
Hair Health
Everyone wants beautiful, healthy hair and coconut oil can help you to achieve this. This oil contains the fatty acids that your hair needs for optimal health, strength and shine. It deeply conditions your hair and helps to prevent frizz. Get your hair wet, coat it in a thin layer of coconut oil, wear a shower cap and sleep with the oil in your hair. In the morning, simply wash and condition as usual for deeply conditioned hair.
Healthy Nails
If your toenails and fingernails could use a little love, give them some coconut oil. This works to improve the health and strength of your nails and their cuticles to prevent them from becoming brittle. This oil also has anti-fungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties to prevent things like athlete’s foot and other common nail infections. Simply massage this oil into your nails each day to improve their health.
Oral Health
Things like cavities are expensive to treat and they can be painful. Your oral health also directly impacts your overall health, so a healthy mouth is important. Since this oil can kill certain types of bacteria, such as Streptococcus, it can help to prevent a variety of oral health issues. You can use this oil like you would a regular mouthwash, twice a day, to promote oral health.
Remove Your Makeup
A good makeup remover is hard to find because many commercial options are very harsh on your skin. Coconut oil helps to remove your makeup while also hydrating and protecting your skin so that you do not experience dryness and irritation. Take a very small amount, about the size of your thumb nail, and a clean cotton ball to remove your makeup. Start on your forehead and move your way down the face to clean your skin and improve its health at the same time.
Clean Your Eyes
Your eyes are very sensitive and you have to be very careful about what you use to remove eye makeup and improve the health of the skin surrounding the eyes. Since this is an oil, it does have moisturizing properties which are important for this skin. When you are removing eye makeup, take a small amount of coconut oil, about the size of your pinkie nail, and use a clean cotton all to gently wipe the eyelids and brow areas. Rinse with cool water afterward to remove any excess oil.
Moisturize Your Skin
You can use coconut oil from head to toe to moisturize and improve the overall health of your skin. Massage it in as you would any cream or lotion and apply it following a bath or shower for the highest rate of absorption. Just make sure not to use too much or your skin could become greasy because the skin can only absorb so much of this oil at one time.
Condition Your Lips
Lips that are cracked and dry are not only unattractive, but they can be downright painful. There are plenty of lip moisturizers out there that work very well, but they take time to work, they take a while to absorb into the lips and they usually do not last. The fatty acids in coconut oil allow for maximum absorption so that your lips get everything they need to be soft and healthy. This oil also doubles as a lip gloss so you can wear it all day.
Lubricant
If you need a natural lubricant, look no further than coconut oil because this oil creates a barrier on the skin to protect it and keep it soft. When you are using this oil as a lubricant, you want to use a little bit more than you normally would because you have to expect some of it to absorb into the skin. The best way to use this as a lubricant, it to apply a thick layer, wait 10 minutes and then apply another layer to allow for maximum lubrication.
Shaving Lotion
If your regular shaving products just are not doing your skin any favors, swap them out for coconut oil. Wet your skin and apply a thin layer of this oil before shaving any area of your body. It is important to note that this oil will gunk up your razor so you should rinse off the razor after each swipe to ensure it effectively removes hair. As a bonus, you will not need a moisturizer after shaving because this oil leaves your skin soft.
Vegan Treats
If you are following a vegan lifestyle, coconut oil can be used in place of animal-based condiments, such as mayonnaise. This allows you to get some of the essential fatty acids you need while avoiding animal products. You can put this oil on just about anything from crackers, to sandwiches to vegetables.
Boost Brain Power
The fatty acids present in coconut oil are excellent for your brain and they help to give your brain what it needs for optimal function. There are studies being done to see how this oil may have therapeutic affects for different neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy. Far more research is needed before scientists and doctors know how helpful this oil is for these disorders.
Killing Pathogens
If you want to boost your immune system and reduce how often you experience things like the common cold and minor infections, eating coconut oil regularly may help. This oil contains monolaurin and lauric acid, both of which are effective in killing viruses, bacteria and fungi. This oil may also be effective in treating yeast infections since these are due to a fungus, but more research is needed to learn more about this.
Heart Health
Healthy fats are essential for a healthy heart because they work to reduce the buildup of bad cholesterol. In fact, coconut oil may reduce bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol, which ensures the healthy balance your entire cardiovascular system needs. This can help to reduce the clotting blood which further reduces your risk of stroke and heart attack.
When you use coconut oil, make sure that you use the proper amount because this is an oil and it can get very greasy. For example, if you are using this oil to cleanse or moisturize your face, you want to use a very small amount because this oil spreads easily and when combined with the heat of your skin, it spreads even more and is readily absorbed into your skin. Using the proper amount also helps you to get the most out of your coconut oil. Since you can replace several beauty products with this oil, this will save you a lot of money in the long run.
