In case you haven’t noticed yet, I’m just a wee bit of (slightly raving) fan of coconut oil. The reason for this is not just because I love the scents and warmth of anything tropical (flowers, fruit, sea breeze) but for lots of other good reasons – my (almost) obsession with this tropical gift from mother earth comes from my own and lots of other people’s amazing experience with this amazing fruit/nut/seed (I’m not really sure what to call it)!
Coconut oil is power packed with skin enriching yummy vitamins, minerals and fatty acids that make up what I essentially call a one stop beauty shop of goodies for your skin.
Coconut oil protects your skin with antioxidants, essential fatty acids (that also draw in and lock down moisture in your skin), defends it from the sun (SPF 4ish), it’s antibacterial compounds wipe out infections and acne bacteria (it even deals with conditions like eczema and psoriais), and offers a whole host of other benefits for your skin and body.
So…what can you use it for? Well, sit down, grab of cup of tea or something tasty of your choice and read on. This is a long but interesting and helpful list of what you can do with coconut oil.
By the time you’ve finished reading I know you’ll want to try these recipes – and maybe once you’ve tried them become a coconut convert too :)
Tried And True Things to Do With Coconut Oil
Effective Home Made Coconut Oil Deodorant
Most people who hear the words homemade or natural deodorant say (or at least think) yeah right – I’m going to end up stinky no matter what they say. Well I’m urging you to try this recipe and you might just be surprized that it actually works!
So here are the ingredients you will need:
- 1/4 c. baking soda
- 1/4 c. cornstarch or arrowroot powder
- 5 Tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 tsp grapefruit juice or oil
- Essential oils (I suggest 4 drops of grapefruit oil, 4 drops of sweet orange, neroli or tangerine, and 3 drops of tea tree)
Mix these ingredients together and apply with a cotton ball or in a spray bottle (better still use an empty roll on deodorant container). Grapefruit has enzymes in it that neutralize bacteria, and tea tree oil is naturally antimicrobial. Combined with coconut oil, this is a very effective deodorant.
Coconut Oil for Athlete’s Foot And Foot Odor
Athletes foot is a problem not jut because of it’s appearance and texture, but also because it can cause terrible foot odor. You can combine several ingredients to combat this to not only target fungal infections but also reduce odors.
Use the recipe above with the optional addition of 1 teaspoon of neem oil, 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda and a little grapefruit juice or grapefruit oil to reduce odor. Apply thickly to feet (or other problem areas) daily for a couple of weeks.
Coconut Oil Shave Serum
Coconut oil oil helps smooth hair follicles, giving you a closer, smoother shave. Use it all over your skin prior to shaving as a non clogging acne preventative shaving oil. It not only protects your skin from acne breakouts and ingrown hairs, but leaves your skin soft and silky.
Coconut Oil Eye Makeup & Dark Circle Remover
What more could you ask for – an eye makeup remover that gently removes all types of makeup, softens lines and protects the delicate eye area. You can mix coconut oil 1/2 and 1/2 with Almond oil or soyabean oil to help with dark circles if you wish.
Coconut Oil Rich Body Moisturizer
Coconut oil is a goddess worthy moisturizer all on it’s own – used while in or post shower (while your skin is still moist) it absorbs quickly locking in nutrients and moisture. When used with other essential fatty acid rich repairing and nourishing oils, your skin will feel like its been bathed in Cleopatras milk bath!
Try using 2/5 rosehip oil together with 2/5 coconut oil and 1/5 rosehip oil. You can also use olive oil or a little jojoba and even avocado oil. For the ultimate recipe add some carrot seed rose or frankincense essential oil, and you’ve got a luxurious decadent elixir for skin.
Coconut Oil Face Masks
If you have normal to oily skin you may not want to use coconut oil on your face by itself. But if you have dry, flaky or dehydrated skin you can. It is however wonderful when mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with other ingredients like honey, egg, yogurt, banana and avocado with the addition of essential oils or other fruits as antioxidants. There are many recipes you can find on this website that contain coconut oil or coconut cream…we also feature many rich nourishing face mask and serum recipes made using Coconut oil (along with with many other powerful antiaging oils) in Natural Home Made Skin Care Recipes: Rejuvenating Renewing Masks & Treatments For Beautiful Skin
You can also use our serum wizard and ingredient wizard to find serum ingredients and face mask ingredients to use.
Coconut Oil Hydrating Conditioner
Treat yourself to a deep hydrating coconut oil hair treatment once a month. Coconut oil has been used for thousands of years as a skin and hair conditioner – if you try it you’ll see why.
If you want to add some Argan oil to this recipe – you’ll have the ultimate hair treatment to deal with frizz, brittle ends, dry strands etc and end up with shiny soft silky tresses!
Wash your hair as you usually do in the shower, either use coconut oil on its own or mix with conditioner in a ratio of 1:1 (half and half). Leave to sit and allow the steam to drive the beneficial nutrients deep into your hair cuticle then wash out with shampoo. It may require a couple of shampoos to get all of the oil out, but afterwards it will feel silky and soft!
Coconut Oil For Frizzy And Fly Away Hair
If you want to de-frizz or smooth out and add shine to your hair, use a wee dot (and I mean 3 or four drops) of coconut oil and warm in in the palm of your hands. It will feel like you don’t have enough on your hands but it goes a long long way, so use a tiny amount to start with. If you have curly hair, comb fingers through your hair and scrunch the ends. For straight hair, just smooth the surface areas on your hair.
This is a very nourishing way to tame hair – and you only need a miniscule amount of oil. Also great combined with a drop of Argan oil.
Coconut Oil As A Dandruff Treatment
Because coconut oil has such effective antibacterial and antifungal properties, it’s perfect as a base for dandruff treatments, especially when combined with essential oils with potent antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. Mix 2 tablespoons of coconut oil with 3 to 4 drops of tea tree oil, turmeric powder and lavender oil if your skin is itchy. This recipe is also useful for babies cradle cap and diaper rash (add half the amount of essential oil for babies skin).
Coconut Oil For A Lip Balm
Coconut oil is fabulous as a lip balm all on it’s own, you can mix it with beeswax and a few other ingredients (like Almond oil) but it’s just fabulous without any help from any other oils.
Coconut Oil In – Huh Hmmm – A Toothpaste?
Most people are surprized to hear that coconut oil is wonderful for protecting your teeth and gums because of its antibacterial and antiviral properties. Mix equal parts with baking soda and you’ll have the perfect homemade toothpaste or rinse your mouth with coconut oil to pull out bacteria.
Coconut Oil Acne Wash
This is an easy mask to make but is do powerful as an acne treatment. You can add mashed strawberries or tomatoes (full of acne fighting salicylic acid) to this to make a mask.
1 tablespoon honey (UMF active honey is better if you have it)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder (antibacterial)
3 drops lavender oil (soothing, calming for redness and antibacterial)
3 drops tea tree oil (highly antibacterial and anti-microbial)
Can add a little plain yogurt too if you wish
Mix and use as a face wash twice daily. Add a squeeze of lemon juice, lime juice or apple cider vinegar for oily skins.
This is a very potent treatment for acne :) its not only good for targeting bacteria but also soothes, heals scars and moisturizers.
If you want some really effective acne recipes, you can find over 20 of them in my book Natural Home Made Skin Care Recipes: Rejuvenating Renewing Masks & Treatments For Beautiful Skin (it’s $10.35 on Amazon) or you may be interested in reading my review on Fix Your Acne by James Jenick (it’s a very comprehensive guide to dealing with acne permanently).
Coconut Oil To Treat Eczema
Combined with Neem oil and UMF active honey, this oil is an amazing and effective eczema treatment!
Coconut Oil Love-ly Balm
Coconut oil is NOT latex friendly, something important to keep in mind when using it as a lubricant. It is great for keeping thrush at bay too (sorry to mention this here but something that is good to know for bladder and other imbalances).
Banaban products are organic, pure and hexane free.
Coconut Oil for Scratches and Scrapes
Coconut oil has incredible healing abilities, along with its antibacterial and antiviral properties. Coat your skin with this oil for a soothing healing treatment. You can also add a few drops of tea tree, lavender and neem oil to make a potent infection fighting recipe. Otherwise add a pinch of turmeric powder. Apply as often as needed.
Coconut Oil Relief For Acid Reflux and Ulcers
According To Debbie Dorr (from Foodfactsnetwork https://www.facebook.com/foodfacts.netwrk) has done extensive research on the effectiveness of coconut oil on digestive and bladder disorders.
Taking 2 tablespoons a day of coconut oil helps soothe and relieve these problems, amongst a whole host of other benefits for brain and body health.
I use it as a mouth wash twice a day and allow it to dissolve before swallowing it. It tastes great!
Coconut Oil To Lose Weight
Studies that show regular ingestion of coconut oil can lead to small amounts of weight loss. Amino acids help you lose weight – coconuts are full of amino acids so it makes sense.
Cook with coconut oil and take a teaspoon morning and night – its got to be good for you!
You can also add it to baking or in your tea and coffee – if you don’t like the taste. Debbie Dorr has some yummy coconut chocolate recipes on her Facebook page.
Coconut Oil SPF 4 (ish) Sun Screen
Coconut oil offers natural sunscreen properties and also contains vitamins that protect your body against the damage that free radicals that sun exposure causes (sun damage etc). Sesame oil also has SPF properties and doesn’t smell as nice as coconut, but you can combine the two as a light sunscreen. No wonder its so popular in sunscreen and tanning products.
Coconut Oil Household Cleaner
Want to remove icky sticky stuff from surfaces? Use a little lemon juice, baking soda and optionally a few drops of tea tree oil as a paste cleaner to remove sticky “gunge” from windows, greasy surfaces etc.
Coconut Oil Furniture Polish
Use a combination of lemon oil and coconut oil as a “Pledge” replacement. Its great for wood, leather and shiny surfaces and costs a whole lot less. Another bonus is that because it is silicone free it is also static free and won’t attract dust.
Coconut Oil Polishing Metal (Bronze and Silver)
Have some notable items of value around your home of the metal variety? Polish them to a gleaming state with coconut oil (can add a little lemon and a pinch of baking soda as well).
Coconut Oil For Baking Pans
Use coconut oil to grease baking pans…next time you are making cupcakes or cookies spread some of this healthy oil on your cookie tray or cupcake pans.
Coconut Oil For Frying And Baking
Scoop some coconut oil into your frying pan, it heats to a very high temperature without getting all smokey and spitty. Its great for searing steaks and barbeques. Its sooo good for you and won’t add inches to your waist like many other fats do (that’s one of many reasons essential fatty acids in coconut oil are called good oils). You can also make lots of curry recipes that give your meals a rich flavor and even use it in cupcakes and baking. I LOVE coconut oil chocolate for a guilt free treat.
Oh – And One More Recipe…(ok this one’s a bonus)
Anti Itch Coconut Oil Chamomile Oatmeal Soak
For itchy skin from poison ivy, rashes and any itchy skin conditions this a very soothing bath soak.
Add 2 tablespoons coconut oil, 5 chamomile tea bags to your bath water (or a sink full of water if you don’t have a bath – you can splash this onto effected areas), and a stocking with 1 cup of oatmeal flakes soaked and then strain the liquid out of the stocking into the bath or sink with the other ingredients. You can also add a few drops of lavender oil to this for an extra relaxing calming treatment. Apply to skin or sit in bath water for relief. (More recipes in Natural Homemade Skin Care Recipes)
What Kind Of Coconut Oil To Use
Like many things not all Coconut oil is made equal.
1. Some cheap (and nasty) brands of coconut oil can go rancid or can be treated with pesticides and chemicals to keep for a longer shelf life. Another thing to avoid is brands that contain traces of a chemical often used in the extraction process called Hexane, a petroleum like substance that is known to be toxic to skin and other body cells. Buy hexane free coconut oil!
2. The Cold-Pressed Virgin Certified Organic variety of coconut oil is the perfect choice for frying, baking, and for topical use in Coconut Oil Face masks and in other recipes for your skin. It is derived from fresh ripe coconuts and is dried, squeezed, left to settle then finely filtered. Cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil is pure and natural , free of Hexane, pesticides and preservatives.
So there you have it – a comprehensive list of uses for coconut oil. You can check out many more in my book:
OZNaturals- Vitamin C Serum For Your Face Contains Professional Strength 20% Vitamin C + Hyaluronic Acid - Anti Wrinkle, Anti Aging Serum For A Radiant & More Youthful Glow! ALLURE MAGAZINE'S Best In Beauty Vitamin C Serum - Widely considered the most effective Vitamin C serum available - Helps stimulate the production of collagen for smoother texture and even skin tone ANTI AGING SERUM Protects Skin from free radical damage and helps reverse damage caused by previous sun exposure USING THE HIGHEST concentration of natural and active ingredients possible giving you beautiful skin in eco-friendly ways Fragrance-free UNIQUE Vitamin C serum contains a proprietary blend of 20% Vitamin C and Astaxanthin |
Organic Body Care Recipes: 175 Homemade Herbal Formulas for Glowing Skin & a Vibrant Self. Radiantly healthy skin, hair, feet, hands, eyes, and nails. Recipes for hand and footcare, nail treatments, shaving cream, and even popular spa treatments such as microdermabrasion exfoliants, detox and cellulite soaks, ayurvedic oils, and herbal cold salves. |
Natural Home Made Skin Care Recipes: Three steps to great looking skin with everyday ingredients. Enjoy beautiful clear glowing healthy skin every day! Natural Home Made Skin Care Recipes are simple to make and completely natural, yet many are so powerful they can erase wrinkles, blemishes, blackheads and uneven skin tone, leaving your skin looking and feeling radiant. |