Amazing Beauty Uses for Coconut Oil

Posted by jesuslewis on August 15th, 2017

When people (well, women anyway) hear I'm a beauty editor, their eyes light up and they want to know what advice I have specifically for them. Many times they ask what my biggest beauty secret is. I have a few, I tell them, but perhaps my best secret is extra virgin coconut oil.

It's the perfect beauty product because it's organic (no more putting sketchy ingredients on your skin that could get absorbed into your bloodstream, causing who-knows-what to happen to you a few years down the line), it's super moisturizing, it can used for a variety of purposes and it smells great.

You can get coconut oil in most grocery stores and any health food store. Look for "extra virgin" on the label. You want the pure stuff. Here are 5 amazing things you can do with it. And trust me, one jar will last a long time.

Use it as a Body Moisturizer
Store-bought moisturizers tend to contain a lot of water. When it goes on, you'll feel moisturized, but as soon as the water evaporates, your skin feels parched again. Not with natural oils. My all-time favorite use for coconut oil is as a moisturizer for dry, parched skin. I use it in the winter, when my skin gets dried out from furnace heat and I use it in the summer when my skin gets dried out from spending a lot of time in the ocean and basking in the sun.

Coconut oil tends to solidify below 75 degrees and it liquifies above it. In winter, I like to keep a couple tablespoons of coconut oil in a screw-on container in my purse. I dab a bit on my hands when they get dry.

It's also an amazing massage oil. I love to use it on my newborn son and I've used it to give my husband massages. Put your partner on a towel on the bed (again, coconut oil can be MESSY) and massage away. It smells delicious and will feel great on him, too.

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Exfoliate Your Face With It
After I turned 35, my skin turned dry and flaky which means I have to exfoliate weekly and moisturize daily. I have pricey moisturizers and a facial scrub in my bathroom cabinet that I love. But lately I find I rarely touch these products because coconut oil and a washcloth works just as well to exfoliate and moisturize.

It's so much more convenient and much less expensive.

Here's how I use coconut oil as an exfoliator: I take a dime-sized amount of coconut oil and rub it into my palms and then over my face. I then wet a washcloth and scrub my face in a circular motion starting at my forehead and working clockwise around my face.

I'm left with baby soft, fully moisturized skin. No questionable man-made ingredients soak into my skin and I've spent pennies for amazing skin, instead of dollars.

You can make facial scrubs using coconut oil and sugar that rival store-bought scrubs. Try my recipe for Brown Sugar & Coconut Oil Scrub for the Face.

Coconut Oil is a Great Hair Conditioner
I have fine hair that tends to get oily quickly so I keep my jar of coconut oil far away from my hair. But for women with dry, coarse hair, coconut oil can be an inexpensive, natural way to condition your hair.

Women in Southeast Asia and India have used coconut oil for years. It's that brilliant. Simply rub a dime-sized amount (a little goes a long way with this stuff) into your hands and then palm the coconut oil onto your dry ends. You can run your palms down your hair to tame frizzy flyaways as well.

Coconut milk is also great for hair. Check out my recipe for a Coconut Milk Mask for the Hair.

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