This time last year I cut my hair quite a lot and I was searching online for an easy, more natural way to take care of my hair properly, so it can grow nice, shiny and healthy. I found tons of videos on You Tube that included one ingredient only and the girls claimed the results are magical, and it was Extra virgin coconut oil. I bought mine at the local drugstore where they have a food section, but nowadays it can be found at supermarkets, health food stores... Pretty much everywhere.
When I got it, I did more research about benefits and uses of this amazing oil and it seemed that the list goes on and on. It can be used in so many different ways and since is so multi-purpose, it can also replace a lot of products that are full of the bad, toxic ingredients (you know, those ones you cannot even pronounce).
After almost a year of using it, here are my top 5 uses for coconut oil:
1. Hair treatment - this was the reason why I got it and I still use it for this purpose (I actually have it in my hair right now). All I do is brush my hair, take some oil on the palm of my hands, rub it in so it's nicely melted and easier to use and then I start by massaging my scalp - this stimulates your circulation and promotes hair growth and it's also very relaxing. They I apply it all over my hair, focusing the most on my ends, put my hair in a bun and I leave it on for an hour or two and wash my hair with shampoo twice, just to make sure I removed all of the oil residue. Sometimes I put a plastic bag and wrap my head in a towel. This keeps everything warm and helps opening up your pores so the coconut oil can do it's magic even better. You can also leave it in overnight or just for 20 minutes if you don't have a lot of time.
2. Eye makeup remover - for me this one is a life saver! I always wear waterproof mascara because regular mascara just doesn't work with my eyelashes. Waterproof makeup can be so hard to remove and yes, there are a lot of makeup remover products out there but like I mentioned, a lot of them also contain tons of bad ingredients. With coconut oil, all I do is rub it between my hands, making sure my hands are clean, and then just massage it onto my eyelids and eyelashes. Coconut oil breaks down makeup and it will leave you with "panda eyes" but I easily remove this with a makeup removing wipe.
3. Cuticle oil - this one I started using recently. I cleaned one of my old nail polish bottles and mixed equal amount of extra virgin coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil and I just apply and massage this on my cuticles and nail beds when I'm not wearing nail polish. For the best results, you should do this 3 times a day but I do it when I remember, definitely need to make this part of my daily routine.
4. Body scrub - mixing a small amount of coconut oil with coffee grounds will give you an amazing scrub that not only smells delicious but it's also great for the skin. This scrub will remove dead skin and leave your skin smooth. Coffee is great for fighting cellulite and coconut oil will make sure your skin is moisturized.
5. Body lotion - good for people with dry skin, especially during winter months. I don't use this daily, only every now and then when I feel my skin needs it. In this case, less is more, so small amount should be enough. I do this for my face as well, when I feel like it needs a little bit of that extra care.
There are many other ways you can use coconut oil, for cooking, baking, it can be used for oil pulling, you can even use it as an eyelash growth serum or instead of a toothpaste... Let me know your thoughts about coconut oil, do you use it and how.
Thank you for reading!
Nikolina
My Cats love it.
Really?
My cats love eating it and I use it on their skin an fur.
That's nice, I had no idea that cats love coconut oil.
Their fur must be nice and shiny! :)
Shiny and soft fur on both of them :)
When you have hypothyroidism your skin is very dry and coconut oil is a non-greasy blessing with no addittives .
You are very correct @purpleplushie Coconut oil is best for hypothyroidism.
Coffee & coconut body scrub sounds awesome, I'm going to mention it to my wife as she's just gotten into the coconut oil craze.
I totally understand her! :)
I hope she's going to like the scrub.
Coconut oil is very healthy fat. I'm using it for consumption. I also always add it to my morning coffee instead of creamer.
Btw, pozdrav! :-)
I never tried adding it to my coffee but I'll give it a go, I think I'm gonna like it.
Pozdrav! :D
I've heard that it was good for your skin but I've never tried it. Thanks for the info. Followed you, hope you'll follow me too
I recommend you to try it out. For me it really works great, but I do not use it daily on my skin. It all depends on your skin type.
Thank you for your comment. I followed you too. :)
My upvote has power
YAY!
;)
Woohoo! :D
I like it in my coffee.
I need to try adding it to mine as well. :)
For the body scrub, do you use used coffee grounds or new ones?
I use mostly used ones because there's always someone drinking coffee in my home. :D
hm... what happend to my bottle, did u take it lol
No, I left it with you, in one of those bags lol
:)
Followed too :)
Awesome!! Upvoted :) if your into health and fitness maybe check me out :)
Thank you!
I followed you :)
Use it daily, many thanks for the info..learned something new...thanks again for sharing...
It's so good to hear that! Thank you for your kind words! :)
Use it on on my hair and skin...and in my food. I've also seen a recipe for toothpaste that uses coconut oil. I like your body scrub idea!
Thank you!
Maybe I'll try out the toothpaste recipe and see how it works! :)
Have not tried it myself. But here it is if you want it: Homemade Toothpaste. Enjoy! :)