Coconut Oil Uses and Benefits
A jar of coconut oil goes a long way! Organic, virgin coconut oil is a unique all-natural product that boasts amazing health benefits, with the added bonus of being super-hydrating and healing on skin. Simplify your life and stretch your dollar with coconut oil uses and solutions for your day-to-day concerns. Here are some of the many coconut oil uses for beauty, followed by coconut oil uses for health and the home. Please note that we are not doctors and this does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your physician before altering treatments or embarking upon new treatments.
Buyer’s Tip: Save money and keep your jars of coconut oil separate for kitchen and bathroom use. Nutiva has a great deal on discounted two-packs of their top-quality extra virgin coconut oil here, and a smaller value pack here.
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Coconut Oil Uses for Beauty
1. Cuticle oil — Softens and strengthens cuticles, and soothes/prevents hangnails.
2. Eye makeup remover — Use it to remove makeup, even waterproof mascara. With the added benefit of…
3. Wrinkle buster — Reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
4. Defrizzer. Use to defrizz and smooth fly-aways. Works especially well on dark hair.
5. Deep conditioner – Coconut oil works extremely well as a conditioning treatment, especially as a pre-shampoo hair repair mask. Check out our coconut oil hair mask recipes. Coconut oil conditioning scalp treatments.
6. Natural deodorant — You can dab some under your arms plain, or mix it with baking soda. Try this recipe.
7. Toothpaste — Use it as an ingredient, with baking soda, for homemade toothpaste. Good for gum health. How to make coconut oil toothpaste.
8. Sunscreen (SPF) — It doesn’t sound like it, but coconut oil has an SPF of 4-6. It’s not a sunblock by any means, but it does have sun protection factor. And if you use it, it prevents skin damage due to its antioxidant and moisturizing properties.
9. Body scrub — Mix with a little sugar or sea salt for a yummy, moisturizing body scrub.
10. Lip balm — Hydrating on dry or cracked lips. You can try mixing it with shea butter to make it richer. (Here’s a pre-made coconut oil lip balm
11. Foot/Heel softener — Softens and smooths dry, cracked heels.
12. Facial cleanser — Massage in like any facial cleanser and rinse with a cloth. Some have reported that it works especially well if you rinse it off with tea tree oil
13. Body butter – Coconut oil is a great moisturizer by itself, but for even more pampering, whip it into a homemade body butter like this using a kitchen mixer.
14. Aftershave — Men can use this on their face, and for ladies it is amazingly soothing on legs and the bikini area.
15. Massage Oil — Just melt some down.
16. Elbows — Improves look of dry dark elbow patches.
17. Shaving “cream” – Just use it in the shower like you would with shave cream/gel, or apply it before shaving normally as a pre-shave preparation.
18. Hair growth
19. Bug repellant — Just mix with a few drops of peppermint oil and apply to skin.
20. Stretch mark oil — Use it on your pregnant belly to prevent stretch marks. It also works on stretch marks to reduce their appearance.
21. Bath oil — Add to your bath for a tropical and moisturizing pampering.
22. Fades age spots
23. Mole removal — Some use it after removing moles with the apple cider vinegar compress method.
24. Tattoos — Aids in healing a new tattoo, and regular use prevents the ink from fading.
25. Cellulite
26. Hair dye help — Use on skin along with hair dye to keep dye off during the coloring process.
27. Weight loss.
Coconut Oil Uses for Health
1. Keratosis Pilaris – Slather on a little bit of coconut oil after your shower while your skin is still damp, and over a couple of weeks it will drastically reduce the appearance of the little red bumps known as KP or “chicken skin”.
2. Herpes treatment – reduces viral loads in test subjects, use internally and externally
3. Candida – reduces candida culture in the gut (read more)
4. Dementia/Alzheimer’s – Because of its ketogenic diet benefits, coconut oil improves symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
5. Hypothyroidism – boosts metabolism, raises basal body temp. (read more)
6. Cold sores – can be applied topically to remove them
7. Lice — Just slather some on the scalp under a shower cap for a few hours. A lot of people report success with this!
8. Detox
9. Helps absorb vitamins and mineral supplements
10. Scrapes and cuts ointment — Use coconut oil, which is antibacterial, topically to kill bacteria and heal the skin.
11. Athlete’s foot
12. Nail fungus
13. Pink eye
14. Burn ointment — Like aloe vera, coconut oil has anti-inflammatory properties and is soothing.
15. Canker sores
16. Gum disease/gingivitis — aids in gum health when used as toothpaste or rubbed on gums
17. Asthma
18. Eyelash loss – A lot of readers report success using coconut oil to grow their eyelashes longer, as well as for fuller eyebrows. Read our article about coconut oil for eyelashes here.
19. Epilepsy — Coconut oil has been known to be a useful part of a ketogenic diet, which is helpful for reducing epileptic seizures.
20. ADHD
21. Breastfeeding discomfort — Sooth chaffed nipples from breastfeeding with coconut oil. It’s also good for moms!
22. Weight Loss.
23. Eczema
24. Psoriasis
Coconut Oil Uses for Cooking
1. Cooking oil – Virgin coconut oil has a high smoke point, so it is less likely to degrade during cooking than other oils, and is more suitable for healthy cooking. Coconut oil vs. Olive Oil chart; Why Canola is Not Good for You; The Best Coconut Oil to Buy for Food and Beauty.
2. Butter substitute — Great substitute for baking, or just plain on toast!
3. Popcorn – Coconut oil has traditionally been used for movie theater popcorn and it’s just as tasty but much healthier if you use the extra virgin, unrefined kind! Just put a big spoonful in a pot, let it melt slightly then add the kernels on top for popping. Amazing! Here’s our article on popcorn with coconut oil.
4. Smoothies — Add 1 to 3 tablespoons of coconut oil to fruit smoothies and green smoothies for a subtle tropical flavor. This is my favorite way to get my daily fix and boost my energy, since it revs metabolism and also is known to help you absorb vitamins and nutrients. (Recipe)
Household Uses for Coconut Oil
- Conditions wooden cutting boards
- Wood polish
- Furniture polish (mix with lemon juice)
- Can be used to remove stickers (i.e. goo gone)
Coconut Oil Uses for Baby
- Diaper rash cream
- Cradle cap
- Circumcision healing
- Breastfeeding salve for moms
Miscellaneous Coconut Oil Uses
- Massage oil
- Personal lubricant
- Shoe polish
- Unsticks fabric in zippers
- Unsticks gum
Coconut Oil for Pets
Read our article about coconut oil for pets like dogs, cats, and parrots!
Conclusion
Virgin coconut oil is an awesome product that everyone ought to keep around the house! If you want to learn more about coconut oil uses and cures, you can browse the rest of the Coconut Oil Tips site. I also highly recommend you check out the book The Coconut Oil Miracle by Bruce Fife.
There are several good brands of coconut oil — Just always make sure you choose well: It must be unrefined (also called “virgin”) coconut oil, ideally that has been cold-pressed and is stored in a nontoxic container. My favorite extra virgin coconut oil brand is Nutiva, because of its superior production and really superior flavor.
What do you use coconut oil for? Post a comment below!
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