This is how to use coconut for skin care

How to use coconut for skin care? I could imagine you have used coconut oil at least once for skin and/or hair care. What could be more popular oil? There is often coconut oil included in ointment recipes for home cosmetics. It is a highly adaptable ingredient. Coconut solidifies the product so that it is easy to apply.

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You must have heard of coconut. However, coconut is not really a nut but a coconut palm fruit. This is a good thing as many of us are allergic to nuts. Coconut allergies, on the other hand, are extremely rare.

Coconut oil is a controversial product

Coconut shares opinions. It has strong supporters. For some, coconut oil is absolutely prohibited ingredient. That is why I am cracking this nut for you by busting the myths about coconut.

What is Coconut?

Coconut (Cocos nucifera) grows throughout the tropical areas. It is used in cooking because it is very nutritious. Most popular use of coconut where it grows is as coconut milk and coconut juice. We who are living in northern hemisphere use mainly coconut fat. Coconut juice, or coconut water, has also become more popular, as both are now available almost everywhere.

How do I get genuine coconut oil?

Coconut oil is commonly sold in glass jars in cold countries because it is in solid form whenever the temperature drops below 25 degrees Celsius. Coconut oil is commonly available Extra Virgin quality, meaning it is cold pressed. You can also find hydrated coconut fat at grocery stores.

Why Coconut oli Is Healthy?

The health effect of coconut oil is based on its special fatty acid composition. It contains mainly lauric acid, which is a medium-chain fatty acid. It is claimed that medium-chain fatty acids have specific health effects. There is strong controversy going on about this. On the contrary, some people believe that coconut fat is bad for your health.

How to Store Coconut Oil |

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Coconut oil is one of the most long-lasting products. You can keep it at room temperature for months without any problems. This feature has increased the popularity of coconut oil. No preservatives or vitamin E supplements are needed if you are making a waterless product from coconut oil.

There are many different types of coconut oil available in stores. Learn how to choose the right coconut oil for skin care.

Traditional coconut oil

Coconut oil is usually made at the source by the traditional method of grinding coconut flesh and boiling it in water. During boiling, the grease rises to the surface and it is then collected. Cooked coconut oil is slightly yellowish and has a characteristic coconut flavour. Such coconut oil has the same properties as cold-pressed oil. It also gets harder at temperatures below 25 degrees Celsius.

Traditional coconut oil is usually never organic. Sure, it can be made using the nuts of wild growing coconut trees. After all, the natives also make their own coconut oil from the trees growing in jungle.

Cold-pressed coconut oil is Extra Virgin quality oil

With the popularity of cold pressing, a new way of making coconut oil has also been developed. Coconut oil is pressed from the flesh of coconut without any heating or boiling. This type of oil is called Extra Virgin oil. Extra Virgin coconut oil is usually always sold as organic.

Extra Virgin quality coconut oil is commonly available packed in glass jars in health food stores and in supermarket health food shelves.

Hydrogenated coconut oil

Coconut oil is also solidified.  You can find solidified, packed coconut fat sold next to the margarine and butter. Such fat is hydrogenated, meaning a hydrogen is added. In this way, the coconut oil becomes solid and stay solid when temperature goes over 25 degrees. Hydrogenated coconut oil is very suitable for soap making, but not much else. Hydrogenated coconut oil cannot be used in cosmetics.

What makes people use coconut oil for skin care?

You probably know some coconut oil recipes yourself. After all, coconut oil, along with olive oil, is one of the most widely used oils in home cosmetics.

Reasons for the popularity of coconut oil

Why is coconut oil so popular in skin care? There are many reasons for this.

  • It very easy to create a solid structure to a cream without any emulsifier.
  • The skin care effects of coconut oil are widely praised on the Internet.
  • Coconut oil is highly antimicrobial, meaning it limits microbial growth on the skin.
  • Coconut oil soothes and cools the skin, for example after sunbathing.
  • Coconut oil is well preserved. It does not become rancid or otherwise spoil easily

Why Coconut Oil Is Not Suitable for All-purpose Cosmetics?

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If you’ve tried coconut oil, you’ve probably noticed how greasy it feels. The feeling of grease is due to the large molecular size of coconut oil. Coconut oil is very comedogenic. Therefore, it cannot penetrate the pore but remains on the surface of the skin. Coconut oil disappears nasty from the skin by absorbing into clothes.

Let’s see how to use coconut properly way?

However, the large molecular size does not make coconut oil completely useless. Oil absorption must be taken into account when designing products for skin and haircare. Coconut oil should only be used in products that bring up its good qualities. Let’s see how to use coconut!

Why Coconut Oil Is Not Recommended for Hair?

Coconut oil is very much used on the haircare. Many recommend coconut oil-based hair masks, which are then washed away. Coconut oil is poorly absorbed by the skin but very well by the hair. It is very difficult to wash off as it sinks deep into the scales of the hair. This should always be kept in mind when designing hair masks. There are very large differences in the absorption of different oils. The absorption of oils in the hair works differently than the absorption of oils in the skin.

The use of coconut oil as a hair oil is also problematic. It is difficult to apply it in such a small quantity that it will not cause any problems. Hair easily looks like greasy after adding some coconut oil. Hair oil should be not be absorbed by hair but stays on the surface of the hair as if it dries. Coconut oil is not suitable for such use.

coconut oil is cooling oil

Coconut oil is a cooling oil. I don’t know exactly what this cooling feature is all about. Coconut oil makes your cold feet feel even more cold. So do not make any warming creams using coconut oil. There are also warming oils that you can use well for cold feet and massages, for example. On a hot summer day, the cooling oil is sometimes wonderful.

The cooling effect of coconut oil is most evident in the treatment of sunburn skin. Coconut oil is very suitable for that purpose.

It is not advisable to choose an oil with such special properties as a universal oil for cosmetic production. Coconut oil is not suitable for most cases, but it is by no means a bad or unsuitable raw material.

How to Use Coconut Oil in Home Made Cosmetics?

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The antimicrobial and cooling effect of coconut oil can be best utilized in after-sun products. Coconut oil makes the skin recover very quickly from excessive sun exposure. I’ve seen the effect of coconut oil, when it was applied on really red, burned back in the evening. In the morning, the colour of burned back looked quite normal.

Oil pulling

Another popular application of coconut oil is oil pulling. Coconut oil soothes irritated gums and the teeth feel very clean after the oil splash. Oil pulling is not a substitute for brushing your teeth, but it helps to keep your teeth clean. Rinse your mouth for 10-20 minutes depending on the instructions, there are many different. Official medicine says that oil pulling is not a treatment, but it is not harmful. I personally find it a good way to keep my teeth and gums in good condition and breath fresh.

How to use coconut oil for oil pulling?

The simplest thing to do with Coconut Oil pulling is to put a teaspoonful of coconut oil in your mouth and start to rinse. Keep it going for 10-15 minutes. Some bursts longer. Spit oil in the trash, not in the sink as it clogs the drains. Your mouth feels wonderfully clean.

How to use coconut oil for facial masks?

Coconut oil is suitable for some facial masks. Coconut oil is not very easily absorbed by the skin because of its large size of molecules. Facial masks that are designed to reduce pores and soothe the skin rather than absorb oils and nutrients into the skin can be made using a coconut oil base.

Coconut water is coconut juice

Coconut water is the liquid found inside the coconut. It is high in minerals essential to nutrition and not very sweet. Coconut juice is like created to moisturize the skin. In Finland’s dry air there can never be too much humidifier. Coconut water is rich in vitamin C, which is important for the skin.

Coconut water helps to cleanse the skin effectively but very gently. Many natural cosmetics brands have found coconut water and use it specifically as a facial water and for skin cleansing.

Coconut water suits well as a base for creams or an aqueous phase. The benefits of coconut water come out when it is allowed to stay on the skin. So next time try to make a coconut water-based cream or serum.

Try the coconut water mask

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A really moisturizing effect for the skin comes from coconut water masks. I got an inspiration to try coconut water myself as a mask. The mask felt very gentle on my skin, not at all annoying. When I washed the mask off, my skin was amazingly moisturized and shiny. All the roughness was gone. The effect could still be seen the following day. The colour of the skin was smooth and bright. The antimicrobial effects of coconut had clearly calmed the skin.

Simplest way to make a coconut water mask is to moisten disposable mask paper with coconut water. Apply the mask carefully on your face and leave on for about 20-30 minutes.

Instead of disposable masks, I myself use standard cotton face cloths. Minimizing disposable products is important to me. You can also easily cut openings for your mouth and eyes. Then having the mask about 20-30 minutes does not feel too distressing.

Coconut water effectively hydrates

We should also drink coconut water. Drinking coconut water has many positive effects of which some are also visible on the skin. Coconut water is a very popular sports drink. It hydrates the body effectively and very quickly. If you find it difficult to drink enough water, you can also drink some coconut water. This will maintain fluid balance.

Although coconut oil is very popular today, I would love to take coconut water along with it. Coconut water has so much to offer for health and skin care. Its potential has not yet been fully explored.

Can I be allergic to coconut?

Indeed, you can, although it is very rare. Coconut is not a nut, so if you are allergic to just nuts, you don’t have to avoid coconut.

Beware of hypersensitivity

There are also symptoms called hypersensitivity, which are not actual allergies. Hypersensitivity is much more common than the actual allergies.

Hypersensitivity occurs a little like allergies but with a delay. The delay may be up to days. Therefore, it is important that you test the suitability of coconut for your own skin. Do not test the coconut first on the face but on an unobtrusive spot. Wait for a few days for the skin to react. If there is any indication of skin symptoms, eliminate coconut products.

Here is an interesting article on coconut oil.

I hope this article gives you some ideas to try coconut on your own products!

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