Coconut oil is a unique substance, a plant-based oil that is solid and white at room temperature, but melts into a clear oil with just a couple degrees of warmth. Coconut oil contain saturated fats, but most of these are in the form of medium chain triglycerides, short segments of healthy fats that the body seriously loves, uses for quick energy, and doesn’t store. In fact this saturated fat actually speeds up metabolism. This makes this delicious tasting and smelling oil a great supplement to any diet whether you want to lose weight, build muscle, or just have more energy throughout the day.
Coconut oil has a million uses. We’ve outlined 50 of what we think are the best uses for coconut oil, but today we want to focus in on skin. The skin is our largest organ and it relies on our pores, sweat, and oil glands to stay cool, hydrated, and clean. So how does coconut oil come into play?
Coconut oil is very good at hydrating skin. It sinks in deep, conditions, moisturizes, and softens skin. It isn’t pumped full of water or petroleum byproducts like many commercial cleansers or lotions either. Skin is kept clean by an oily substance called sebum. When sebum mixes with too much dirt, bacteria, and dead skin cells it can clog pores and lead to acne and other blemishes. Coconut oil naturally clears away dirt, grime, and dead skin cells. It even has some antibacterial properties, killing off harmful bacteria.
Coconut oil is the all-in-one natural solution to all your skin problems. It soothes bug bites, speeds healing, helps with rashes, gets rid of flaking skin, softens and shrinks wrinkles, protects against sun damage, keeps tans longer, acts as an antioxidant to prevent cellular aging, and so much more. It removes makeup easily and even makes the perfect massage oil.
Make sure you pick up organic, pure, extra virgin coconut oil and start small. Allergies are extremely rare, but test how you feel with it on a small bit of your skin and then move up from there. Use it in your cooking too; the beneficial fats work internally to fight inflammation, hydrate, and nourish cells too.
