Being a HUGE fan of DIY projects & products that are easy, save me money & work really well, you have no idea how excited & downright giddy I was when I discovered coconut oil a couple of years ago when I was making a bunch of sugar scrub to package as Christmas gifts. Since then, I've used it off & on for a few things, but just recently discovered the very diverse range of uses for coconut oil, as well as its amazing health benefits.
Because there are SO many uses & benefits to using coconut oil, I'm only going to focus on a few things I have personally used it for, as well as post the two "recipes" I did today. But, if you'd like to explore more uses, I'm posting a very informative link here, so explore away!
What I use it for:
Facial Moisturizer
I confess...I like coconut oil so much that I've given up buying any kind of face cream at the store. It's light, and it absorbs into the skin almost instantly, so you don't feel like you are wearing a layer of grease (ick!). A little goes a long way, so you don't need to use much for your face to feel soft and smooth.
Eye Makeup Remover
What can I say? It works great for getting eye makeup completely off gently, without any irritation or burning.
My Hair
I've been growing my hair out for almost a year now, and I'm always worrying about getting split/dry ends. Twice a week, on a night before I know I'm going to wash it the next morning, I slather coconut oil from about 4" from the ends all the way out. And I do mean SLATHER. Don't be afraid to us a lot- you're washing it the next day, so it's ok;) I put it in a ponytail on top of my head & wrap some plastic wrap around it to keep from getting it on my pillow. I can tell a big difference in the overall health & smoothness of my hair, so I'm going to keep right on using it!
I know a lot of people who either have ethnic hair, or have children with ethnic hair are big believers in coconut oil for healthy hair. Also, if you have naturally curly hair that tends to frizz, you can rub a TINY amount on your hands & run it through your hair as a leave-in. Be careful not to overdo it, or your hair will look visibly greasy!
Daily Skin Moisturizer
Coconut oil has this super-fabulous property where it's a solid at room temperature, but melts almost instantly when it hits your skin. It also absorbs into the skin very quickly, which is nice because you don't feel like stuff is sticking to you as you're walking around.
Also, as an added bonus, just the other day I found this blog post regarding coconut oil getting rid of Keratosis Pilarsis (I know, I'd never heard of it either, but it turns out I have it, I just didn't realize it had a name), which is the small bumps or "chicken skin" on the back of the upper arms and/or thighs. I've been using it on my arms anyway, and the Keratosis Pilarsis seems to be all but disappeared. Score!!!!
Facial Exfoliator
In the palm of your hand, mix some coconut oil with a tablespoon or two of baking soda & scrub away! It's a mild, yet very effective way to get rid of dead skin cells & other gunk that accumulates on our face. Don't get it in your eyes though...baking soda stings!
Feet
I hate that pre-Spring anxiety when you know it's almost time for flip-flops, sandals & open-toed shoes, but your feet look like they belong to some sort of dry, cracked, scaly reptilian creature whose feet would frighten small children & some adults. No worries....coconut oil works great for that too!
Lips
Coconut oil makes a great lip moisturizer & can even be tinted to add some color (see post below).
Now for another amazing discovery about coconut oil....wait for it...wait for it...
It can be WHIPPED!!!!
Say what? Whipping coconut oil? It's madness...sheer lunacy...that's crazy! Ok, so I get a little excited & giddy about stuff like this. Don't judge.
So, today I thought I'd get out my electric mixer & create some body butter using whipped coconut oil. I was thinking of what scents/flavors would complement the yummy coconutty (is that even a word?) smell of coconut oil, and here are the three I came up with, based on what I had on hand:
*Coconut-Orange (This one is by far my favorite...it smells AMAZING!!!)
*Chocolate-Vanilla-Coconut (Use just a little cocoa powder, using too much can stain clothing or other fabric. This one also smells good!)
*Peppermint-Coconut (I wasn't sure if this combo would work, but it's surprisingly refreshing!)
What You'll Need
Organic Raw Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
(you can get it at any health food store; do NOT skimp on this, it's pricey (about $19-$26 for a 16oz jar, but it goes a long way & cheaper coconut oils are often hydrogenized or processed with who knows what)
Large mixing bowl
Smaller bowls for mixing in flavors
(to divide whipped oil into however many flavors you're making)
Mason jars with lids to store final product
Electric hand mixer, or a stand mixer
Essential oils, extracts or flavors you'd like to make your body butter
(Essential oils are also pricey, but again, a little goes a very long way. If you really want to save money here, keep it simple & use vanilla extract or peppermint extract, which are both very reasonable)
Directions
This is SO easy to do! Use a sturdy metal spoon to scoop your coconut oil out of the jar & into the large mixing bowl. Once you've got it all in the bowl, mash down the bigger chunks, then turn it on & start mixing! Mix the coconut oil on high until it's fluffy & creamy.
Divide your whipped coconut oil among the smaller bowls, then add your flavors to each one & use a fork to mix them in until incorporated. There is no set amount to how much flavor/scent you use; it's really up to you. Especially when using the essential oils, I'd advise starting with just a few drops, then mix & add more until the strength is where you want it. Those oils are very strongly concentrated, so it's easy to accidentally overdo it.
Put in mason jars & enjoy, or they make really great gifts:)
TINTED COCONUT OIL LIP BALM
The other concoction I made today was coconut oil tinted lip balm. Let me preface this by saying that one of my FAVORITE stores in the whole world is Sephora. All they sell is makeup & hair products, so, yeah...right up my alley. I was in there a few months ago buying Bare Minerals makeup, which I love, and the sales girl was telling me that their makeup is all made with pure pigment, so you can use it to color/tint other things (lip gloss, even nail polish!), so that's what I used for this lip balm. I used two of the blush colors- one is a coral & the other is a really bright pink, and I mixed them with the coconut oil to get a really nice "Springy" color. Again, anything with pure pigment goes a long way, so start small & add more as you go. You could use the whipped coconut oil if you want, but I just mashed it up & mixed it with a fork. It worked great! Then I put it in a small container that had a miniscule amount of eye cream left in it that I just washed out. Ta-da.....
Feel free to try any or all of these suggestions & let me know what you think!
