Coconut oil is a powerful cosmetic tool. Unlike mass-manufactured lotions and conditioners, it penetrates deeper into the skin and hair and moisturizes in a more natural way, all while delivering key nutrients to your skin cells.
There are just a few simple treatments you need to do in order to reap the benefits of this delightful oil.
1. Before bed treatment.
This is one you should do each and every single night before you go to bed. Take a dab of coconut oil and warm in your hands. When coconut oil is cool, it’s solid. As it warms, it turns into a liquid. Once in its liquid form, rub gently onto your face.
Typically I’ll let the coconut oil sit on my skin for a while. Maybe 30-60 minutes. It’s amazing how much of it ends up being absorbed into your skin. When you’re ready to remove it, wet a towel with water as hot as your skin can tolerate. Wipe the oil off of your skin, then dry with a dry towel.
2. For hangnails:
Problems with the cuticle can be cured with coconut oil too. Before you reach for some expensive lotion that doesn’t even work, massage a bit of melted coconut oil into your nail beds. Doing this every day for a month should clear up dry, cracking skin around the nails. Your nails will also be stronger than ever.
3. For cellulite:
Cellulite is a tough thing for many women (and men too!) to cure. Coconut oil is easily the best way to deal with it. I take a tablespoon of coconut oil, warm it on a low setting on the stove, then add a teaspoon of honey. I let it melt down and mix together well then apply to my skin.
Like with the above facial mask, I leave it on for a half hour to an hour. Then I wipe off with a hot towel. You should expect results in a couple weeks.
4. For dry hands:
I’m sure you can guess what you have to do. Take a hearty amount of coconut oil, warm it up, and rub thoroughly all over your hands. This is going to make your hands oily (duh) so if you don’t have time for an hour of not using your hands, you can throw on some latex gloves.
Latex gloves aren’t a bad idea anyway. They help trap in the heat and moisture of the coconut oil, improving the effectiveness of the treatment. This helps get rid of not just dry spots on the hands but also age spots and other blemishes.
5. For shaving:
Pitch your shaving cream in a can and try this instead. Take a bit of coconut oil, warm until it’s melted, and rub on your face, neck, armpit, legs, or wherever it is that you’re shaving.
If I really want the frothiness of a more traditional shaving cream, I’ll sometimes add a little bit of diluted castile soap. Don’t add too much though, it can dry out your skin.
6. For conditioning your hair:
This one takes the most work but it’s so worth it, I can’t even begin to tell you. Melt down about a tablespoon of coconut oil just using the body heat from your hands. Once melted, apply to the hair and scalp.
Really take the time to massage it in thoroughly. If you have a lot of hair, you may need a little bit more. It’s not just for head hair too. I apply it to my husbands beard when it’s starting to get bristly and it softens it right up.
Let the coconut oil stay on your hair for up to 2 hours. The longer the better. Getting it off is tricky and usually requires quite a bit of time running it under hot water. Just remember: heat causes it to melt down. So a hot shower will do the trick. It usually takes me only 10 minutes to rinse it all out, then I just shampoo like normal.
Your hair will be softer than you’ve ever felt in your life. Give it a try!
