18 Uses of Coconut Oil

What if I told you, you could have a great skincare and haircare product that is also useful around the house and you could eat it, too? You may have heard it before, but coconut oil has so many uses. It’s free of all the nasty chemicals that go into most products and as skincare this is especially important as our skin absorbs much of what is put on it. As singers we also want to avoid fragrances or any other chemicals that cause sensitivities that can affect our voices. You can make fancier versions of the face products with essential oils and cocoa butter, but I never seem to have the time and find that plain organic virgin coconut oil is just fine. So here are some of the ways that I use it. If you have different uses that I haven’t listed I would love to hear from you, so please feel free to comment below.
 
Personal Hygiene:

1. Make up remover – Have trouble removing mascara? Or after that Hallow’een party. Coconut oil is gentle and moisturizing. It can even get the toughest stage make up off in a breeze.
2. Face wash – Place a hot facecloth over your face to open the pores, then apply about a teaspoon of oil on your face and rub gently in circular motions all over your face to lift dirt. Wipe away with a damp facecloth.
3. Face/body scrub – Sometimes we need to lift off the layer of dead skin to make our skin look brighter and less lined. Into a tsp of coconut oil sprinkle a bit of corn meal and mix. Rub very gently with this one and avoid the eye area.
4. Moisturizer – apply a small amount all over your face and even under the eye area (it’s gentle enough for that). Wait a minute and gently blot with a tissue to remove excess.
5. Hair treatment – Apply to dry hair and wait and hour before washing it out with a gentle shampoo. You can also keep it in overnight. Just be sure to spread a towel over your pillow.
6. Hair serum – apply a tiny amount on to hair after washing, especially working into the ends. Be careful not to apply too much or your hair will just look greasy.
7. Cuticle cream – Just rub into your cuticles and over your nails.
8. Lip balm – spread a little over your lips and you don’t have to worry about what chemicals you are licking off. (You can actually make this into a tinted lip balm and even blush by adding some dehydrated berry powder or beets)
9. Oil pulling – this is for oral care. First thing in the morning before eating. Swish about a tablespoon of coconut oil in your mouth for about 20 minutes. This leaves your teeth clean and smooth. It has been claimed that it can reverse tooth decay and leech out toxins from your body. It has removed the toughest stains for me.
10. Toothpaste – mix coconut oil with baking soda and voila! Put it on your toothbrush and brush as usual. Again no chemicals to worry about ingesting.
11. Massage oil – who doesn’t like a massage. Add a couple of drops of lavender essential oil for a relaxing massage, or peppermint to invigorate (great post sport).

 
Household Uses:

1. Coconut oil makes a great furniture polish.
2. Oil hinges and other moving parts.
3. Leather conditioner (great on shoes or leather jackets and cheaper and kinder than mink oil)

 
Sports (I’ve used coconut oil in triathlon – DO NOT use a bicycle chain lubricant)

1. Body glide for easy wetsuit removal
2. Protect against chaffing.
3. Remove chain grease from body and hands.
4. Remove race number (this is usually applied to your legs and arms with permanent marker.

 
And finally don’t let us forget that coconut oil is a great oil in the kitchen with many health benefits. Healthy doesn’t mean we should go overboard with it – we still should only be having 2 to 3 servings of healthy fats a day. Coconut oil is the best option as a cooking oil since it is stable at high heat and won’t break down into trans fats and other carcinogenic products. I use it in baking, including in my pie crust (the recipe was recently posted on my facebook page), since hydrogenated vegetable shortening is not healthy by a long shot and should be avoided like the plague. It’s also nice for spreading on toast.
 
The best thing about this is that it can save you a fortune! A 1.6 L tub costs only $25. How much do you spend on tiny bottles and jars or skincare products? And I’ve had better results with it than with all the products with their claims for smoother, younger looking skin and lessening the appearance of wrinkles. One more bonus: Carrying only one product will also save you a lot of space when traveling.
 
So tell me, what do you use coconut oil for?