Thursday, December 31, 2015

The many uses of: Coconut oil!

Coconut oil is a girls best friend, I mean it has so many benefits and its cheap! I have been using coconut oil as a part of my daily routine for about a year now and I love it! It has so may different uses some you may have never even thought of. The coconut oil I use (Pictured below) is an organic oil made by Natures Way. Now when I say it can be used for everything, I mean it can be used for ANYTHING. From nutritional benefits to hair and skin benefits.

I use coconut oil almost on a daily basis and I use it more and more I have found more uses for it. As I have used it I have seen the results so I wanted to write a post talking about a few of the ways I use it and and talk about many of the benefits I have found with using it so enjoy! :)

Skin:

Okay so I have never been a fan of putting anything other than facial soap on my skin. While I do tend to have dry skin, my face is prone to breaking out and I have to be externally careful as to what I put on my face. Coconut oil however, makes a great moisturizer and many even be used as sunscreen. Now let me stress from the start, if you are prone to breaking out be VERY CAREFUL! The only time I put it on my face is when my face is more dry then normal and even then only on specific areas. My forehead is what tends to get the worst of my breakouts so for the most part I avoid putting the oil there. Now on the area just above my nose between my eyebrows, my skin tends to dry out horribly, along with the creases on the outside of my nose. Those are the only two sections of my face I will even consider putting it on my face. Because both areas of my face tend to be so dry, it is usually safe to put a little bit of the oil there as long as I don't do it too often. Now if you have dry skin and you don't usually break out, it's probably safe to say you could even use this as a daily moisturizer. My mom puts it all over her face every night before she goes to bed and uses it like a regular moisturizer. In the end no one knows your skin like you do, you probably can tell if you can put it on your face without a major breakout. When in doubt, try it on one section of your face and test it out!

This is the Coconut and vitamin E oil I use
Along with a leave in conditioner I like to
spray in my hair after made by It's a 10.
Hair:

So I've never been a stranger to hair masks and trying random oils in my hair but I have never loved an oil in my hair as much as coconut oil. I use it in my hair about once a week and over the course of a month I saw results. A while back I cut off about 8 inches of my hair in layers. I wanted to get as much of the dead ends off as I could. After I cut it my hair was already much softer and healthier but why stop there? I began using coconut oil as a hair mask and fell in love with the results. So what do I do? When I am ready to wash my hair I take a little coconut oil and melt it. In the summer it is usually hot enough in the house that simply putting a little in my hand will make it melt. In the winter however if your house is pretty cold you probably will need to pop it in the microwave for a few seconds (Or you can do what I do and rub your hands together until they produce enough heat to melt in your hands) After, I do a deep part as far on the left side of my head as I can. I take a finger or a skinny brush (I use a makeup brush which I only use on my hair) and I evenly spread it over my part. Then I just continue to repeat the process parting new sections of my hair and working my way through my hair. (I also occasionally add Vitamin E oil as well) Once I have done the roots of my hair, I then take what is left in my hands and run my fingers through my hair, paying special attention to my ends. When the oil is spread through my  hair I then put my hair in a tight, high bun and leave it in for a few hours before washing my hair and continuing with my normal hair care after all is said and done my hair feels so soft and healthy and looks soft and shiny, I love it! Because the oil is rich in antioxidants, it promotes growth, reduces hair loss, and overall improves the health of your hair.
My hair is parted all the way on
the far left and I continue parting
it further and further as I go along.
Again you really don't need very much, a little
goes a long way!












































Oil pulling:
Okay so I will admit I was skeptical at first to even try oil pulling but let me just say, its worth the try! So if you don't know what oil pulling is, you basically take a small amount in your mouth and swish it around for a bit (I usually do it for about 20 minutes). So what's the point? Oil pulling has so many amazing benefits but I mainly use it to whiten my teeth. Yes you can use it to whiten your teeth, I told you it does everything! Along with whitening your teeth it also pulls the toxins out of your body improving your overall health. This works best on an empty stomach so in the morning I take a spoon and scoop a small amount (you need less than you would think, start with a very small amount you can always add more!) and I swish it around my mouth for 20 minutes while I get ready before spitting it out into a trash can. Spitting in down the sink can be bad for your pipes as it can later thicken. And that's it! I saw whiter teeth in about two weeks and now its something I have just added to my normal routine and I love it. I will say while I am a fan of coconut, I do not like the taste and it definitely took some getting used to.

In the end coconut oil has so many uses but these are just a few of my favorite uses. It is also often used as a makeup remover, in DIY lotions, deodorants, shampoo/conditioner, sunscreen, and even toothpaste, Many even use it in there everyday diet mixing it in smoothies or even using a replacement for butter when baking for frying. The possibilities are endless! Let me know your favorite use of coconut oil in the comments down below! Thanks so much for reading!
Until next time, stay lovely!
-Montana Sky XOXO