About a month ago I wrote about the
benefits to using coconut oil. I hadn’t used coconut oil but
there’s been so much buzz about it I thought I’d give it a try.
You know, see why people are raving about this white yummy smelling
stuff.
After reading the article, my wonderful
friend, Wholesome Wendy, gave me a tub of coconut oil to try out.
Wholesome Wendy’s a very crunchy mama…she even has her own
chickens in her backyard! (They also have a picture of a rooster in
the coop because as Wendy’s hubby says, “This is the only rooster
they’ll ever see!”) Wholesome Wendy is a major supporter of
coconut oil in cooking and while she hasn’t used it on her skin she
told me that it probably does possess similar benefits to using it in
your cooking.
What I’ve learned from Wholesome
Wendy is that you want to buy quality coconut oil. Like any product
that’s going to be absorbed into your body you should do your
research ahead of time and purchase a quality product. It took a
while for me to find information on what you should look for when you
buy coconut oil but here’s what I’ve learned:
It should be USDA certified organic.- It should not be bleached, refined, or deodorized. This strips the healthy fats out of the oil.
- It should be solvent and chemical free.
- It should not have any hydrogenated fats in it.
- It should be made from fresh coconuts not dried copra.
- It should be cold-pressed (aka Expeller-pressed) if you’re buying virgin coconut oil.
- It should be non-GMO or hybrid coconut palms, made from real palms.
- The higher the percentage of Lauric acid the higher quality the oil. Look for products that have 50% or more Lauric acid.
- Look for a product that has not been exposed to high heat as that compromises the oils composition.
I’ve been using coconut oil on my
face, my 8 mo. old daughter’s bum, and both of my kids’ skin
after bath time. I’m pleased with the results we’ve gotten. I
love it on my daughter’s bum because it’s cloth diaper friendly
and clears up any redness overnight. On my face I’ve noticed less
irritation than I was before with my regular moisturizer. The one
downside of using it on your face is that it’s rather greasy so if
you’re going to be make-up on you should give it some time to soak
into your skin. I applied my make too soon after putting on the
coconut oil and it ran off within an hour or so. And just because I
love being the guinea pig for all of you, I took before and after
pictures sans make-up. I know; I’m so nice!
I would definitely recommend giving
coconut oil a try for your skin and especially as a fluff friendly
diaper rash cream!
Elizabeth (aka Bert) is a stay-at-home-mom and contributing writer for She Thinks Media. She lives in the Twin Cities with her husband, Ben, her son Buggie, and daughter Lady Bug. When she's not trying to convince Buggie to expand his interests beyond Thomas the Train or put his pants back on she's writing about her experiences as a mom on her blog, First Time Mom (FTM). After all, Bert maintains there's a first time for everything, even if you have more than one child!
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