Coconut Oil: Cosmetic and Edible Health Benefits

With the constant desire for easy health and beauty home remedies, it can be overwhelming looking for the right products and ingredients to buy. You want to get the most bang for your buck, especially on a college budget. Luckily, Valley has found the perfect solution: coconut oil. And this isn’t your typical oil. Coconut oil has countless uses, both cosmetic and edible, that help improve your health. As an added bonus, it even smells good too!

Cosmetic Uses

Coconut oil is great for improving dry skin, stretch marks, dark spots and many other skin problems. It’s high in saturated fats and it’s antimicrobial, antibacterial and antifungal so it deeply nourishes your skin in addition to treating fungal infections such as athlete’s foot or ringworm.

You can say goodbye to expensive face wipes because coconut oil can also be used as a makeup remover. Just dab a cotton ball into the oil and gently wipe away makeup on your face and eyes. Afterwards, wipe your face with a warm washcloth to remove the excess oil.

Use it as a replacement for shaving cream and get soft, smooth, moisturized legs without even needing lotion! While in the shower, prop one leg out of the water and pat with a damp washcloth. Rub the coconut oil all over your leg and shave away! Afterward, make sure to rinse your razor well so the oil doesn’t clog the blades. Any residue will help to keep your legs nourished and soft.

Eat It!

Coconut oil can be used as a substitute for butter and oil in a 1 to 1 ratio. In addition, it’s a great pan greaser and adds a natural yummy coconut flavor to your food.

For those uncomfortable yeast infections and UTI’s, coconut oil can be applied internally or externally to soothe and speed up recovery time.

Eat a spoonful of coconut oil every day for improved health and energy! A daily small dose of coconut oil has been shown to help people lose weight and assist with digestion, as well as improve sleep and help with the absorption of vitamins.

Can’t wait to try coconut oil for yourself? You can find jars of it at Trader Joe’s for a very affordable price. With its numerous uses and benefits, it may have you going nuts for coconut!

 Photo by Shreel Parikh