As my family and I begin our journey to becoming healthier, we realize there are so many "healthy" products available out there to help us stay committed to our challenge, one of those choices being coconut oil! I've heard for a while now the benefits of using coconut oil, whether for ingesting orally or for beautifying topically. However, it was not until this past summer, when coconut oil became more accessible for me, that I jumped on board the "coconut oil bandwagon". As soon as I got a jar of coconut oil in my hands, I immediately wanted to try it out!
First, I decided to use it in the shower. I had read that coconut oil is great for softening your hair, so what did I eagerly do? I soaked my hair in it!!! After rinsing my hair with water, I followed through with my summer hair routine of towel drying and a quick brushing. To my surprise, my hair was not only soft, but also greasy! Haha, It did not take me very long to learn that a little coconut oil goes a long way when it comes to applying it to your hair. (A similar incident happened to my children when I asked my husband to wash their hair in it! They looked like wet bandits throughout the day!)
As a read more on using coconut oil as a conditioner, it's probably a better idea to allow the coconut oil to set in your hair for an hour to even overnight, and then rinse and shampoo afterwards for a more light weight, conditioned feel.
Along with softening your hair, I had read that coconut oil also softens your skin. You better believe I started lathering my skin from my face to my toes with the stuff! Now this I can get into! I love replacing soap and lotion with just one product, coconut oil! (Don't worry, I have not had any complaints about the way I smell...yet! And by the way, Coconut oil is naturally antibacterial and antifungal!) My skin type leans more toward the dry side, so the coconut oil has been working well for me, with no break-outs. However, I have read about how some people combine the oil with baking soda to make a nice face scrub, which perhaps would work better for those with oilier skin.
What else I have I been using coconut oil for these days? Well, let's see.
I have definitely switched out my cooking oils for mainly coconut oil. From my research, it's one of the only stable cooking oils that can withstand medium to high cooking heat without causing damage. It's important to cook with the virgin coconut oils verses the refined ones. I've enjoyed stir frying with it, as well as using it when cooking fried eggs. It seems to make my dishes lighter and my eggs easier to flip in my stainless steel pans (be sure to use a generous amount). Yes, coconut oil is full of saturated fat, but as I've learned, natural saturated fats should not be feared!
I have also got into oil pulling, which is when you swish about a tablespoon of coconut oil around in your mouth for about 20 minutes a day. "They" say this pulls out the toxins and also helps with TMJ, which is something I struggle some with. I've been oil pulling for a little over two weeks now, and I can honestly say I have not noticed my jaw popping, which is my number one TMJ symptom. It is also said that oil pulling helps to whiten teeth. I think it just might be working for me because when I asked Ella, my three year old daughter, yesterday what color are my teeth, she said, "WHITE!"
Now, I'm not just yet buying into the idea that coconut oil is the end all, cure all potion, but I can tell you from experience that I'm loving using it. It's working for me! My hair and skin are much softer (can't wait to see the difference it will make for my skin this winter), my cooking is easier, tastier, and from what research says, healthier, and my teeth are whiter (well, at least Ella thinks so!)! You can't get much better than that!
While coconut oil is pricier than other oils, I highly recommend using it! I have included links to some of the helpful research articles I have found about coconut oil! Check it out for yourself! Just click on the coconut oil pictures below.
First, I decided to use it in the shower. I had read that coconut oil is great for softening your hair, so what did I eagerly do? I soaked my hair in it!!! After rinsing my hair with water, I followed through with my summer hair routine of towel drying and a quick brushing. To my surprise, my hair was not only soft, but also greasy! Haha, It did not take me very long to learn that a little coconut oil goes a long way when it comes to applying it to your hair. (A similar incident happened to my children when I asked my husband to wash their hair in it! They looked like wet bandits throughout the day!)
As a read more on using coconut oil as a conditioner, it's probably a better idea to allow the coconut oil to set in your hair for an hour to even overnight, and then rinse and shampoo afterwards for a more light weight, conditioned feel.
Along with softening your hair, I had read that coconut oil also softens your skin. You better believe I started lathering my skin from my face to my toes with the stuff! Now this I can get into! I love replacing soap and lotion with just one product, coconut oil! (Don't worry, I have not had any complaints about the way I smell...yet! And by the way, Coconut oil is naturally antibacterial and antifungal!) My skin type leans more toward the dry side, so the coconut oil has been working well for me, with no break-outs. However, I have read about how some people combine the oil with baking soda to make a nice face scrub, which perhaps would work better for those with oilier skin.
What else I have I been using coconut oil for these days? Well, let's see.
I have definitely switched out my cooking oils for mainly coconut oil. From my research, it's one of the only stable cooking oils that can withstand medium to high cooking heat without causing damage. It's important to cook with the virgin coconut oils verses the refined ones. I've enjoyed stir frying with it, as well as using it when cooking fried eggs. It seems to make my dishes lighter and my eggs easier to flip in my stainless steel pans (be sure to use a generous amount). Yes, coconut oil is full of saturated fat, but as I've learned, natural saturated fats should not be feared!
I have also got into oil pulling, which is when you swish about a tablespoon of coconut oil around in your mouth for about 20 minutes a day. "They" say this pulls out the toxins and also helps with TMJ, which is something I struggle some with. I've been oil pulling for a little over two weeks now, and I can honestly say I have not noticed my jaw popping, which is my number one TMJ symptom. It is also said that oil pulling helps to whiten teeth. I think it just might be working for me because when I asked Ella, my three year old daughter, yesterday what color are my teeth, she said, "WHITE!"
Now, I'm not just yet buying into the idea that coconut oil is the end all, cure all potion, but I can tell you from experience that I'm loving using it. It's working for me! My hair and skin are much softer (can't wait to see the difference it will make for my skin this winter), my cooking is easier, tastier, and from what research says, healthier, and my teeth are whiter (well, at least Ella thinks so!)! You can't get much better than that!
While coconut oil is pricier than other oils, I highly recommend using it! I have included links to some of the helpful research articles I have found about coconut oil! Check it out for yourself! Just click on the coconut oil pictures below.