5 everyday uses of coconut oil

In recent years, coconut oil has gained popularity for its numerous health benefits and as a healthier alternative to other oils. It’s very versatile, as it has many different uses, from skincare, hair care, improving digestion, and due to its anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties, it’s great to strengthen the immune system and fight against infections.

If you haven’t tried it already, here are 5 reasons why coconut oil should become an essential in your bathroom and kitchen cabinet.

5 uses of coconut oil:

• Hair-care: It’s an amazing hair mask. Coconut oil is your go-to friend for healthy, soft and shiny hair. For those days where you know you need to wash your hair the next morning, apply a generous amount of coconut oil on the bottom half of your hair and leave overnight. It has a great conditioning effect, and it also provides all the essential proteins required for repairing and nourishing damaged hair. Make sure to wash your hair thoroughly the next morning to avoid having greasy hair. You can also massage the oil on your scalp to promote circulation, hair growth and get rid of dandruff.

• Skin-care: Say goodbye to chemical laden body moisturizers and say hello to coconut oil! Coconut oil works wonders on the skin and is effective on all skin types. Its antioxidant properties prevents the skin’s aging process, therefore delays the appearance of wrinkles and saggy skin. It’s also great to treat skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis and other skin conditions.

• Cooking: Coconut oil is a great oil to use for cooking as it’s very resistant to high heats. This is due to the fact that 90% of the fats in coconut oil are saturated, therefore has a high tolerance to oxidation at high heats. Substitute it when you’re cooking and baking.

• Make-up remover: Once you try coconut oil as a make-up remover, you won’t want to try anything else. It’s very gentle on the skin and removes mascara like no other. Apply a dash of it on coconut oil and gently remove make-up from the skin.

• After-sun: In the summer we are more exposed to the sun and if we haven’t been careful enough, we might suffer from a sunburn or two. Forget the store bought after-sun and try coconut oil instead. Since coconut oil has saturated fats and lauric acid, it heals the skin from sunburns, allowing it to rehydrate and reduce inflammation.

Properties of Coconut Oil:

• It is anti-fungal and anti-bacterial
• It’s rich in antioxidants
• It has small and medium fatty acids chains
• It has saturated fats and lauric acid
• It is rich in vitamin D, E, proteins and other essential nutrients for the skin

You can reap all the benefits of coconut oil by using it when you cook, or on a topical level, for your skin and hair.

Where to buy coconut oil:

When possible, it’s better to buy organic virgin coconut oil. Coconut oil can be bought in organic food stores and can also be found in everyday supermarkets like Carrefour.