This post is written by my sister in law, Miranda, and is a great example of how one food can be so versatile and healing.
*Just a note - everyone's skin is different, so what works for one person, may not work for you. If you can't use coconut oil for some reason, try different oils (argan, jojoba, hazelnut, tamanu) to see what does work.
Peace and Love,
~Sabrina
Reader Guest Post:
When all else fails, Coconut oil!
Lately everyone has been talking about coconut oil and its slew of uses. From beauty to cooking and cleaning, coconut oil really is the universal product. I want to just focus on the beauty aspects of coconut oil and share some personal stories about how it has changed my life.
Hair
I use coconut oil as a hot oil treatment. I heat the coconut oil and then rub it all over my scalp, massaging as I go. I then douse my ends with the oil and then rub it through the rest of my hair. I mainly focus on the roots and ends because coconut oil helps cure dry split ends. On your scalp it helps to clean and moisturize it which promotes growth. It helps prevent breakage which is essential to hair growth. Once the oil is on my hair I gather my hair up on top of my head with a clip and leave it sit for about thirty minutes. I actually have to wash my hair two or three times in order to get the oil out. Washing it only once resulted in my hair looking very greasy when it was dry. I recommend washing at least twice. I have been doing this for months and every time I go to get my hair cut, my hair dresser tells me my ends are not really split. Back before using the treatment I would have to get one to two inches trimmed off every three or four months. Now I get about a quarter inch trimmed off every three or four months.
Face
This one requires a little back story on my skin so bear with me! My skin and I are entangled in a never ending battle. About four years ago my face literally exploded into a minefield of acne. It was everywhere. Forehead, cheeks, chin, nose, just everywhere. I tried multiple acne remedies (the icky chemical kind) and saw absolutely no change. I switched to an organic foundation which helped a tiny bit but the acne was still there. My ultimate solution was birth control. After about two months of being on it my skin completely cleared up and I was thrilled….until I got my period. Every single month about a week before that special time I break out. I always drink lots of water and take care of my skin regularly but no matter what I do nothing absolutely nothing prevents that monthly break out. So this month when my skin decided use its full arsenal of ammunition (zits on my cheek and chin, more than the usual one or two pimples I typically get) I decided to fight back with a new weapon.
I have been experimenting with a variety of face masks that use coconut oil and also just using plain coconut oil on my face. Recently while thumbing through Pinterest I stumbled upon a tip that said to use coconut oil and baking soda together as a scrub on your face and that it would help clear breakouts. Now I have been using plain baking soda as a scrub about twice a week so I figured this was worth a try. Well I do have to say I was shocked by the results. As I am writing this I am kicking myself for not picture documenting this journey but I will still explain. Every day since I got those lovely darlings on my face I washed my skin at night with the coconut oil and baking soda scrub. After one use I woke up in the morning with significantly smaller pimples. After three days they are almost completely gone. Hormones are the one thing we cannot completely control so I would say it is safe to assume I will always get some kind of a breakout every month. Now I have found a very fast way to get rid of them when it happens. The best weapon I have against my skin is experimenting. My skin tends to get used to things fairly quickly, so I have found that I have to keep changing up tactics to always have the element of surprise that way my skin won’t know what’s coming!
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What are your thoughts on coconut oil's' beauty potential? I'd love to hear your success stories and hope to share more reader's stories in the future!
~Sabrina
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