No, I am not speaking about the rancid, yellow crap in the supermarket. I’m talking about the good, rich, clear, homemade stuff you can purchase at your local market from mostly an old, indian lady, who makes and uses it herself. My grandmother swore by the thing; she made it herself (according to my memory), and she believed it was the best thing for hair, skin and nails. And boy was she right!
Recently, I decided to leave my hair to grow back to it’s original length (waist/hip length), but a significant amount of my hair fell out about a year ago, and I’ve only just started regaining that old growth. I started soaking my hair overnight, once a week, in homemade coconut oil, a few months ago. My hair was dry, and thinning. Today, my hair is no longer dry, or thinning, in fact, it’s quite the opposite: I have a (thickening) head of shiny, silky, healthy hair, which has been chemically treated with Keratin (three months ago).
So, my grandmother was right, AGAIN!
About a year ago, I stopped a BC pill, which I was taking to treat my terrible acne. When I stopped, the dance came raging in like a tsunami. I don’t have terrible facial acne, but I have really bad back acne, and painful too. I was diagnosed with inflammatory cystic acne. YAY. Basically, in a full blown acne breakout, I can’t touch my back; yeah it’s really that bad, no exaggeration.
Once day, while oiling my locks, I wondered what would happen if I put the coconut oil on my acne. It could either make it worse, which would be bad, or it could make it better, which would be awesome. Overnight, my acne started clearing up. It was no longer painful, itchy, red and blotchy. Instead, it was still there, but manageable.
2 points for coconut oil so far.
I live in a hot country; which means I live in air conditioning, else I’ll just die of a heat stroke or something. Okay, maybe not die, but certainly dry up like a desert. Unfortunately, air conditioning also dries your skin like a desert. So what was my remedy? Coconut oil. And does it work? YES. Rub a little bit every night from head to toe and I can guarantee that you’ll have supermodel skin.. in a week. Literally. Your skin glows, looks incredible, and you’ll instantly feel incredible too.
3 points for coconut oil.
A side effect of dry skin is dry cuticles, and obviously, dry nails. Once a week I leave my nails bare, and rub coconut oil on them at night. I try to remember to do my cuticles every night, but when I do, the next morning, I have cuticles which look well manicured.
Another 2 points for coconut oil.
Now, coconut oil is great for cooking, but I would suggest getting the refined version for this, because I would not ingest coconut oil made in someone’s pot, at home, probably outside, in possibly unsanitary conditions. It’s great for skin because it’s rich and has all the fats that hair and skin LOVES, but I would not put that in my stomach. Get the refined stuff, which is crystal clear like water, in the supermarket. It’s a little more expensive, but worth it.
It enhances the taste of curries, and when used for grilling, frying, and basting pans, it adds a different flavour, while being healthier than vegetable oil.
6 points for coconut oil now.
I don’t know how many people do this, but oil pulling is supposed to be very good for your teeth. I personally haven’t tried this because I have braces, and I don’t know what effect it will have on the glue which holds the brackets. But I’ve heard many people try this with coconut oil, or even olive or grapeseed oil, and have had incredible results; root canals no longer need to be done, gum disease somehow cured, enamel regeneration, sensitivity gone. And this is from several people who have tried it. I do not believe in throwing out modern medical/dental practices for homeopathy, but I do know personally that certain things, when used together, can produce incredible results.
7 points for coconut oil.
And last but not least, a teaspoon of coconut in the morning before ingesting anything is supposedly really great for your entire system. I don’t do this because it would clash with my half-a-grapefruit before anything routine (a wagon which I fell off and am struggling to get back up on). If you have tried this, send me a note here or on social media and let me know how it’s changed your life.
I love coconut oil because it’s natural. Not to mention, the good stuff smells exotic!
Do you use coconut oil? Contact me and let me know!
