I am a HUGE fan of coconut oil, for many reasons, but today I’m just going to focus on why I love coconut oil for my skin. I have been using it in place of lotion as a body moisturizer for about a year now and I LOVE IT!
The main reason I started doing this was because I read about how so many body lotions contain parabens and chemicals, and with my cancer history, I am being very purposeful about getting rid of as many toxins in this house and on my body as possible!
Its been all over the news that they are finding parabens in the breast cancer survivors breast tissue. My ears perked up with this because I have been in the beauty business for years as a cosmetologist, and parabans seem to be in EVERY beauty product. I have also met way too many young hairstylists that also battled breast cancer, and it has made us all say “hmm.”
Parabens are a group of compounds widely used as antimicrobial preservatives in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, including underarm deodorants. Parabens are absorbed through intact skin and from the gastrointestinal tract and blood.
Measurable concentrations of six different parabens have been identified in biopsy samples from breast tumors (Darbre, 2004). The particular parabens were found in relative concentrations that closely parallel their use in the synthesis of cosmetic products (Rastogi, 1995). Parabens have also been found in almost all urine samples examined from a demographically diverse sample of U.S. adults (Ye, 2006a).
Parabens are estrogen mimickers, with the potency of the agonistic response being related to the chemical structure (Darbre, 2008). They can bind to the cellular estrogen receptor (Routledge, 1998). They also increase the expression of many genes that are usually regulated by estradiol and cause human breast tumor cells (MCF-7 cells) to grow and proliferate in vitro (Byford, 2002; Pugazhendhi, 2007). Nevertheless, parabens as a class do not fully mimic estradiol in the changes in cellular gene expression nor are the effects of all parabens identical (Sadler, 2009).
“Parabens are estrogen mimickers.” This really made me pause, as my cancer and the majority of breast cancers are fed by hormones. I had symptoms of estrogen dominance for years and I often wonder if this contributed to my diagnosis.
As I have been trying to avoid parabens, I have been on a kick of making my own beauty products. There are some wonderful healthy organic body products out there, but they usually end up costing “an arm and a leg,” so have been quite motivated to make my own or to figure out a simple, inexpensive & healthy alternative.
{even the Stars use it!}
Here are a few ways I have been using coconut oil on my skin:
1. I use it to shave. I wrote about this here. I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to shave with a natural product. I no longer have bumps, and my pores are nice and small now. No irritation! It makes sense…when I read what is in those cans of shaving cream, I am not surprised that my skin reacts with little bumps and irritation! Especially when one slathers it on, then takes a razor that makes little nicks in the skin for those irritants to penetrate even deeper. Blech.
{my fav razor is a Mach 3 Gillette. I have been using it for years. Even with all the fancy smancy lady like razors out there, I still prefer my Gillette. Yes, the refill blades are expensive, but they last forever and I love how close of a shave I get with this razor! Plus, I have a thing for black and silver…}
2. I use it as body oil to slather on while still in the shower. This is my last step of my shower. Then when I towel off I am super soft and there is no need for body moisturizer.
3. I use it as a body moisturizer. On days I do not shower or use it in the shower, I will use it in place of lotion. Especially on my legs before a hot date with my Todd. It gives a great glow.
4. Just recently, I have been using it as a facial cleanser. Yep, you read that right. It is called the “oil cleansing method.” You can read about it here at Sorta Crunchy. The whole idea of it is that cleansers strip moisture, and then your body over produces oil to make up for it, which leads to breakouts and unbalanced skin. The idea that oil dissolves oil is key with the oil cleaning method. I have done this for about a week and my face is more clear than it has been for months…I am amazed. I am also amazed at how moisturized my skin is. Moisturized skin is plump skin, which helps with the appearance of lines. I will be writing a whole post on this after I have used this method a bit longer.
5. I have been using it as an eye make up remover. I wrote a post on Homemade Eye Makeup Remover, and talked about a recipe that used olive oil. Well, I am all about simplifying, and since I am already using coconut oil to wash my face, I also started using it to wipe away eye makeup. It works beautifully.
6. I use it as a cuticle oil. Occasionally, when I have extra on my hands, I will rub it into my cuticles. No more hangnails!
7. I use it at a key ingredients in my Homemade Coconut Lime Sugar Scrub. This is one of my most FAVORITE beauty products. Love!
Pretty impressive, huh? Think of the money I am saving by not buying eye makeup remover, shaving cream, body lotions (lets face it, us women usually have at least 5 different types sitting around!), face moisturizer, cuticle oil & body scrub! Think of the space I am saving in my home by having one jar of coconut oil instead of 10 bottles of all these products!
That makes me VERY happy!
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–I buy a large container on Amazon, I love the Nutiva brand. It is organic and wonderful. Trader Joes also started carrying coconut oil. Yay!
–Coconut oil is very unique. It is a solid up to I think 76 degrees, then becomes a liquid. So depending on the temperature of your house, you will either be scooping the oil if solid, or pouring it if liquid.
–I use coconut oil in recipes, like this one, the Best Recipe I Ever Messed Up. For beauty purposes, I scoop some out and store in a small 8 oz mason jar. I love the Elite series glass jars. They have a nice wide mouth and are a cute shape. I also keep coconut oil in a small 4oz jar to throw into my gym bag.
, and I will skip the flavoring/coloring. The cocoa butter/coconut oil gives such a nice scent, and I like the idea of keeping it super natural. Also, by keeping it natural, you can talk the man in your life out of his yucky Chapstick an into this awesome Natural Lip Balm, minus the girly embellishment on top, of course.
