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It’s been thousands of years and virgin coconut oil still upstages even fanciest beautifying products thanks to its unique anti-aging, soothing and smoothing properties.
Loaded with rare acids, longed-for minerals and vitamins, not only does the virgin coconut oil make skin care wonders, but is much more economical.
Namely, talking a medium-size jar of organic virgin coconut oil, you’re not going to spend more than $10, while beauty serum of comparable effects amounts to a few hundred euros.
I simply can’t imagine taking care of my sensitive, 30 years old skin without the coconut.
I’m carrying it all around the world, instead of stuffing my luggage with a few different products.
So what is virgin coconut oil good for?
Here are practical and seven cost-effective ways to pamper yourself with virgin coconut oil.
1. Anti-aging serum & moisturizer
Even though coconut oil is a popular additive, just like other oils it serves only as a base and gets deprived of its properties due to deep chemical processing, which is a pity because the oil itself is bursting with priceless antioxidants and vitamin E.
Both ingredients deeply penetrate into the skin, leaving it super hydrated and smoothing the wrinkles away.
Remember the oil must be virgin, squeezed out of fresh coconut meat.
However, be careful if you suffer from acne you should rather go for castor oil because of its low comedogenic (causing acne) rating.
READ : Coconut Oil Moisturizer
RAED : Coconut Oil And Cholesterol
2. Virgin Coconut Oil Benefits For Hair
Hair oiling means not only regenerated, softer and healthier hair (and I mean healthier, not merely ‘healthy-looking’), but also naturally protected against wind, cold, heat and pollution.
Coconut oil makes up for the lost nutrients and instantly battles the rough ends.
In order to achieve best results, apply the coconut oil on your scalp and then on your (damp or dry) hair and leave it there for a few hours or throughout the night.
In the case of very dry hair, apply the oil after your regular shampooing routine and rinse it off in the morning without using shampoo again.
However, if your hair doesn’t need so much moisturizing, apply the coconut oil in the evening and wash your hair the next morning.
Alternatively, mix some oil with shampoo.
You might then apply some extra oil on your rough ends only.
READ : The Best Natural Solution for Your Hair Today
3. Body lotion
Having read the first point of this article, you can already imagine all the benefits of coating your skin with coconut oil: extreme softness and smoothness… plus sweet and gorgeous fragrance.
Though coconut oil gets absorbed quite fast, if you still feel ‘too oily’ try applying it before taking a bath or a shower.
Your skin won’t get that sexy glow but it’s going to be fairly hydrated anyway.
You May Also Like : How To Get Glowing Skin
4. Make-up remover
Scrubbing your make-up off every night damages the natural protective layer of skin, making it more prone to aging and imperfections.
Using natural, virgin coconut oil you can wipe off even waterproof products, without destroying the protective layer.
What’s more, the virgin coconut oil is going to deeply moisturize your skin and drop its anti-aging agents – antioxidants, minerals and vitamin E – around your eyes.
Just let your thirsty skin absorb the oil excess left after make-up removal (if you’re not about to apply any new beauty products).
5. Foot cream
Traveling includes plenty of walking, hiking and little rest for the feet.
Your body, trying to protect the sensitive skin of your soles and accommodate to harsh conditions, begins to create horny spots.
They not only don’t elevate your looks but may cause a lot of pain as well.
In ‘extreme’ cases, smooth your dry feet twice a day with pumice, then apply coconut oil.
Continue until the horny layer disappears completely (it might take up to a few weeks).
In order to prevent any skin condition down the road, you might want to keep your scrub-with-coconut routine a few times per week.
6. Shaving products
At least two more items to erase from your packing checklist.
Shaving gel, foam or cream, not to mention the after-shave balm are one of the most ‘expansive’ but must-have toiletries in our luggage.
Fortunately, apart from its hair softening properties, the virgin coconut oil also works like a soothing moisturizer and antibacterial agent, hence serving as 3-in-1 defluffing set: shaving cream, antiseptic and aftershave balm.
7. Body scrub
It’s the quickest way to get a sinfully silky skin within literally a minute and without the necessity to apply any body lotion afterwards.
Simply mix sugar with (fluid) coconut oil.
Use coarse or fine sugar, depending on sensitivity of your skin.
This instant treatment works best in the following order: take a bath followed by peeling, rinse off the scrub with warm water.
Don’t worry, the sugar is going to go right off your skin without leaving it sticky.
Mind that coconut oil turns solid below around 25°C (78°F).
In case you don’t feel like heating up your body scrub, you might go for virgin olive oil instead.
Last but not least, a couple of practical things you should know about coconut oil.
First of all, you need VIRGIN oil.
It means it has been extracted from a fresh fruit and thus keeps all its beautifying properties.
Secondly, thanks to its high saturated fat content, it is slow to oxidize, which means it’s very resistant to rancidification, hence can last up to six months at 24 °C (75 °F) without going off.
Finally, coconut oil remains solid at normal room temperature (its melting point being around 25 °C/78 °F), thus you’ll need to warm it up if you want it fluid.
Enjoy new space in your luggage. And your beautifully natural skin.
Read : 11 Amazing Reasons to Keep Coconut Oil in Your Kitchen