Coconut Oil
What I love about writing a new post is the research that goes into creating it, especially when it comes to a well known superstar such as Coconut Oil.
Once it was deemed to be on every health magazine page, newspaper article and wellness bloggers sites abounded with its glory. Fast forward a few years and it is now being painted with a vey different story all together!
Skin & Body Health along with our diets, food & nutrition seem to constantly follow trends and hype with excellent marketing, and before you know it. Voila! We are all on the latest bandwagon because, we are told so, that these benefits are amazing, miraculous, you would be daft not to. Okay so I might seem a little harsh here, from someone who advocates the use of new and interesting products but when one week bananas are good for you and then the next their not, I get a little frustrated and try to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.
Coconut oil has pretty much been in my life since my teens, it was the stuff you used when you sunbathed back in the eighties, it was the go to food cupboard supply to cook with, then it was marketed as an all round tub of solid white beauty, for body, face and hair.
So I did a little digging and looked at a cross section of articles from UK national newspapers, British Nutrition websites and wellness bloggers who opted to change. This was all from 2017 until now.
Despite all the fancy marketing and celebrity status endorsements, there is still very little scientific evidence that concretely confirms that it is the best option for cooking and beauty use. I’m not here to dwell to much on the cooking side, yet there was a really interesting trial carried out by Dr. Michael Mosley and his team for the televised series ‘Trust me I’m a Doctor’ where they carried out tests on whether the high saturated fat content in coconut oil was indeed healthy, the results were quite surprising. Take a look here https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1pk5mWmJXvTQLZYWpN431mW/is-coconut-oil-good-or-bad-for-your-cholesterol
Beauty wise, a lot of us use Coconut Oil to keep our skin soft. It is relatively cheap and easy to use and smells delicious too. However for some skin types it can clog your pores. I don’t tend to use it much on my face, preferring to use Rosehip Oil & Avocado Oil which are great combinations for mature skin that tens to dry quickly and lose its collagen. After some reasearch I hadn’t realised that certain oils are graded on a number scale to do with their ability to lock in moisture. 0 and above are considered good. Coconut Oil is -4 !! Which means it is quite superficial in that it sinks quickly into the skin and because it needs to trap and lock in that moisture, pores have very little chance of breathing which can sometimes cause blackheads and spots to form quite quickly, especially if used on your face. Yet some users experience none of these. I tend to have large pores so need to be more careful.
If you already have naturally oily skin, then using Coconut oil on your body enhances that lovely soft effect. But very dehydrated skin it can take a bucket load to feel the same effect of softness. During the winter months I use it daily after a shower on my body, but tend to notice that my arms occasionally get a spot or two and my lower legs, the shins in particular are still quite dry. However during the winter months its a fantastic bathroom addition, mainly as you are wrapped up and moisture stays longer. However in the summer, Cocount Oil as much as it is wonderful has zero SPF factor ! So you would definitely need to use a sun protection and remember you will be perspiring more in the heat and again if the pores are getting clogged, then skin outbreaks will occur as the Coconut Oil has created this sealed layer, with another one on top. I will switch to a lotion in the summer, mineral based to compliment the sun protection.
Coconut Oil can be a great hair nourisher, yet I find if i use it in my hair, it can take quite a lot of washing to get the oil out, but that is partially because we live in a hard water area. So I don’t tend to use it as a natural mask, opting instead for an Argan oil treatment.
There is nothing wrong with sticking to your usual routine of coconut oil if it works for you and your skin type and you feel nourished and softened when using it daily and don’t mind adding a suitable sun protection layer of cream, then go for it. Equally the same goes for your face and hair.
As we start heading towards the Spring & Summer months. Here’s what I will be using a
Face: Neal’s Yard Organic Rosehip & Organic Avocado Oil to moisturise.
“I have found using the Neals Yard Organic Rosehip Oil to be excellent for my rosacea. It doesn’t clog my pores or feel overly greasy. It has a neutral smell and leaves my skin feeling soft. For a richer treatment I often combine it with the Organic Avocado Oil which is deeply moisturising and copes well with the hormonal changes I experience as I journey through the Peri-Menopause”
Body: Neal’s Yard -Bee Lovely Body Butter- Beautifully enriching with essential oil of orange to give a light citrusy fragrance perfect for the lighter months ahead. Plus 3% goes towards foundation charities helping preserve these precious garden visitors.Hair: Liz Earle or Aveda.
If you are interested in Neals Yard and their story as a British company with outstanding ethics, or purchasing any of the the face & body treatments listed here. Please visit my independent Neal’s Yard site to order direct. I can also see what samples are available for you to try if you are near my massage therapy location. As I use many of their oils in my treatments.
https://uk.nyrorganic.com/shop/meadowsweet
Happy nourishing & wellbeing!