Coconut Oil

Surely you've heard about Coconut Oil by now, but on the off chance that you're not using it yet, I wanted to share some of my favorite uses for this miracle oil. It's the basis for almost all homemade beauty products and remedies that I make.

• Chapstick-I still love regular chapstick, but I will dab some coconut oil on when my lips are really dry and it makes it better almost immediately.
• Lotion-While I do use coconut oil to make my own lotion, one of the best ways to use it is by applying it directly to your skin in place of lotion. You don't need too much as it spreads really easily and you don't want to leave your skin feeling oily.
• Nose dryness-Put some on a q-tip and rub it around in your nose to beat dry 
• Shaving cream-I don't ever buy shaving cream anymore. I simply keep a little jar of coconut oil in the shower and scoop a little bit out with my fingers and use it to shave. It's cheaper, better for your skin, and leaves your legs feeling amazing after you shave. 
• Red bumps-I know there is an official name for this but I can't remember what it is. I've had these little red bumps on the back of my arms for as long as I can remember. They never hurt, but always kind of bothered me because I knew they were there. I started applying coconut oil daily and they were gone in a week and have not come back. When I do start to see a tiny remnant of them, I just apply some oil and they're gone again. 
• Cuts-When I was out of Neosporin recently and I got a cut, I decided to use coconut oil in my band-aid. Not surprisingly, it worked like a charm and healed the cut very quickly. 
• Cuticles-When I give myself a manicure or pedicure, I always use coconut oil to soften my cuticles before pushing them back off the nail. It's also really effective to heal a hang-nail injury.
• Frizz serum-It only take a tiny amount on your finger-tip to help calm your frizzy fly-aways.
• Deodorant-I shared my homemade deodorant recipe in this post, but I sometimes use straight coconut oil in place of deodorant when it's not summer and I'm not pregnant. 
• Sugar scrub-This is my favorite sugar scrub recipe and the coconut oil is what makes your skin feel so silky smooth afterwards. 
• Makeup remover-It's seriously the best make-up remover I have ever used, particularly for eye make-up. 
• Massage oil-It works perfect to give a good back rub because it moisturizes your skin and doesn't leave you feeling really oily or sticky afterwards.  
• Carrier oil for essentials-I love peppermint oil, but it shouldn't be applied directly to your skin, so you can mix it with a carrier oil like coconut oil and then use it wherever you'd like on your body. My face moisturizer that I use every morning is whipped coconut oil (in my Kitchen-aid mixer) and a few drops of peppermint oil. I love it! 

A lot of people use coconut oil in cooking as well, and I haven't ventured into that realm yet, though I want to. I think it just feels kind of weird eating the same stuff I'm rubbing on my legs and armpits. (Though obviously you could have separate jars...I'm just weird like that.) I've also heard that it's good to use on babies for diaper rash and other skin conditions. 

I definitely encourage you to give coconut oil a try if you haven't already. This blog post gives even more reasons you should have this stuff in your life. Do you have a favorite use for coconut oil that I didn't mention? I'd love to know how you're using it.