It seems like every product from shampoo to shaving cream has coconut oil on the label.
Coconut oil is naturally antibacterial, packed with antioxidants like vitamin E, and loaded with moisturizing fatty acids.
So there are a ton of different ways it’s possible for you to use it on your body.
Valerie Fischel
What played out was at time’s pleasantly surprising and sometimes a living nightmare.
OK, that’s a bit dramatic.
The method:This was the first trick I gave a try.
With the big chunk I took the first night, I could have moisturized a whole damn elephant.
I didn’t realize that it would quickly melt and become a very runny liquid.
After the third attempt, I had the amount down, which was about a two finger scoop.
And from then on, I used it every day and night.
But it actually helped even out my skin tone and calm down redness on my face.
It didn’t leave my face shiny either.
With that being said, it was a little tricky to apply liquid foundation after moisturizing.
Instead of covering, the makeup just kept spreading.
Any eyeliner I applied would smudge on my slippery skin.
The method:I scooped up about a teaspoon of coconut oil with a cotton round.
Then, I’d hold it against my face to melt it with my body heat.
Once it was soft enough, I’d gently rubbed makeup away.
The amount I used depended on how much makeup I had worn that day.
If I had done bold eyes and a lip, it would take about four cotton pads.
But my average foundation and mascara pairing would usually only take one or two.
My experience:I expected coconut oil to be too gentle to remove a full face of makeup.
Boy was I wrong!
It works just as well as an oil-based makeup remover.
My bold red lip and dark black eyeliner from Sunday brunch swiped right off.
The verdict:This was my favorite way to use coconut oil.
The method:I slathered myself with a small handful of coconut oil every night after my showers.
My hope was that the heat of the shower would allow the coconut oil to sink in faster.
Surprisingly, neither my clothes nor my sheets ended up with oil stains.
Alas, no one got to see their beautiful J.
Lo glow except me.
So, I will be pulling that trick back out along with my bikinis in June.
With the warmth of the water, it rubbed on just like liquid oil.
However, I didn’t get a single cut.
But the razor did glide up and down my legs smoothly, while removing everything in it’s path.
The method:I started by applying coconut to my dry hair.
Then, I wrapped my head in a shower cap before blowdrying for about 15 minutes.
Then you’re supposed to rinse, shampoo, and condition like normal.
I ended up washing my hair twice a day to try and remedy my mistake.
And after all that aggressive shampooing, my hair became completely stripped and dried out.
The verdict:It turns out that acoconut oil hair maskis NOT meant for my hair jot down.
This was definitely the low point of the experiment.
Although I intended to try it twice, I accepted defeat.
My hair is just too fine and straight to benefit from this DIY hair mask.
When I applied a very minimal amount, the coconut oil didn’t weigh down my hair.
It made my strands stringy.
The verdict:Honestly, it felt like I was greasing up the hair I had just cleaned.
Needless to say, coconut oil and my hair just don’t work.
My experience:My mom’s been doing this for about a year andswearsby it.
I really enjoyed massaging coconut oil into my dry, cracked cuticles.
The biggest issue was that I did most of my nail experimentation at work.
The verdict:This was my second favorite use for coconut oil.
My usually cracked cuticles are no longer an issue.
They’re the cleanest they’ve been since my last manicure.
I’ll definitely be trying this one again.
The method:I’d apply about the same amount as I would for the cuticles to my lips.
My experience:I was sure this was going to be an easy, guaranteed positive experience.
But to be honest, I wasn’t a big fan of coconut oil as lip balm.
The verdict:Vaseline works better at coating the lips and resolving dryness.
As much as I stuck to this one, I saw no healing results, which was very disappointing.
Supposedly, it cleans up all the bad bacteria in your mouth.
____ I used about one tablespoon of oil just like mouthwash for 15-20 minutes.
My experience:I was NOT looking forward to this.
I put it off until the fourth day and recruited my three roommates to try it with me.
One was eager, one curious, and the other had a lot of questions.
And after she heard we’d be swishing for 15-20 minutes, “20 minutes?!
What if I get hungry?”
On the first try, I gagged.
After plopping the chunk of solid coconut oil in my mouth, I lasted about a minute.
So I put it in the microwave and went back for round two, which was much better.
The verdict:After minute seven, it felt like I was just moving around saliva.
But my mouth did feel surprisingly cleaner after and not at all greasy.
It’s hard to say whether it improved my breath.
Typically we’re conditioned to think minty equals fresh.
My breath did not smell like spearmint or pina colada for that matter.
In any case, I’ll be sticking to my Listerine mouthwash.
For many of the other uses, I can think of better over-the-counter solutions that are easier to use.
So, I’ll be sticking to them.
The one thing I can definitely promisecoconut oil will never go near a strand of my hair ever again.
A comparison photo from before and after my week-long coconut oil experiment.
See 7 beauty products it’s possible for you to replace with coconut oil:
