My love affair with coconut oil

Reuse glass jars for creams.  

I love using products that smell awesome, smooth my skin and hair, lessen the appearance of wrinkles or acne, and just make me feel good as much as the next person. But, when I thought about all of the potentially harmful chemicals I was exposed to daily, I started thinking about alternatives. I was also spending money on new products that claimed to perform miracles and not seeing any results.

Then, I found out about coconut oil. It’s turned out to be the most amazing product I have found. It can be used as cooking oil, in baking, on toast, added to smoothies, oatmeal or coffee, as a skin cream, hair de-frizzer, toothpaste, and deodorant. It can do so many things that I can’t list them all here, so go to this site for more info.

My favorite ways to use coconut oil are as an overall body and face cream and deodorant. When I make my skin and face cream, I mix about 20 drops of tea tree essential oil with the coconut oil in a 500 ml jar. This one jar has taken the place of body cream, day/ night face creams, and has the added benefits of protecting against UV, wrinkles and acne. I feel great knowing that I am not adding toxins like parabins, parfum, petrochemicals, and preservatives to my skin.

Now, onto homemade deodorant - I know how that sounds, believe me, but it’s actually the best thing ever, it just takes some getting used to because it's applied like a cream. Deodorants do not block pores so that underarms are still able to sweat, which is a good thing.

Deodorant, ready to go! 

We sweat because it’s a natural process that eliminates extra toxins from our bodies (the rest are expelled in other ways…). It’s important to not use antiperspirants, which contain heavy metals such as aluminum. Coconut oil is a natural anti-bacterial and anti-fungal (bacteria causes that bad underarm smell). Since I started using this, I have never had a smelly day, I rarely need to reapply, but, I do sweat. I'll take the good with the socially awkward. It can also leave a white mark on clothes, so plan ahead. There are plenty of recipes for this online, and you can change them up and add a personal touch.

Seriously, go out and get yourself some coconut oil!

Amanda Kavanagh

Amanda Kavanagh was an educator and is an aspiring writer. During her career as a teacher she came to the realization that she needed an outlet for her strong opinions. She enrolled in Algonquin College’s Professional Writing program. Along with her career change, Amanda has also made some life changes. Her do-it-yourself projects, gardening and research into living a cleaner and more satisfying life have become some of her favourite past-times.

Amanda peruses these sites from time to time:
Mother Earth News |  Design Sponge |  Top Documentary Films | Global Research