So everyone’s talking about coconut oil it seems. From massage to oil pulling, from weight loss to teeth whitening.
So whats my low down on coconut oil and how can you use it?
- Oil pulling – what is it? How to use it? Tooth whitening. Precautions
- Massage oil, intimate oil, moisturiser, shaving lotion
- Eating coconut oil, coffee, smoothies, weight loss
- Hair growth?
Ok, first lets start with oil pulling. Oil pulling is a method of cleaning the bacteria in your mouth. You take a tablespoon of organic coconut oil and swish it around your mouth for about 10 minutes while doing your every day things at home. It cleans the bacteria from your mouth and over time can whiten the teeth. There are two precautions as mentioned in my tooth whitening blog post and that is to spit into a tissue and throw away rather than down the drain as the oil wold re solidify and potentially block your drains and secondly the oil contains lots of bacteria at the end, so do NOT swallow.
As a massage oil it is fantastic, it’s fine to use on your intimate parts, chub rub thighs and is great for moisturising the skin, particularly after bathing/showering. It’s great to use as a shaving lotion, but once again don’t use directly in the tub/shower as it will solidify when it cools down. You can “dry” shave with it. (although that’s not the best way to get decent smooth legs, for another post maybe). If you have a yeast infection it can be good at helping get rid of it whilst keeping lubrication in your nether regions, as it has anti bacterial qualities.
I use coconut oil in smoothies, the oil does solidify into tiny particles, as I also use ice when doing green juices with veggies and fruit, but it tastes lovely and is an alternative to avocado if you run out. I started using it in coffee, which is a bit weird as I didn’t drink coffee. Generally I drink just water or the odd juice. It is nice, and I used both Stevia and coconut sugar to sweeten as it was too bitter for me, but for all your coffee lovers out there, it was certainly nice and tasted rich.
I’m not sure about the weight loss, I doubt I use it consistently enough for it to have a weight loss affect on me, but certainly there are studies to show the weight loss (and fat loss effect in men). You can cook with it and I do in some curries, but I tend not to use it all the time as it does taste of coconut to me and I’m not keen on every meal tasting the same.
Hair loss regrowth – well I suspect it depends on the hair follicle. I have over my many years, waxed, lasered and used electrolysis to get rid of unwanted hair and I also use coconut oil as a moisturiser, but I haven’t noticed significant regrowth where the hair follicle seems to have given up the ghost. In short I couldn’t find any specific research on success but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. I’m guessing that simply rubbing the oil in would stimulate any existing follicles? (I did find some on Aloe Vera gel)
So it certainly has some fantastic uses and I do use some most days, particularly on dry skin as I get contact dermatitis from time to time.
If you’ve had success in any of these areas feel free to comment and let me know.
