My long lost friend

We were best buddies after my BC. It was always there for me when I needed it with no complaints.

And then one day, we quarreled and our love was gone.

It all broke down to one thing: I could handle its smell anymore.

I’m talking about coconut oil! I don’t know what it is about me, but every blue moon I get “funny” about certain smells. After a few months of using coconut oil, I suddenly couldn’t stand to even be near the open jar. I ended up giving my half full container away just to get the stuff out of my house.

Skip forward almost a year and I’m in the GNC staring at a tub of coconut oil.  I can’t recall exactly why I decided to give another go, but I bought it. It’s like we never quarreled! The smell was suddenly faint and wasn’t making me nauseous. I’m glad coconut oil cleaned up its act.

Nah, it was me, I’m a weirdo.

Anyway, what do I use coconut oil for?

• Oil Rinsing
• Dry Scalp Relief
• Sealing my ends
• Using in a spritz

Coconut oil is supposed to penetrate the hair shaft, as I’ve seen mentioned many place lately. However, just applying coconut oil (for MY hair) does not yield enough moisture for me. If use it, it has to be with something else. But sealing with it always results in wonderfully soft and moisturized hair (well, as soft as my hair gets). Solid at room temperature, it melts in your hands and right on to your hair. I enjoy it because it’s nice and light.

People always seem confused about what kind of coconut oil to buy. I know I was. I went to the Kroger and found coconut oil right next to the vegetable oil. I greedily grabbed it off the shelf and cradled it my arms until I got home. I opened it and said “Huh?”

It was yellow for one thing and it had no scent. I looked on the back of it and saw directions on using it to cook popcorn. What I bought was not unrefined virgin coconut oil.

Here are the different types:

• RBD (refined, bleached, deodorized). This is made from dried coconut called copra. Copra is dirty, brown, and stinky. So it has to be bleached, purified and deodorized with high heat. In the process, the oil is damaged and sometimes a bit of lye is added to extend shelf life. Chemical processed may also be used to extract the oil from the copra.  Most coconut oil on the market is made this way. It’s much cheaper.
• Virgin. Made from fresh coconut instead of copra. The oil is extracted using mechanical means. Some heat may be used, but no chemical additives, bleaching, or deodorizing. The properties of virgin coconut oil has not been altered.
• Premium Virgin. Higher quality than virgin. It’s produced under strict control and made from only very mature coconuts.
• Extra Virgin. Higher quality than premium. It’s made either by DME (direct micro expelling) or in a centrifuge. No heat, deodorizing, or refining is necessary at all with these processes.  The higher the quality, the higher the price and health benefits.

Personally if I can find virgin oil, I’m ok with that. As I said above, it can be found at GNC and in most health foods stores.

Here are some other interesting facts about coconut oil:

• In a study done by the Journal of Cosmetic Science, coconut oil was compared to sunflower and mineral oil. These two were chosen because they are widely used in commercial hair oils. Coconut oil was the only one found to decrease protein loss before and after washing in damaged and undamaged hair.
• Coconut oil is better to use on babies than baby oil. Not only is it easy to absorb by the skin, but it also helps the absorption of fat soluble vitamins. The fat found in unrefined virgin coconut oil is similar to the fat found in breast milk. Coconut oil may also helps diaper rash.
• Using coconut oil in cooking is said to help improve skin and hair from the inside out
• High quality coconut oil has the longest shelf life compared to any other oil, lasting up to three years in some cases.

Sources:

Coconut Cures: Preventing and Treating Common Health Problems with Coconut by Bruce Fife

Coconut Oil: Discover the Key to Vibrant Health by Siegfried Gursche