The Benefits and Uses of Coconut Oil

The Benefits and Uses of Coconut Oil

Besides being a highly nutritious and delicious cooking oil, coconut-oil contains properties that feed and moisturize the skin. The scientific community is finally catching up with what many have known for ages, coconut oil is truly good for you, both inside and outside.

Here are just some of the reasons why you should start putting coconut-oil on your face and skin.

The Surprising Benefits and Uses of Coconut Oil
Fresh coconut oil in glassware on the color wooden table and grid tray background

This all-natural, edible oil is inarguably the best moisturizer out there, and the only one you’d ever need. Coconut-oil may be solid at room temperature if your room temperature happens to be below 75F, but it typically remains a liquid in the tropical regions where coconut trees grow.

Coconut-oil melts on the skin as soon as you apply it, without leaving any kind of residues. It easily seeps into the skin-pores, moisturizing deeply and thoroughly.

The Surprising Benefits and Uses of Coconut Oil

  • Coconut oil is the ideal deep cleanser

No other part of our body is exposed to as many chemicals, be it from makeup, air pollution or just dust and grease in the air. Toxins seep into skin pores and clog them. The dehydrating effect of air conditioning and heat can leave your skin dry and flaky, and the skin pores can develop keratin caps that keep the sebum trapped in the follicles.

Coconut oil is a gentle, yet thorough cleanser. It softens the keratin caps and makes exfoliation much easier. The light, spreading texture of coconut-oil enables it to seep into the hair follicles and dissolve the hardened sebum, bringing it up to the skin surface.

The Surprising Benefits and Uses of Coconut Oil

  • Coconut oil acts as an antibacterial shield

The antibacterial properties of coconut-oil protect the skin from potential pathogens. More importantly, it can reduce the risk of bacterial infections worsening acne. It is mainly the lauric-acid in the coconut-oil that acts as the antibacterial agent. This medium-chain fatty-acid constitutes 85% of the coconut oil. The only other natural substance high in lauric acid happens to be breast-milk.

The Surprising Benefits and Uses of Coconut Oil

  • Coconut oil offers protection from sunburn

Coconut-oil offers some protection against solar radiation. With SPF-8, coconut- oil may not keep you safe during a full day on the beach, but if you apply it on your skin before stepping out of the house, you can escape the effects of solar radiation during brief periods out in the sun. Also, if you have been in the sun without any kind of protection, applying coconut-oil immediately afterward reduces the damage.

The ultraviolet rays of the sun damage the skin-cells, triggering the formation of a large number of free radicals that can do further damage to cellular DNA.

The Surprising Benefits and Uses of Coconut Oil

  • Coconut oil prevents premature aging

Premature aging of the skin is a result of oxidative stress due to UV-rays, environmental pollution, and injuries caused to the skin by rough handling and use of harsh chemicals. It goes without saying that facial skin is the most affected because it is exposed to the environment all the time.

Coconut-oil can prevent premature aging in several ways. It is gentle on the skin as a moisturizer and exfoliates without abrading the skin. When applied in a thin layer, it can act as a physical barrier to dust and other environmental pollutants, while sealing in skin moisture. Its antioxidant action reduces oxidative-damage. It keeps the skin smooth and supple by promoting collagen formation.

DISCLAIMER:

The materials and the information contained on The Ugly Duckling Blog are provided for general and educational purposes only and do not constitute any legal, medical or other professional advice on any subject matter.

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