Coconut Oil (Part 2): How to use coconut oil for your skin

My previous post on coconut oil was all about the 'why' and this one will be all about the 'how'! I literally cannot live without my beloved coconut oil now as I've been adoring using it for the past six months. I use it every single day, for my skin and also for cooking (I'll talk about this in a future post).

As a make-up remover

Long gone are the days of trying out various different store bought cleansers, only to find that they would aggregate my skin. Or if they didn't, they wouldn't remove my make-up very easily, resulting in me having to use a lot of product and do a lot of scrubbing on my skin, which would result in redness and irritation. And even if they were good, I couldn't help but notice all of the ingredients on the back. Surely products that have this many ingredients cannot be totally gentle and kind to skin.. and it's true, they are not! (Check out my previous post on why I changed over to a more natural skincare regime) And then my beloved coconut oil came along... The condition of my skin has vastly improved since adding this to my skincare regime!

• To remove your make-up, simply scoop out a small amount of coconut oil with a clean teaspoon, and massage it into your face and neck with your fingers. Coconut oil melts at skin temperature so it will glide along your face while melting. It smells divine and feels incredibly soothing!
• Massage the oil in for a couple of minutes (it can be used on and around the eyes with no irritation and works as an unbelievably effective eye make-up remover also). Then, simply wipe away with a cotton pad.
• Take another very small amount of coconut oil and repeat these steps again. Keep doing it until you can see no more make-up on the cotton pad. It doesn't take long for this to happen as the oil is amazing at breaking down foundations, powders, mascara, and lipstick.
• Afterwards, I get rid of the excess coconut oil by massaging in oatmeal (read about why I love oatmeal for skin so much here) onto my face for a minute, and then rinsing with water. Or you can spritz a cotton pad with rosewater and sweep across my face and neck, which also removes the oil.
• I find that coconut oil can be a bit heavy to apply to my face overnight, so I use sweet almond oil afterwards instead for overnight moisture.

As a moisturiser for the body

I can honestly say that I will never buy any other moisturiser for my body again! Coconut oil is the best one I have ever used, and I'm really not exaggerating! After a shower or bath, I apply the oil and it just sinks into the skin. Leave it a few minutes before putting clothes on so it can fully sink in and work its magic. Your skin is baby soft afterwards and smells divine (it's only a light scent and isn't too strong). Coconut is one of my favourite scents, it's so clean and fresh. Read coconut oil part 1 to find out why this oil is so beneficial when applied to the skin.

I get very dry lips and I find that applying a small amount of coconut oil on them before going to sleep leaves them hydrated by morning time.

As a shaving oil

Coconut oil makes an excellent shaving oil. Applying it to any areas of the skin you want to shave before removing the hair and it will give you a really close and non irritating shave. Afterwards, apply some oil to the to the area. This will prevent razer burn or any redness of the skin.

At the moment, I am experimenting with different ways to use this oil, so watch this space for more updates!

Sinéad

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