Summer is the perfect time of year to turn your attention to personal grooming. The warm weather means hot days at the beach, by the pool, and otherwise outdoors, which can damage your skin and your hair if you don’t take the necessary steps to protect it.
The problem is, a lot of personal grooming items – such as hair product, moisturizers, lip balm, etc. – contain toxic chemicals that harm your bones.
Today we’re going to solve this problem with just one ingredient that has no less than eight uses. And the best part is, it’s non-toxic and (if you don't already have it in your pantry) you can easily get it. In fact, it’s edible (and even alkalizing)!
New Uses For An Old Favorite: Coconut Oil
Savers are well aware that antioxidant-rich, virgin coconut oil is good for bones. In fact, a 2012 study showed that virgin coconut oil actually prevents bone loss.1 But there’s even more to this tropical ingredient, and today you’ll discover some amazing and unusual ways to use it.
Coconut Oil As A Personal Care Product
It’s a great idea to keep a jar of coconut oil in your bathroom…and if you find it a little too hard to work with, you can follow the recipe below to make your own spreadable, whipped coconut oil.
Here are some ideas for using coconut oil for personal care.
1. Massage Oil
Mix a few drops of your favorite essential oil with a heaping spoonful of coconut oil to create good-smelling massage oil. Lavender is a fresh scent that promotes relaxation, while mint or citrus help perk you up (mint is especially refreshing on a summer day).
2. Mouthwash
Believe it or not, coconut oil’s antibacterial properties make a great mouthwash. Put a spoonful in your mouth and it will melt quickly. For a fresher breath, you can mix it with a drop of mint or cinnamon essential oil first if you like. Swish the coconut oil around in your mouth for 10 to 20 minutes to get the full effect. Then spit it into the trashcan (so it doesn’t clog the sink).
3. Tame Frizzy Hair
Rub a very small amount of coconut oil – about the size of a pea – between the palms of your hands. Then work it gently and evenly through your hair to tame fly-aways and frizz, which can be a problem in summer humidity.\
4. Makeup Remover
After washing your face, use coconut oil to gently remove any residual makeup. It’s especially good at removing eye shadow, eye liner, mascara, and other eye makeup.
5. Skin Soother
Coconut oil is excellent for minor burns, including sunburns. It can also be safely used on itchy rashes.
6. Pre-Shampoo Treatment
Before shampooing, take a couple of teaspoons of coconut oil and work it thoroughly into your hair. Leave it for about an hour – put a shower cap over your head – and then shampoo as usual.
7. Nail and Cuticle Treatment
Massage softened coconut oil into your fingernails and toenails to help soften hangnails and cuticles. The antibacterial, anti-fungal properties of coconut oil help keep the nails and nail bed healthy.
8. Moisturizer
Use coconut oil directly on your skin as a moisturizer, or use the whipped oil described below. Coconut oil has been known to soothe acne and soften scars and stretch marks. You can use it as a lip balm, too, right out of the jar.
For a bone-healthy moisturizer that you can use any time, try this easy recipe.
Whipped Coconut Oil Whole-Body Moisturizer
Ingredients:
- 1 cup virgin coconut oil
- Your favorite essential oil for scent (optional)
Directions:
Scoop the coconut oil into a mixing bowl (do not melt it first) and, using the whisk attachment, whip the coconut oil at high speed until it becomes light and fluffy (about 6 minutes). If you decide to add essential oil, put a few drops in toward the end of mixing. Store whipped oil in a glass jar. If your house is very warm (over 75 degrees), store it in the refrigerator.
Non-Toxic Personal Care
Chemical toxins are especially prevalent in personal care products, that are inevitably absorbed through the skin and into the bloodstream.
By using the tips and ideas above, you can take a simple step to reduce your toxin exposure. And when it comes to bone health, this is crucial.
You see, toxic overload can stress major organs such as the liver and kidneys. If these organs are not functioning properly, toxins build up in your system, creating an acidic environment that is detrimental to your bones.
Keep Toxins At Bay And Protect Your Bones
In addition to implementing a non-toxic personal care regimen, cleansing the body and the major detoxification organs promotes an alkaline environment and aids in the absorption and utilization of critical Foundation Supplements necessary for increasing and maintaining bone density.
A whole-body cleanse may sound intimidating, but with the Osteoporosis Fresh Start Cleanse: The 7 Day Bone-Building Accelerator, it’s actually easy. It does not involve any difficult-to-find supplements or foods. Instead, the Osteoporosis Fresh Start Cleanse focuses on cleansing foods and beverages that remove toxins from your body very effectively.
You’ll very quickly notice how much better you feel when you get rid of the toxins!
The Osteoporosis Fresh Start Cleanse is the perfect detoxification program to prepare you for a bone-building, pH-balanced nutrition as described in the Osteoporosis Reversal Program.
Please click here to learn more about the Osteoporosis Fresh Start Cleanse, The 7 Day Bone-Building Accelerator.
It’s the best way to get your non-toxic, bone-smart summer underway!
Till next time,
References
1 Hyatullina, Z., et al. “Virgin coconut oil supplementation prevents bone loss in osteoporosis rat model.” Evidence-based Complementary ad Alternative Medicine. Sep 16, 2012. Web. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23024690
I was just diagnosed with Idiopathic peripheral neuropathy. No treatment was prescribed. Is there a natural way to treat this. It is not too bad but if there is a way I can make it better I would try it as I don’t want to take any medication.
Thank you
Sandra
Very interesting … in the mouthwash recipe, did you mean 15 to 20 SECONDS? You wrote MINUTES!
I can’t imagine swishing mouthwash for 15 to 20 minutes. Ick!
Thanks a lot for this information I was suffering from swollen and painful knee,as a result my doctor drained fluid twice in a week,I couldn’t get up straight from the bed up until pain will subside,then I read your article about coconut oil, since I started consuming and applying it on my legs and hip I feel very much better,coconut oil works wonders, Thanks a lot for sharing the information,May good Lord be with you,
That is so cool! Coconut oil is some useful stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1NGVQnOGtA
Hi! I’ve seen it mentioned in a few threads that people are using apple cider vinegar and coconut oil for skin care. I was just wondering if it’s effective at helping clear up acne? Also, how do you use them? Do you wash with apple cider vinegar, and only that? Do you smell like vinegar afterwards? How do you use coconut oil? Is it only at bedtime, all the time? Thanks for your comments!**Edited to add: My acne is cystic and has gotten worse over the past couple years. I am in my 30’s. I have really bad acne all over my head, face, behind ears, inside, basically everywhere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1NGVQnOGtA
Good Afternoon Otha Duplechain
I used to have bad acne while at High School and a few years after that and even at 68 I still get the odd ones when not eating properly. What I wasn’t doing when young was drinking 8 glasses of water every day and maybe that would have helped clean out the body and the acne may have cleared up. I only ever used soap and water and do not look 68 yrs old. Its the 8 glasses water mostly warm to hot in winter and cool in summer. Never cold and that’s helped me and I do not use any dairy products any more.
With what you have I would be tempted when you get home to mix a little apple cider vinegar with coconut oil and use it a skin and scalp treatment, leave it on affected skin for a little while (with a plastic bag over your hair to enhance the treatment of your scalp for 2 mins to start) and then wash it off with warm water. I would then shampoo your hair in the morning having left it to work on the acne over night. They are natural products and if you get any reaction perhaps cut down a little on the apple cider vinegar and just use the coconut oil warmed up but I do not think you will have to. I hope that helps. Let me know how you get on.
I broke my ankle an now it has pain an swollen does coennut oil works for that
It is also exellant as underarm deodorant , first a little cider vinegar then a little coconut oil ! Commercial deodorants are poison !
Thanks for the tip, Rich! You might like this recipe for DIY deodorant, which includes coconut oil:
https://saveourbones.com/how-to-make-your-own-bone-healthy-version-of-this-common-and-toxic-personal-care-product/
Thank you Vivian for your great help. I use coconut oil for many of the purposes you commented. One fabulous use is for women after menopause: As a lubricant for intercourse.
LIVE coconut oil! I use it on my skin, for sauteing, makeup removal,
hair – everything! Make sure it’s high quality organic.
Good idea about scenting it, but be careful what essential oils you use.
The FDA allows any product that has a tiny bit of an aromatic oil in it to
claim it’s pure, but while you’re getting the benefits of the coconut oil,
you may be getting toxins into your body with a bad essential oil.
If it gives an expiration date or says do not ingest, beware.
Do a lot of research before deciding which ones to use. If they’re
cheap, they are not pure. The only ones I know that are safe are not sold over the counter.
Thanks for the tip about essential oils, Peggy!
Love the information provided by Vivian, but am frustrated as to why she rarely answers the questions, I think they are valid and interesting and would like to hear the answers also!
Hi Vicki. Many of us would like to post questions here for Vivian but that would require her constantly having to be waiting and watching by her computer for our inquiries to pop up. I believe out of the goodness of her heart, she would do that if time permitted and her regular job permitted. As it is, we gain a lot from the information she does share. Her articles inspire us to take control of our own health instead of relying completely on the medical and pharmaceutical professionals to tell us what is good for us. The information she shares is quite thorough, and if not, the internet is a great place to find those answers. Best to you!
I love using coconut oil. And I use to, use coconut milk a lot and for cooking too. But I was told, that this is high in BAD CHOLESTEROL because it becomes solid in room temperature and it is considered SATURATED FATS., that would clog my arteries, like Palm oil. So, I was told to avoid it. Is this true.
Connie
Hi Connie. Coconut oil is liquid at 76 degrees at room temperature. The core temperature of the human body is around 98 degrees. Coconut oil will solidify in your body if you’re cold and dead (below 95 degrees).
It is a saturated fat but your body can digest it more easily than animal fat and your liver uses this fat for energy. Just consume the oil in moderation (about 2 tablespoons per day). Use it on low heat instead of olive oil, or canola oil, to lightly fry your food. You can also use it in place of butter in your baking if you like.
Coconut oil is a very healthy food which we should enjoy without any fear. Hope that helps.
Just make sure the coconut oil is VIRGIN-ORGANIC AND COLD PRESSED …as opposed to the ones that are processed using the sun-dried COPRA and then purified using chemicals!!, that are quite obviously harmful .
Hi, palm oil is toxic, I know because I live in Singapore near to Malaysia where they use palm oil for cheap street food, it’s not healthy at all. They use it for industrial purposes.
Thanks again for this comprehensive info about coconut oil. I will expand my use of it to include some of these suggestions, knowing especially that it is helpful for the bones (which I wasn’t sure about). I use it in my cooked cereal as increased fat for my weight and frying.
Dear Vivian
Thank you so much for the Osteoporosis Reversal Program. It helps me a lot. And now another information about the virgin coconut oil. We have plenty of it here in our country, Philippines.
Did you really mean to swish coconut oil around in your mouth for 10-20 MINUTES or did you mean SECONDS? I think I would gag after a minute!
Charlotte, the coconut oil is meant to be swilled in the mouth for 10 – 20 MINUTES. This is called “oil pulling”….it is excellent to collect a lot of bacteria in the mouth, including the gums….there is a lot of information about oil pulling on the internet – some people have had significant health benefits from the regular swilling of coconut oil as described by Vivian.
Charlotte, try swilling for a short time and work up gradually to at least 10 minutes….it is worth the effort.
Hello Vivian,
An excellent information! Thank you very much.
I was born and growing up in a country were coconuts
are abundant. When Costco were selling organic virgin,
cold- pressed(certified organic ( Carrington Farms) product of the Philippines, I’m very thankful that I could
start using it again.
Have a wonderful day. Take care always. Marlene
Thank you for your kind words, Marlene! I am glad you were able to find a coconut oil you like.
here in the tropics it is not difficult to make your own coconut oil, by grating the nut flesh, squeezing out the milk from it with some hot water and cooking the coconut milk until the moisture vaporizes. the oil then has a nice smell… for a short time.
do you have a suggestion to take away most of the smell?
I am currently in Mexico. A friend of mine gave me a jar of coconut oil which of course is completely liquid. I thought that it would be fine for cooking, but I guess I should be refrigerating some for these other uses?
You say, “Swish the coconut oil around in your mouth for 10 to 20 minutes to get the full effect. Then spit it into the trashcan (so it doesn’t clog the sink).”
I cannot believe a person has the stamina to swish for 10 to 20 minutes.
Dorothy, Elle tells us below that she does it for 6 to 10 minutes. Maybe that would be more doable! 🙂
I remember seeing on Dr Oz that if consumed it helps put calcium into your bones. Does anyone know if this is correct? And do you take ingest it as well? I think it was 2 tablespoons a day.
Believe it or not, my Gynecologist just recommended Coconut Oil as a natural lubricant for menopausal/post-menopausal women for more comfortable intimacy.
Thanks for being so pro-active on the healthy natural care front. I’ve been a fan and follower for years and recommend Save Our Bones to friends and family alike!
We Love cooking with Virgin coconut oil. Omelets, Stir fry and its great for Oil Pulling,
an ancient Indian way of cleansing the mouth. I swish my mouth with coconut oil for 6 to ten minutes. then spit out in a cup and throw away. Very healing to the mouth. LOVE coconut oil. Very healthy to consume.
I’ve been using coconut oil since you mentioned it months ago to brush my teeth. Love it also as a moisturizer on my face. My sister uses it for her eczema which has totally disappeared on her face and arms. It took awhile but it works!
It does do well in homemade toothpaste, Donna! And it is excellent for eczema. Thanks for sharing!
Others in the community can read my homemade toothpaste recipe here:
https://saveourbones.com/the-bone-healthy-toothpaste-you-can-make-at-home/
My dear Vivian,
What is your opinion of this product:
Nature’s gift – Osteo Nutrients (Calcium Complex)
Thanks.
Puteri
Hi vivian
Thank you so much for your vital information, I am so pleased to go back to the use of coconut oil, we grew up using coconut oil for hair, cooking, massage and so many other needs. I once thought why people get so much of health problem, may be after we started using vegetable oil replacing the God given natural coconut oil.
Thanks a lot