Coconut Oil! It's What's For Dinner... and popcorn, and moisturizer, and...

I started cooking and baking with coconut oil a couple of years ago. Started out using it in muffin recipes, then decided to use it to pop popcorn, then started using it every time I baked. On and on until coconut oil became a staple in my kitchen cabinet.

Then, this summer my son got a mohawk. There was a patch of dry skin on the side of his head that was now visible. This patch had been there for as long as I could remember. Now though it was fully visible to everyone, making my son look kind of like a punk leper. Not the best look on anyone let alone a 6 year old. Suddenly a stroke of genius occurred to me. I got the coconut oil and rubbed a little bit on the spot. That was in June. It still hasn't returned. I was and still am amazed.

I have always had very dry skin. After seeing how well the coconut oil worked for my son I thought maybe I should give a try myself. So I began using it as skin moisturizer and as a face moisturizer. I've been doing this for 2 months now and I love it. I love how soft it makes my skin!

On my face, I use just a tiny bit on my finger tips. It soaks in pretty well so my skin doesn't look or feel oily. You may have to figure out the right amount for yourself though because some days I feel like my skin needs a little more. My skin has not broken out or had any other issues that I was originally concerned with about the coconut oil. Again, I've been doing this for 2 months now and not using any other moisturizer.

On my legs and arms I use a much more generous amount. Again, the coconut oil soaks in pretty quickly and doesn't leave me feeling oily at all unless I use way too much. Which happened a couple of times when I first started using it.

Here are some uses and benefits that have been attributed to coconut oil:

• Baking - Great Substitute For Butter and Vegetable Oils
• Cooking i.e. Stir Fry, Use On Baked Potato Instead of Butter, Spread On Toast, Roasting Veggies, etc.
• Skin Moisturizer
• Conditioning Treatment For Hair
• Apply To Lips Instead of Chapstick
• Helps Cure Athlete's Foot
• Can Help Reduce Cholesterol
• Soothe Sunburn
• Diaper Rash Treatment
• Use To Tame Frizz or Fly-aways
• Make-up Remover
• And Probably A Million More Things That I Haven't Yet Tried

I only use organic 100% coconut oil. The brand doesn't matter as long as the one and only ingredient is organic coconut oil. The bottle I've been using on my skin actually came from my trip to the Dominican Republic. I use a store brand to cook with but it's all the same so I could cook or moisturize with either. No more expensive lotions with too much stuff in there that I can't pronounce!

Peace, Love, Happiness!
~Bekah

What do you use coconut oil for?