What, You Can Use Coconut Oil As A Beauty Treatment!?

Whether or not you believe coconut oil is a miracle superfood and that it has amazing health benefits, its uses as a beauty treatment are quite easy to prove. Try using it on your skin and hair, and judge for yourself.

I first started using coconut oil as a “night cream” about two years ago, and my skin has never been better. I’ve never been one to use expensive commercial products, and when I have tried some from time to time, the products I chose have almost always had a detrimental effect, including allergic rashes. So when a friend suggested I try coconut oil to moisturize my skin, I was happy to do so. In fact I’ve used it on my face for longer than I’ve been cooking with it. Only yesterday an old school friend commented on how few wrinkles I have! It may be an illusion, but my skin does feel soft and relatively silky. 

So what exactly is coconut oil, and what are the facts around coconut oil as a beauty treatment?

What Is Coconut Oil?

A form of saturated fact extracted from white coconut flesh, coconut oil is rich in lauric acid, which the body uses to destroy certain viruses. It is comprised mostly of medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) that the body digests easily and the liver converts to energy rather than it being stored as fat (like other forms of oil.) It’s ideal for cooking because it withstands higher temperatures than other oils and isn’t “damaged” during the process of cooking.

How Coconut Oil Is Used As A Beauty Treatment

The Colorado-based Coconut Research Center, founded by naturopathic doctor, Bruce Fife, specifies health uses of coconut oil in addition to its medicinal uses. These include the “fact” that coconut oil:

• Promotes a healthy complection
• Softens the skin and helps to relieve flaking and dryness
• Helps to prevent wrinkles, sagging skin and age spots
• Reduces the symptoms of dermatitis, eczema, and psoriasis
• Helps to repair and heal body tissue (including the skin)
• Promotes healthy hair
• Helps to control dandruff
• Helps to prevent tooth decay and periodontal disease

Success stories on the Center’s website add that it makes hair softer and makes it grow faster; can also be used to defrizz hair; adds shine to hair; prevents hair from falling out; freshens breath; makes teeth whiter and minimizes stains; clears rashes and heals sores; reduces the effects of scarring; and can even be used instead of regular deodorant.

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Several months ago my own adult son had inexplicable lumps on the bottoms of his feet. They were so painful he found it difficult to sleep. Hoping to avoid medical treatment, he decided to try rubbing them with coconut oil at night. They were probably some type of cyst because some of the larger ones burst and all the smaller ones gradually (over a period of weeks) shrank away. They have not recurred, and I admit I cannot offer a scientific explanation.

Published Research On Coconut Oil As A Beauty Treatment

Most research studies focus on specific beauty treatments and related uses including the effect of coconut oil on the skin; its effect as a sunscreen; its use as a protective hair product; and its use as a mouthwash.

Cosmetic Use Of Coconut Oil

Results of a study undertaken in the Philippines and published in 2004 by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) showed that the use of coconut oil significantly improves skin hydration. Researchers weren’t surprised since people living in the tropics have used coconut oil as a moisturizer for centuries. However there had been no clinical studies to show that using it was effective or safe, which is why they initiated this study.

The study set out to compare the use of extra virgin coconut oil with mineral oil which is commonly used as a treatment for mild to moderate xerosis, a skin condition that results in dry, scaly, rough and itchy skin. Authors of the research report noted that other studies have shown coconut oil has antiseptic effects when used on the skin, but they did not test this finding.

A total of 34 people took part in the randomized trial, some of whom were treated with coconut oil and others with mineral oil. They found that the results of both were comparable, with both improving skin hydration significantly, and both increasing skin surface lipid levels. They measured transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and skin surface hydrogen ion concentration (pH) for safety, and found there were no significant differences here either.

Coconut Oil As A Sunscreen

In a Serbian study published in 2011, researchers considered the potential of certain herbs to provide the skin with protection from ultraviolet (UV) radiation of the sun. This was considered together with the risks of wrinkles, sunburn, reduced immunity against infection, cancer, and premature aging. It also included the value of antioxidants that are believed to play an important role in fighting free radicals that affect the skin adversely. Various oils were also considered.

While coconut oil was not the only oil that formed part of the Serbian study, it was found that it resists about 20 percent of UV rays. The only oil that had a higher resistance to any of the others was sesame oil that was found to block out as much as 30 percent of UV rays.

Coconut Oil For Hair

A number of studies have found that coconut oil is a very effective treatment for preventing damage to hair. So Indian researchers decided to compare the effects of coconut oil with the effects of sunflower and mineral oil on the hair. The research results published in 2003 reported that only coconut oil was effective. Further, it was the only one of the three oils that reduced protein loss in hair when used before and after washing.

Oil Pulling Using Coconut Oil

Oil pulling is a traditional method of cleaning the mouth by reducing harmful bacteria and plaque. It also reduces bad breath, minimizes inflammation of gums, whitens teeth, and helps to prevent gingivitis and tooth cavities.

A study report published in the Nigerian Medical Journal earlier this year (March-April 2015), and republished online by the NIH, looked specifically at the effect of coconut oil as it related to plaque-related gingivitis. It is believed to be the first study of its kind using coconut oil and the results were overwhelmingly in favor of coconut oil. Researchers found that plaque decreased significantly from day seven of the trial, and continued to decrease thereafter.

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Researchers recommended that more studies be done on the antimicrobial potency of coconut oil to see how it could be effectively used to counter oral diseases.