Shea butter or coconut oil?

I have been using coconut oil. My first experience with it was as a massage oil when I got myself a back massage, and after that I read that it can be used as a regular skin softener and moisturizer, and it has really helped my skin. It feels slightly too thick going on, but I massage it in well and use only a little. So far, so good. My skin looks awesome. I have recently heard that coconut oil can even be used for weight loss, which I totally need, but I don't know much about that yet.

I have eczema and was advised to use shea butter. It is pretty good. It's very moisturizing for one, no matter how dry your face is (while I have heard that coconut oil can be drying to the skin), it is an antioxidant that has antiinflammatory action, protects your skin from the sun, helps with anti-aging... the list goes on but my eczema got a lot better and I really like how my skin is nice and soft. I'm not considering switching as it works great for me, and have never tried coconut oil though I did hear bad things about it. So take this for what it's worth.

Hi,

Me, I use both. I use coconut oil all the time for my hair (great stuff) and lips, and shea butter for my skin in winter to get the maximum amount of moisture. That's when my skin is really at its driest. Then when spring comes, I start thinking about switching over to coconut oil, which I've always done by the time it is summer. The two really do work well together and I've heard people mix them up too, but for me this routine works well. In any case, make sure you apply either of them on damp skin only. This helps lock moisture in.

I tried coconut oil after reading raving reviews.

I really, really wanted to love it. What's not to like? I loved the thought of something completely natural that was really good at locking in moisture and was supposed to make your skin feel silky soft. I stuck with it around a month, and as time went on my skin got drier and drier. It wasn't immediately obvious while the oil was on, but without it my skin looked quite terrible and even red in places. Since I stopped using it, I found out that more people have this problem. The advice is exactly to combine it with something like shea butter rather than using only the coconut oil. Me, I'm not doing that, I gave up on coconut oil.

I'm wondering this myself. I have never, ever used anything like this - my general habit is to buy ready made products from a drug store and just be done with it. I'm now wondering if the products I have been using until now are full of chemicals that perhaps contribute to drying out my skin. Coconut butter, shea butter and also cocoa butter and even sometimes mango butter are all natural butters that are frequently recommended. Do they really work though? Do they contain so much grease that they go the other way and end up making your skin greasy? I am slightly worried about this and would like to hear what people have to say about this.