So I get burned very easily. As I’m walking around town doing my normal routine I get comments on my burns that I had gotten the weekend before. Everyone hisses in pain telling me they feel it for me. =) But I reply that it doesn’t hurt. I had just gotten it and had no stinging sensation at all. I tell everyone what to use, what the ‘secret’ is…even where to get it, but I always forget to tell people how to use it. LOL. So here I am blogging about it so no one with a computer will wonder anymore! (here is to the cashier at goodwill)
Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil is the key to sun exposure. Its all natural and it doesn’t cause cancer like sunscreens or sunblocks do. It doesn’t work the same as suncreen however. I’ll tell you the brand I purchase later in the blog. It’s preferable to coat yourself in the oil before you go in the sun. It helps prevent skin cancer and protects a tad from the rays. It doesn’t ‘block’ the sun, however, and you need to monitor your skin to make sure you don’t burn too much. (This is great for your tanning routine.)
If you didn’t use the oil before hand, or you did and you stayed out too long, you can use the coconut oil afterwards. Coat the affected areas in oil and sit (try not to touch anything! oil is slick!) for atleast 15 minutes, letting it soak in. Sometimes I watch an episode on the tv and sit for 30 minutes. After your done soaking, rinse off in the shower (that means NO SOAP). Dab your skin dry with a towel lightly. Go about with your day or if its right before bed (preferably) just hop in bed and you’ll feel great the next day. If the burn is really bad, you can still feel the heat radiating off of you but you can still hang things on your shoulders etc with no stinging sensation. If its a bad burn, repeat the process once a night before bed until you think its healed pretty well.
Another great use for extra virgin organic coconut oil is for cooking. There are many kinds of cooking oils out on the market but what people don’t think about looking into is the temperature that the oil goes rancid. Who wants to eat spoiled oil? No one that I know. Coconut oil can be heated to a very high temperature and still not spoil. Olive oil is a healthy oil to eat but many people don’t know that it goes rancid at a very low temperature, making it bad to cook with. If you use olive oil on salads or as a dressing, its perfect for the job, just not to heat up.
Coconut oil is also great for dry skin. As you can imagine, being so good with sunburns, its extremely moisturizing to your skin and helps with dryness and itch. You want to make sure to not go out about your day with it on (its messy and takes several washings to get out of fabrics), try to let it soak in for x amount of minutes and rinse off like with the burn. What I like to do when dealing with coconut oil is to only wear a certain shirt and pants so that those are the only clothes affected and if it doesn’t matter if it takes one washing or 10 washings to get the oil out, it won’t bother me one way or another.
If you’ve read any of my other blogs you’ll know coconut oil is good for bacteria and fungus. I’ve used it on my highly allergic cat (skin problems) every week until we figured out his allergy and a plan to prevent his breakout. He didn’t like it but it worked.
Another useful tip regarding coconut oil is rubbing it on scars. The more important information here is the rubbing motion. Rub the scar in a circular motion at least a couple times a day for as long as you can. Your hands will get tired but it’s worth it. The friction will cause our body to recognize it needs healing in that area and the motion will keep the healing process going. The oil helps with the rubbing obviously and it is also good for your skin opposed to using any old lotion you have lying around.
Now for the product and where to buy! I use Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. I buy in bulk because it tends to be pricey if you by a little at a time. Example: I bought a 16 oz jar at Walmart for almost $30. Went online to amazon.com and bought two 54 oz jars for $54. If you subscribe it’s actually even cheaper a $46.50 for the same two large jars! I get a small ketchup squeeze bottle (sold in the picnic area with an attached lid) and refill them when needed so I don’t have to carry the big jars around the house. Works perfectly. You want to make sure to only use the best most pure product since this is our bodies we are talking about! It’s getting me through the rest of my life and so is yours! We have to treat it well!
This is all useful information mostly given to me by my holistic doctor and I’ve figured out a few myself 😉 Good luck to all and enjoy the coconut oil, and maybe find some other useful ways to use it! Please feel free to post other uses as you find them! Have a great day!