Benefits of Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is made up of about 65% fatty acids, which is the first sign it will do great things for our skin. If you’ve never heard of fatty acids you may wonder why in the world we want them on our skin. Fatty acids are how healthy cell membranes are built and they make up the skin’s natural oil barrier, which is how our skin is able to stay hydrated and plump. The fatty acids found in coconut oil include Lauric acid, Myristic acid, Caprylic acid, Palmitic Acid, Capric Acid, Oleic acid, Linoleic acid, and Stearic acid. You may sometimes see these fatty acids individually discussed and touted on skincare product packaging. That’s because they serve powerful functions. For example, Lauric acid has strong antimicrobial properties that help protect your skin from bacteria and fungi (as well as helping prevent those pesky microorganisms from growing inside your skincare bottles).

In the same way that we used to be told eating all fat free foods would keep us thin, only to learn that our bodies do need healthy fats, it isn’t true that keeping all oil off of our skin will fix acne, blemishes or oily skin. In fact, if we strip our skin of too much oil, our skin can often begin to over-create sebum to compensate which causes worse problems. Also, oils full of antimicrobial fatty acids - like coconut oil - can be a huge benefit to acne-prone skin since it fights the harmful microorganisms that can cause inflammatory acne.Coconut oil can be very beneficial for many types of skin infections, including acne, cellulitis, folliculitis and even athlete’s foot - basically any skin issue cuase by bacteria or fungi.Enough about the icky things coconut oil can help prevent. How about the amazing gifts it can give our skin? Coconut oil is chock full of antioxidants and vitamins, so your skin will benefit from the cellular repair and even protection against premature aging that this oil offers.We haven’t even touched upon the most obvious thing coconut oil does exceptionally well: moisturize our skin. Coconut Oil penetrates deeply and therefore is very satisfying when your skin is particularly dry, or even if you are struggling with eczema or psoriasis.

The one downside to coconut oil is that it is comedogenic - meaning it can form a barrier on your skin. While this can be a wonderful trait if you are moisturizing your cheeks and don’t want the cold winter air to mess with them, it can create an unhelpful environment for some who are prone to blackheads from clogged pores. While many people use products with coconut oil on their face with no issues, if you begin seeing clogged pores, switch to body-only use of coconut oil products. Our body’s pores are much less susceptible to clogging and typcially suffer much greater bouts of dryness than our face, so body moisturizers with coconut oil are an excellent solution.