Once you adopt a low-toxin lifestyle and realize most cosmetics, many foods are straight-up poison, it can be fun to look at alternatives.
Coconut oil is one of the most versatile foods out there. Personally, I’ve used coconut oil as a facial moisturizer, deodorant, hair gel, and even to brush my dog’s teeth.
(She loved that).
Here are a few novel ideas…
22 Unconventional Uses For Coconut Oil:
- Use as a guitar string lubricant
- Mix with tea tree oil and use on athlete’s foot and other fungal infections
- Use as a mascara brush cleaner
- Brush on your eyelashes for an eyelash strengthener
- Mix with baking soda for a facial scrub
- Rub into your dog’s fur as a flea treatment
- Use to clean hands and brushes after using oil-based paints
- Use to detail the upholstery in your car
- Use to make homemade lip balm
- Use to soften kidney stones
- Use to lubricate kitchen scissors when cutting sticky foods
- Mix with cinnamon and oatmeal to use as a facial scrub (or breakfast… or both)
- Use to get purple lipstick out of a green rug
- Use to heal canker sores
- Use to fight H-pylori bacteria
- Soothe into fingertips to prevent hangnails
- Use as an udder balm for the cows you have in the yard
- Feed to your dog to prevent halitosis (dog breath)
- Use as a conditioner for your hair
- Use in your armpits as a deodorant
- Use to help soothe hemorrhoids
- Rub in your skin to reduce stretch marks
BONUS: Mix with baking soda for a natural “Goo Gone”
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So how are you gonna use that extra coconut oil you’ve got in the pantry? Have any of you done any of these things with it? Or anything else besides eating it or cooking with it?
Hemorrhoid cream……noted.
This isn’t the most glamorous use, but…
My wee fellow came home from school with headlice. After the initial squealing subsided, I slathered coconut oil over his head and put him in the sauna (if they can be killed on bedding by 20 minutes in a 60C/140F tumble dryer, I figured that 20 minutes in the sauna at that temp should work on those in his hair). He lasted about 15 minutes, by which time the oil was running down his back, with a couple of very dead lice in it.
Then I combed his hair with a very fine tooth comb and the eggs just came straight out on the comb with no mucking about at all. The coconut oil (possibly plus heat) seemed to have completely dissolved the usually very strong glue the eggs are stuck to the hair with. My mother used to take hours combing one kid’s head, but with the coconut oil, it took a matter of minutes. He then washed his hair (which left a slight coconut oil residue), and I went through with a comb again.
You are supposed to repeat any treatment 7-10 days later as usual treatments don’t kill the eggs which can still hatch out. I couldn’t find a thing when we did the repeat treatment, and there have been no problems since.
In lieu of a sauna, an old fashioned hair dryer (with the cap) may work for applying heat (apparently they can’t survive for long at temperatures above 35C/95F). I am not sure if heat is necessary for the coconut oil to dissolve the egg glue as we have only had the one episode to experiment – I was trying to kill the lice/eggs with the heat and remove them with the coconut oil. Other columns recommend leaving the coconut oil on overnight, which may work just as well.
Thank you for the info, spanner! SO much cheaper than Rid…worth a shot if the “opportunity” arises…
Wow that is awesome!! That’s great you used something other than the toxic nasties they usually give to clean that stuff up!
-Emily, FBM Team Coach
If you feed your dog raw (including bones), you won’t need to brush their teeth or worry about dog breath.
It makes a great toothpaste for people though, just mix with an equal amount of baking soda.
Excellent point Beth! Throw in a little mint essential oil (I like wintergreen!) and you’ve got yourself a minty fresh toothpaste! Thanks for sharing that one.
-Emily, FBM Team Coach
Hi Abel,
I use coconut oil/butter for treats regularly, however, the info around the net about the “bad” and “good” use of it is very confusing. Cardiologists ( http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=26277 ) and nutritionists ( http://scepticalnutritionist.com.au/?p=844 ) blame it for high cholesterol and how bad is for our health and then the paleo/caveman diet ect swear how good it is. What is the truth?
I hope you can help me understand what’s better for a healthy nutrition.
Cheers,
Snejana
It can certainly be frustrating with all the conflicting information! This is a great article from Dr Mercola on the health benefits of coconut oil that you may find useful: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/coconut-oil-benefits_b_821453.html – Emily, FBM Team Coach