Coconut oil has become a staple in the cosmetic routine of many women (and men!) since its rise in popularity over the duration of the year. Originally used in the kitchen as a healthy alternative to the frying, baking, sweetening and greasing of foods, coconut oil has been deemed the resolution to every issue we have in our lives, no matter the subject matter. Hair, skin, stress, finances— you name it and Coconut oil can fix it.
While incorporating an organic oil to one’s beauty routine is beneficial over time, people fail to realize that the use of coconut oil on the skin is toxic.
The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology uses a comedogenic scale that rates varies oils, butters, waxes and herbs’ tendency to clog your skin’s pores (clogged pores=blackheads). Listed with numbers zero through five, products with a rating of zero are completely fine to use on the skin and as the rating rises, so do your chances of housing a new acne addition. Coconut oil has a rating of four.
But don’t fret! This doesn’t mean that all of your coconut oil has to go to in the garbage. You can still use it for those homemade hair masks, makeup remover wipes and teeth whitening treatments you do on occasion. Alternative moisturizing oils with low ratings include sweet almond, grapeseed, rosehip, castor and jojoba. Just make sure that when it comes to allowing coconut oil to sit on the skin for extended periods of time that you’re cautious. You reap what you sow.
Happy moisturizing!