Nutty for Coconut Oil

In the beauty world, coconut oil has become somewhat of a holy grail product. It's been a favourite curly hair product of mine for some time now but I've only just discovered how many other uses it has. I've read countless blog posts that swear by it, some even going to the extreme lengths of chucking away their most treasured (and probably expensive) beauty products and replace them with the oil. It's said to moisturise the skin, define curls, act as a hair mask, leave in conditioner, act as a shaving cream, encourages world peace, cures world famine, (the last two are a joke, but you get the gist). Coconut oil seemingly solves all beauty problems and at such a cheap price no-one's complaining. But let's face it, coconut oil did not come from the wizarding world of Harry Potter and can't possibly be this magical and universal... can it?  

For a week, I put my normal beauty products to one side and replaced it with a 500ml tub of  Superdrug's Coconut Oil for £8.99, not bad considering all of the beauty products I replaced it with come closer to £40. You don't need to buy such a big tub and I've seen smaller tubs at a fraction of the price, but I'd just been paid and was feeling like the Queen... who ended up a very poor Queen by the end of the day.

Hair

As a curly haired girl, I'm always on the lookout for products that can moisturise my hair and reduce my frizz. This is often an expensive process of discovery and more often than not I'm disappointed. I was most excited to try this out on my hair as I'd heard nothing but good things about how it works as a hair mask. 

 I applied it to dry, not wet, hair and scalp which I had never done before and it felt alien. I then left it on for two hours and I have to admit, the two hours that followed were not very comfortable. I felt very dirty and greasy, and my hair looked like it hadn't been washed for years. To top it off, I had to collect a parcel from the postman with my greasy mop of hair piled on my head which was a fun experience... maybe next time I'll save this as a night time routine. 

The first time I tried this it would. not. wash. out and I had stringy hair for days. On a re-run, I used less product (maybe a tablespoon) and used a shampoo that lathers up nicely and it washed out and left my hair so soft! Normally, I have an issue with knotty hair but the brush slid through it like butter... I doubt I even needed to use conditioner. However, I did not get the frizz-free results the internet had boasted and my hair was still quite frizzy at the crown. However, my hair was shiny and the curls last a day longer than they do without the coconut oil, so I didn't have to walk around hiding my hair in a plait on my day two hair.  

Skin

Coconut oil on the skin is extremely hydrating. If you can get past the slightly greasy feel and the time it takes to soak into your skin then this is the perfect moisturiser. Beauty bloggers everywhere, praise this as a facial moisturiser and at the start of the week, I did too... until the spots came. It is certainly not a light moisturiser and half a teaspoon is too much product. If used at all, it's more of a night time intensive moisturiser but it's very clogging for the pores. As someone who doesn't get spots very often, I managed to get three on my nose and I suspect the coconut oil is to blame. In saying that, as long as you avoid the general T-zone of your face it's extremely moisturising. I have never come across a better undereye moisturiser in my life. I've always struggled with dark circles and this decreases their appearance drastically. I wish I took a before and after photo of my dark circles, but I really didn't expect it to have any effect on them, especially in just a week! What will happen in a month? Toward the end of the week, I'd only apply the oil to my body and undereye and a little goes a seriously long way.

Another honourable mention for the oil is its use as a shaving cream. My legs have never been so soft and there are no razor bumps in sight. Plus, because it's oil based, water just beads off it in the shower and doesn't wash it off your leg unlike shaving cream; That's always a plus to me.

Conclusion

I had such high expectations from this product and was actually left a little let down that it didn't make me look like Kate Moss. But when I look at it realistically away from the hype the internet surrounded it with, it really isn't such a bad little product. It doesn't completely take away the frizz from your hair, but it defines the curls and acts as insurance for your curls for an extra day. The biggest problem with it is that it is very much a trial and error product with how much product to use on your hair and skin. When they say a small amount, they mean a tiny amount. If you try anything from this article, use the coconut oil as an undereye moisturiser, especially if you're struggling with dark circles. It's shaping up to be my favourite eye moisturiser of all time.

Saza

xx