Coconut Oil -- makes your skin feel like satin

I know I've already written about Thai Baby Coconuts, but I just have to tell you about the coconut oil. I'm no expert as to all the benefits of unrefined coconut oil, but I've recently discovered how fabulous it is for my skin.

A few years ago, a friend of mine told me she'd read an article about the health benefits of coconut oil. I'm pretty sure she was talking about taking it internally. I bought a 14 oz. jar of it from the health food store for $6.19. It was on special (regular price $8.35 -- no my memory isn't that good, the sticker's still on the jar!) I'd read that it was a good substitue for butter or shortening in recipes. I think I used a teaspoon or so of it for something, then forgot about it.

When I was having problems with my eczema last month, I read somewhere online that coconut oil was good for skin problems. I decided to give it a try. Besides the extra virgin olive oil I'd been using, this was the only other thing I was able to put on my skin that didn't cause it to burn or be further irritated (and I tried many other natural remedies and simple solutions like aloe vera gel from a plant and tea tree oil).

To back up a little further, a few years ago, my mom gave me some Lancome samples. She likes to buy her cosmetics in department stores when they're having their free gift pack special. She often gives us some of the little samples. There was a moisturizer that made my skin feel like satin. It was amazing. And my make-up blended just perfectly with it. I loved using it, but it didn't last for long. When it was gone, I looked into how much it cost and it was something like $50 for 1 oz. or something crazy like that.

I figured someone else must sell a similar formula, so I went to Target and checked ingredients other brands. I bought a few things and finally found a moisturizer by Oil of Olay that was pretty much the same thing. I've been buying it ever since at Costco for about $25 for the 3.4 oz. size. They even offer a $5 off coupon a few times a year.

Well, the coconut oil feels exactly like this regenerist serum -- just as smooth, just as satin-y. And it's natural! So how great is that? And it's FAR less expensive. If I were to buy 14 oz. of the Lancome product, it would cost $700. If I were to buy 14 oz. of the Oil of Olay serum, it would cost $100. For the coconut oil, it is under $7. Maybe it's gone up in the past year, but even if it's $10, that's not much at all.

I've been noticing lately that many of my natural lip balms has coconut oil as a main ingredient. So I've been putting the plain coconut oil on my lips. Feels (and smells) great. I don't use it directly out of the jar. The jar is just too big for easy use. I put it in a Burt's Bees tin (that used to have another ointment in it) for traveling and in a little ceramic bowl that my daughter made at school for home use.

Try it and let me know if you like it too. (Start with a small area just in case you have an allergy to it, but in my highly allergic state, it felt soothing and wonderful on my skin - -hopefully it will for yours too!)