How to Properly use Coconut Oil in your Everyday Life

Coconut oil has been labelled as the latest miraculous product, advertised from the self-proclaimed ‘health’ gurus who swear it will do wonders to your skin by keeping it perfectly moisturised. Not only does coconut oil supposedly help with your skin care, but it also helps with digestion, inflammation, does your taxes for you and is incredibly helpful when contacting other alien forms that are gullible enough to believe coconut oil has any (magical) powers whatsoever, except for the power to get you fat and unhealthy. So, if you are prone to believe in magical rainbows, unicorns that whisper the secrets of the universe and treating cancer by splashing coconut oil all over yourself, a word of advice would be to take all of this information with a grain of salt, if not a ladle of salt, since none of it is evidence-based nor backed up by any proof. Furthermore, be wary of advices given out by people whose only authority to receive a title, particularly in the health-care sector, is themselves.

 

Alternatively, remember that the only limit to the beneficial effects of coconut oil is only your imagination: the further you can dream, the more effects it has!
Gurus love to boast how coconut oil is a great skin product, so hop on to the latest craze and support the ever so expanding coconut oil industry by using it for literally everything you can dream of, be it as a fancy moisturiser for your skin, a healthy conditioner for your hair, a face mask, or even a shaving cream. Pretend it can soothe your wrinkles or cellulite away by generously applying a bit of the coconut oil all over the area in question. If you prefer to have that manly, musky smell of a baby, why not use it as an aftershave as well?! Put some on your lips when dealing with chapped lips: it tastes sweet and it is presumed to help with your dry lips. If you feel confident enough, give your eyelashes a little boost by applying some coconut oil to get that mysterious ‘butterfly’ effect.

Give your partner a relaxing coconut oil massage and, on a very serious note, should you be prone to experimenting, remember never to use coconut oil with latex condoms, since the oil will easily dissolve the condom; so only use water based condoms when using latex condoms!

Also, should you ever decide to use coconut oil instead of a sunscreen, do yourself a favour and don’t do it. Sunscreens have a sun protection factor (SPF) and based on your skin type, you can multiply that factor by the minutes it takes your skin to start turning red when it is directly exposed to the sun: so if it normally gets red after 5 minutes, with SPF 15 you will be protected up to 75 minutes. Coconut oil, on the other hand, has no sun protection factor and therefore should not be confused for a sunscreen.

Be cautious when using coconut oil as a food supplement: it is an oil that has 90% of saturated fat, so practice the subtle art of moderation and use only small amounts of oil as dressing in your salad.

Finally, treat the coconut oil as what it is: an oil. If you want to get proper sun protection, use a sunscreen with the appropriate sun protection factor. If you want to get yourself well roasted as a turkey, generously apply the coconut oil. And should you ever encounter some self-proclaimed gurus convincing you to give up your medications for the miraculous properties of the coconut oil, just distract them with a peace offering in the form of a glass of coconut oil and run as far away from them while they are too busy drinking and making up new miraculous properties of the oil, since they are seriously misinformed and do not care about your health at all. Always consult your physician about the treatment plan for your medical condition or disease, and consult your local butcher about the type of coconut oil you can use to prepare your meat.