green is universal

Coconut Oil - One Product Nirvana

Posted at 11:30 AM on December 07, 2007 comments (0)

By Jen Boulden, IdealBite.com

There are two types of people: those who love a big beauty ritual and bathrooms full of products, and those who worship getting ready in 20 minutes or less and prefer an austere vanity cabinet. I fall into the second category. I can barely remember to wash my face or remove my summer toenail polish, let alone follow some multi-step beauty routine. And once I discovered that "parabens" are in most of the beauty products our skin drinks up, my vanity cabinet got even more austere. Then along came coconut oil; I went cuckoo. Now when I get out of the shower, I put it all over my body, and on the tips of my hair for frizz control and conditioning. Warm it in your hands and lather it on, and it absorbs almost instantly. Plus, I have eliminated the following products from my regime (and saved the bottles from ending up in the landfill), because coconut oil is oh-so-very multifunctional and dreamy:

- Body and face moisturizer - yes, I put oil on my face, but I have dry skin.
- Body firmer - every product seems to claim that it firms, so I just threw this in to motivate you to try it.
- Nail and cuticle moisturizer - applying coconut oil to the rest of your body means it's automatically gonna make it onto your nails. See the beauty in the simplicity here yet?
- Fragrance/perfume - its light scent is reminiscent of a mai tai.
- Hair conditioner and anti-frizz controller - save water by getting out of shower sans conditioner and applying oil to the driest parts of your hair.
- Cooking oil - eat some, or toss into a smoothie to get your daily dose of lauric acid, an amino acid that helps you process fat. Yes, a fat that helps you shed other fat. Nirvana.

Look for coconut oil that's fresh, virgin, non-GMO, and unrefined at your local health food store... I'm off to dream of a Caribbean vacation and pack extremely lightly.

Jen Boulden
Co-Founder, Ideal Bite