DIY Skin & Beauty Care with Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is often praised for its many health benefits and its versatility in cooking and baking. While these many benefits may have gotten you to commit to always keeping some coconut oil in your pantry, coconut oil has a big place outside of the kitchen as well.
Coconut oil’s healing, antibacterial, and cleansing properties take on an entirely new personality when used topically, making it the ideal multiple-products-in-one item to add to your skincare and personal grooming regimes. Since coconut oil is gentle on the skin and not laden with chemicals and ingredients you have to watch out for (like most of the skin and beauty care products sold today), this is a safe and easy oil for anyone to use and experiment with.
Here are 4 popular ways coconut oil can be used to replace the dozens of pricey, and often ineffective, products sitting in your bathroom.
1. Cleansing with Coconut Oil
Many facial soaps and cleansers on the market are made with harsh chemicals and an overabundance of alcohol that will strip your skin of its natural oils, causing an overproduction of oil that can lead to skin issues such as acne and clogged pores. Coconut oil is the perfect cleanser for any skin type, even oily, as it will gently wash away all dirt, impurities, and even the toughest makeup, but not every last bit of your natural oils. This will leave your skin soft and moisturized but clean, with enough of your own oils left to stop your skin from going into panic mode.
How to use coconut oil as a cleanser: take a small, 1/2 measuring teaspoon amount of coconut oil and emulsify between your fingers and massage gently into skin and wash off with warm water using gentle circular motions until all dirt is washed away. Pat dry. Adjust coconut oil amount used as needed.
2. Waterproof Makeup Remover Using Coconut Oil
Removing waterproof mascara and eyeliner can be one of the most irritating things about the end of your day, and even worse, good waterproof makeup removers are pricey and the knockoffs with reasonable price tags just don’t do the job well. Not only that, but if you take look at the ingredients list, you will find a plethora of ingredients that you cannot pronounce and definitely wouldn’t eat. So why let you skin eat it? Coconut oil, however, will wash off even the most stubborn, clingy, waterproof makeup with ease, as well as moisturize and condition the skin and lashes.
How to use coconut oil to remove makeup: for eye makeup, coat and cover lashes and eyelids with coconut oil and gently massage for a few seconds to loosen makeup, or apply and wipe with a cotton pad. Wash off in warm water and repeat steps for skin.
3. Moisturizing with Coconut Oil
Coconut oil makes a great skin moisturizer on its own, with a blend of other oils, or as a carrier for essential oils. Additionally, this can also be added to lotions and creams that need extra moisturizing properties. For the same reasons that coconut oil makes a great cleanser for all skin types, it also works as a moisturizer for any skin type. The key is to know how much your skin needs and how. Oily skin may need drier carrier oils such as argan or olive, while dry skin will probably drink coconut oil all up.
How to use it to moisturize your skin:
Face: rub a small amount between fingers and pat on to freshly washed skin, adjusting amount used as needed. If you’ve used the coconut oil cleansing method and have plenty of oil left on your skin after washing, you can simply pat dry and skip the additional moisturizing step.
Body: emulsify oil between palms until warm and melted and apply to skin, or melt down and add to your favorite lotions and creams before applying.
4. Shaving with Coconut Oil
Shaving creams, foams, and gels all have an alarmingly long list of ingredients and are full of toxic chemicals that you do not need on your skin. These products may be extremely convenient, but there are healthier alternatives that work just as well and are safe for highly sensitive areas, namely coconut oil. This method is best used with wet shaving after the skin has been run under warm water to soften the skin and hair. Not only will coconut oil give you a smooth, close shave, it will also save you a lot of money on pricey cans of shaving gels that run out so quickly with daily use.
How to use coconut oil for shaving: apply enough oil to coat skin and shave as usual.
Summary
Using coconut oil as a facial cleanser, makeup remover, moisturizer and shaving “cream” are just small samples of all the harmful (and expensive!) beauty care products you can replace with coconut oil. If you’ve been fighting skin issues, have highly sensitive skin, or just need to cut back on the spending, give coconut oil a try and see if the results aren’t worth it for yourself.
By Sarah Shilhavy
Health Impact News
Aromatherapy works on healing many ailments, but the main ailment that it helps you with is emotional health. Emotional health is a huge component to achieving optimal health, and becoming Bio Elite. Aromatherapy is an energetic healing modality that has been used by healers for millenia. Aromatherapy involves the application of essential oils derived from plants to correct various physical and energetic imbalances.
The ancient egyptians used essential oils in their body preparations (think of the wax mounds they wore on their heads) and in their funeral preparations. A formula for prosperity was found written on the wall of a pharaoh’s tomb. It is said that Cleopatra doused her sails in jasmine oil to let the Romans know she was sailing to their empire. It is said that they could smell her arrival miles before her arrival. Some thieves scavenging for valuables during the Bubonic Plague doused themselves in a combination of essential oils to protect themselves from harm.
Aromatherapy is the extraction and use of essential oils from the flowers, fruits, leaves, branches resins roots and seeds of plants. Each plant contains different types of constituents that produce healing. Some are anti-fungal, others antibacterial, antiviral or antimicrobial.
How the heck does aromatherapy effect the body?
Aromatherapy effects the limbic system. When we look more closely at the areas of the brain, the limbic system seems to be central area. The limbic system is a network of structures located beneath the cerebral cortex. This system is important because it controls some behaviors that are essential to the life of all mammals (finding food, self-preservation).
Interestingly, the same structures found in the human limbic system can also be found in the brains of evolutionary ancient animals such as the alligator. In the alligator, the limbic system is heavily involved in smell and plays an important role in defending territory, hunting and eating prey. In humans, the limbic system is more involved in motivation and emotional behaviors.
Aromatherapy Benefits for Emotional Health
The limbic system is the portion of the brain that deals with three key functions: emotions, memories, and arousal (stimulation). This system is composed of several parts, which are found above the brainstem and within the cerebrum. The limbic system connects parts of brain that deal with high and low functions. Below, the major parts of the limbic system are described.
Thalamus
The thalamus is a portion of the brain that is responsible for detecting and relaying information from our senses, such as smell and vision. The thalamus is located within the brainstem, and is part of the pathway of information into the cerebrum, which is the section of the brain that is responsible for thinking and movement.
Hypothalamus
The hypothalamus is a vital portion of the limbic system that is responsible for producing multiple chemical messengers, called hormones. These hormones control water levels in the body, sleep cycles, body temperature, and food intake. The hypothalamus is located beneath the thalamus.
Cingulate Gyrus
The cingulate gyrus serves as a pathway that transmits messages between the the inner and outer portions of the limbic system.
Amygdala and Hippocampus
The amygdala is one of two almond-shaped clusters of nerve cells in the temporal (side) lobe of the cerebrum. Both amygdalae are responsible for preparing the body for emergency situations, such as being ‘startled’, and for storing memories of events for future recognition. Amygdalae assist in the development of memories, particularly as it relates to emotional events and emergencies. The amygdalae are also involved specifically with the development of the fear emotion, and can be the cause of extreme expression of fear, as in the case of panic. Additionally, the amygdalae play a major role in pleasure and sexual arousal, and may vary in size depending on the sexual activity and maturity of the individual.
Now once these are essential oils are smelt. They have the tendency to effect the limbic system, and alter your emotional state.
Problems with Aromatherapy Research…
There are many problems with the research on aromatherapy. The biggest one is that it does not exist. There is a definite lack in the “aroma” side of aromatherapy. Most of the research is spread out and deals with essential oils and direct application. Although aromatherapy and massage are being used together, there is no significant evidence that aromatherapy works by itself. The studies that are accessible are small, individual experiments that are scattered among the list of hundreds of essential oils. Another problem lies in the fact that most research is not intended to justify aromatherapy. It is based on essential oils. Until recently, the studies done on these oils were by the perfume industry and backed by the FDA for safety. The final, and most frustrating, problem is the fact that many studies are ongoing or not ready for publication yet.
In the next few years, an abundance of information will become available concerning the practice of aromatherapy. The interest in alternative medicine has freed up more money for research in this area, and will slant the research towards the “aroma” side of the therapy.
