Coconut Oil and Your Skin

I'm about to write another review of Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil, and while my review is of the oil as a cooking ingredient, I also want to share my experience with it as a skin treatment. 

I love virgin coconut oil for the skin. It's completely non-toxic, of course... compare that to most of the moisturizers you see on the shelf and it's a sure winner (see the Skin Deep cosmetic safety database for more info on your current moisturizer!). It's really nice rubbed into the skin for moisture, and beyond moisturizing, it is also anti-bacterial. My daughter is constantly kissing or otherwise putting her mouth on me, so using a skin care product that is perfectly safe for her to consume is important to me).

Let's have a little disclosure here: I'm no doctor, dermatologist or expert of any kind, and Tropical Traditions makes no health claims nor endorses use of this product as a medical treatment.

However, I have found that it has been helpful in treating a minor case of Tinea Versicolor that I got after pregnancy (where the skin becomes discoloured in patches). A little rubbed on the area every day has very noticeably reduced the problem in just a week of use. 

I can't use any medical treatments for it as I am nursing, so my dermatologist recommended trying out natural or home remedies and this has worked well, so far, for me. I have also seen reports of people using it to treat minor skin blemishes, eczema, and even scrapes. You can even use it as a hair oil. Your mileage may vary (but isn't it worth a try?!).

Here's the one I've been using, from Tropical Traditions.