I ♥ Oil - Part 1

These days you'd have to be pretty much living in a cave to not be aware of all the ferver about OIL.

We've all been reading and hearing about the goodness our bodies reap from cooking with and eating oil - namely olive oil and now coconut oil. All the omega 3 and 6 stuff.

But what about using oil on the OUTSIDE - as in using it on our SKIN.

Yup! It seems to be the new BIG topic.

It is all the rage in the blogging circles I travel in - but perhaps you haven't come across the same info? Yes - no? Well, for all the no's out there - this post is for you!

A BIT OF HISTORY.....

First of all, I was up to speed about the oils - olive, grape, sweet almond, flax and the list continues. It was always very interesting to me and the benefits obvious.

What was missing in my oil education and research was COCONUT OIL. Not to worry, a few years ago I probably wasn't the only one.

In the fall of 2010 my mom came to visit packing a jar of coconut oil in her bag and all the benefits of it in her head. Actually, the main reason she had brought it was to hopefully provide relief for Cassia's reoccurring diaper rash.

It didn't take Derek and I long to realize that this stuff was A VERY GOOD THING.

This is the coconut oil we have in stock right now - we picked it up for a mere $5.99 in the USA. I'm glad that it is organic. We have yet to make the leap over to virgin coconut oil. I haven't had the time to research if virgin oil is worth the extra $$.

Have you? Do you know if it is THAT much better?

It was also around this time - with VERY LIMITED FUNDS that I was struggling to buy facial moisturizer. Not only are they expensive but I was starting to be aware of all the chemicals that are in them - yuk. I had started learning about this issue because I was concerned about the products we were using on baby Cassia.  (Johnson & Johnson being one of the worst offenders by the way!)

So I suppose it was only a matter of time until I did what I did! I reached in - took some coconut oil and rubbed it on my face. There - moisturized. I did it the next day, and the next and now - 1 1/2 years later it is still going strong. I was going to say that it is the only thing I use on my face but that isn't true - I use several other oils as well but I'll keep that for my upcoming posts on oil.

Since the large bottle of coconut oil stays in the kitchen I have a little dish for my skin care. I have another with a few drops of Rosewood essential oil for my hair.

Yes, I also use coconut in my hair! Just a little will do! But since my hair is on the dry side it can handle it. I run a bit through when it is damp which makes combing out very easy.

Here is a really good post by Jillee at One Good Thing  - about using coconut oil as the base for homemade toothpaste (which I think I'll try soon) with a list of 38 other uses for it - a VERY good list.

Put it on popcorn????? - MAN! why hadn't I thought of that - here I've been going with olive oil! Hmmmmm! At the end of her list Jillee also gives a list of resources.

I titled this post I ♥ Oil - Part 1, because I really LOVE it all and have a WHOLE LOT to say about the topic of oil, especially it's use in homemade beauty products, and other products like toothpaste and deodorant. 

Now if I could just find some time to make them all ........

I think Coconut Oil should have it's own national holiday - don't you?!

LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

Teresa

Today's Interesting Link: If you are new to the greatness of coconut oil head over to read all about it at the Coconut Research Center - lots of great articles and information. It had an extensive and impressive list of it's use in modern medicine. Thanks to my brother in law for forwarding that one to me! and now to you!