Why Avoid Storebought Face Moisturizers?
Most storebought face moisturizers contain ingredients I'd rather not apply to my skin. Chemicals in contact with skin can be absorbed into our bodies. According to the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep website, storebought moisturizers such as L'Oreal and Olay contain ingredients that can potentially cause cancer, endocrine disruption, and reproductive toxicity.
What About "Organic" Face Moisturizers?
"Organic" face moisturizers generally contain better ingredients, but they tend to be very expensive. And I have found them to be totally unnecessary, since my One Ingredient Face Moisturizer works wonderfully. If you eat real foods, this is probably something you already have on the shelf!One Ingredient Face Moisturizer - Unrefined Coconut Oil!
I've been using unrefined coconut oil as a face moisturizer for nearly two years. It smells great and works wonderfully. When applied sparingly, it is readily absorbed by the skin, and will therefore not lead to an oily appearance. Unrefined coconut oil is also very healthy for the skin. It contains lauric acid, which is antimicrobial and antiviral, so it is great for acne-prone skin.How to Use Coconut Oil as a Facial Moisturizer
The method I use for applying unrefined coconut oil as a facial moisturizer is as follows:- First, I wash my face with mild soap and very warm water. The warmth helps my pores to open up, and makes the coconut oil absorb better once applied.
- Then I lightly blot my face dry with a towel, leaving it still damp.
- Right away, I scoop a small amount of coconut oil onto my hands. I rub this into my hands (front and back of hands) and then use the very small amount left on my palms to apply coconut oil to my whole face and neck. NOTE: if you don't apply the coconut oil right away after washing your face, it will not be absorbed as readily so you may end up with an oily face.
It Works Great All Over the Body Too!
I also like to use unrefined coconut oil as a moisturizer all over my body. The same rules apply: washing first with very warm water, lightly blotting the skin dry so that it is still a bit damp, and then applying the coconut oil right away. I find it works best to keep the coconut oil in the shower, so I can apply it before I even step out of the shower. Goosebumps definitely seem to keep the oil from absorbing, so I apply it while I am still toasty warm from the shower.What do you use as a face moisturizer?
This post is part of Fat Tuesday!
30 comments:
Coconut oil works great for me too. In the summer it melts to liquid, which is fine at home but difficult to travel with.
A couple of years ago my sister convinced me to try washing my face with coconut oil. I thought she was nuts! I had had very oily skin my whole life. It was disgusting! I hated the idea of putting oil on my face but for some reason I tried it. I didn't wash with any soap at all but just rubbed the oil into my skin and then put a very hot wash cloth over my face for a minute then wiped it off. I repeated one more time and that's it. Guess what? No more oily skin!!! Unbelievable!!! I will never use soap again! I do this at night and in the morning I just rinse with hot water in the shower and afterwards I put a teeny tiny dot of the oil in my cheeks and my skin looks fabulous. I get compliments on my skin now. So that's what works for me!
Wow, thanks for sharing this tip Virginia. I'm going to try it out!
I do that as well, using a mix of caster and grapeseed oil and then using coconut oil or jojoba oil for my moisturizer. I had really oily skin as well and now my skin is so much better!
I've been doing this for just a couple of months now too and my face is loving it. My hands though, that's another story. They must be super dry because even though I put the oil on when they're wet they just feel greasy initially. And overall my hands are not getting moister but are staying dry except for the short time after I just put the oil on...if that makes sense. If anyone has ideas for me to try I'm open to trying something.
Coconut oil is not sufficient for my hands either. Instead, I use hard lotion for my hands. It is more of a heavy-duty moisturizer, and works great for my hands. I also use it as a lip balm. The recipe is in this post:
http://nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com/2011/09/nourishing-alternatives-to-lotion.html
A year or two ago I started using the oil cleansing method with a blend of castor oil and olive oil. It's been great for my skin! Which reminds me I still have not blogged about another 1 ingredient "wash" I try to use on my face once a week...
-Soli
Love this post. Was just wondering how to best apply coconut oil as a moisturizer. Thanks!
I use shea butter for my hands, heels, knees and elbows. Love it! As a mom of young ones, I end up washing my hands so much for various things that they used to get down right crusty, yuck!
Yes! The hard lotion I make is a combination of coconut oil, shea butter, and beeswax. I like that the beeswax makes it stay on a better, even through light washing.
My face loves coconut oil as a moisturizer in the summer, but unfortunately it clogs my pores in the winter. So, I switched to the oil cleansing method with olive oil in the winter - it's a one ingredient face wash & moisturizer that works beautifully! It's amazing how simple things can be, when we've been trained by ads that we need a million different products.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Grapeseed oil for my entire body! Add in a bit of essential oil and waaaa laaaa a great moisturizer. Coconut oil dried our skin out. I read it can do that. AND it made me break out (acne). We love coconut oil to eat though! :)
I am pregnant with our 5th child and have recently developed rosecea on my cheeks. I heard that tea tree oil helps, but it worsened my redness and bumps. after reading your post, I am going to give coconut oil a shot, but wondered if anyone else has rosecea and knows of a miracle cure?
Amazing how hormones can affect the skin. I, too, had rosacea for years, starting a long time ago (in the late 1990's). At the time, I still went to conventional doctors, and they gave me a prescription cream to use. I used it some, but the rosacea never quite cleared up all the way. Then, in 2005 when I learned about the downsides to pharmaceutical drugs, I stopped taking the Pill. Low and behold, the rosacea disappeared altogether on it's own. Apparently mine was caused by the Pill, but no doctor ever said anything about that as a possible cause.
So my guess is that yours is being caused by the pregnancy hormones somehow... Applying something to the skin may help, but I would guess it won't totally be "cured" until the hormones go back to normal.
I came across this through a quick search, and maybe it will be helpful to you:
http://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?t=3086
I wash by exfoliating with warm water and an agave fiber facial pad or a washcloth and then dab on a little coconut oil. It's been such a surprise, and so great, to not need products to cleanse my face. My skin is better off than ever. I really only need to moisturize now and then but I like to feed my skin with coconut oil anyway!
Hemp hand moisturiser/protector is the best for your hands! It has some beeswax in it as well so it puts a protective coating on your hands so as when you wash them they dont dry out all over again! Its definitley the best thing that ive ever used! You can get it from The Body Shop!! Its like 26 bucks or something for a tube!! :)
Rosacea can also be triggered by the sun or tanning beds. The sun and tanning beds can also trigger the virus that causes warts.
Do any of you have a problem with that rancid smell? I have tried (and loved) using pure (actually, homemade) coconut oil on my face, but after a few days, my sheets start smelling rancid, and there is NO way to wash out that smell once it's in there!
Wow, I have never noticed any rancid smell whatsoever! And my nose is very sensitive to smells.... Does the coconut oil you are using smell rancid at all? Mine has a lovely, light scent.
After reading all the blogs and articles about the bad side effects of the many chemicals in commercial products, I stopped using my Olay face wash and my Olay moisturizer this week. I'm on day two with coconut oil. I think I might have overdone it because just below and to the sides of my nose got pretty dry today. I was looking to see if this happened to others and I see that it has. So, I'll wait a day or two before I reapply. I went from using my cleanser to a homemade natural lavender soap that a friend of mine makes. Smells amazing and does not make my face red after I wash. Weird, but I always figured the redness was normal! My Olay moisturizer stung my pores a little when I applied it and silly me, I figured that just meant it was working. Whatever! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the coconut oil works out for me. I was SHOCKED at how much dirt came off my pores after I had already washed my face the first time. I apply a tiny bit of coconut oil using cotton balls. You can really see its cleansing effects. Excited about this new change!
Hi - do you have any problems with staining - especially clothes if it is used as an all-body moisturizer?
Nope. I've never noticed any staining at all on my clothes from using it as a body moisturizer (which I've been doing for over a year now). I did have that problem when I used coconut oil-based underarm deodorants, though.
ohhh, I love these ideas - thanks so much for sharing!
Skin Repair Lotion
Nothing the dermatologist prescribed or had me use helped my rosacea... The only thing that made a difference was something that happened by accident....I had my thyroid checked and it turned out I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Once I became hypothyroid and on levothyroxine my rosacea got 90% better. Now, is it because Hashimoto's is considered an autoimmune problem and perhaps rosacea is as well, or was it just my thyroid hormones causing the problem?
Thank you for the info. It sounds pretty user friendly. I guess I’ll pick one up for fun. thank u
Facial Cleanser and Moisturizer
I put coconut oil on my hands at night, put gloves (to avoid staining your bedlinen) and go to sleep. It helps a lot. :)
I apply coconut oil on my dry legs and put pajama, then go to bed. No staining my clothes, no stained bedlinen either. :)
I suggest you make sure your omega 3 supplementation is optimal. EPA:DHA 1500mg/day.
I tried using coconut oil as a facial moisturizer but it caused my face to break out. I read somewhere that it is not Noncomedogenic and can clog pores easily. So it probably depends on your skin type if it will work for you or not. I love it as a body moisturizer after I shower though, just not on my face.
I have tried the Coconut oil as a facial cleanser as it removes make up especially waterproof makeup very easily but find it very necessary to wipe every bit off. If I use it as a moisturizer for my face I tend to break out? Therefore I have had to switch to non-comodogenic oils and butters to moisturize my face.
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