Utilizing coconut oil on your pores and skin would possibly sound fairly interesting: For starters, it’s available in most grocery shops (or maybe already sitting in your pantry). And let’s not neglect how minimalist it’s—a aid should you get simply overwhelmed by advanced components or you’ve got delicate pores and skin and like to maintain it easy. However maintain off earlier than you begin slathering it throughout your face and physique, there’s a catch—nicely, a number of, truly.
Proponents within the skincare world reward coconut oil for its hydrating prowess, as you would possibly assume from its thick, creamy consistency. But it stays a considerably controversial alternative as a result of, as nourishing as it may be, it additionally clogs pores—and may set off an allergic response in some individuals.
That isn’t to say that nobody can profit from its moisturizing magic. However as a result of it’s not for everybody, we requested dermatologists to provide us an in depth breakdown of the whole lot coconut oil can (and may’t) do on your pores and skin—plus, the very best methods to include it into your present routine.
What’s coconut oil, actually?
To get technical, it’s oil derived from urgent both recent or dried coconut “meat” (the fleshy a part of the fruit), Marisa Garshick, MD, New York–based mostly dermatologist and scientific assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medication, tells SELF.1 And it has two most important kinds: virgin coconut oil (created from recent coconut and minimally processed) and refined coconut oil (which is usually extracted from dried coconut meat—referred to as copra—and undergoes further processing, comparable to heating and bleaching, to take away impurities).2 3 4
Dr. Garshick says virgin varieties are usually finest for the pores and skin as a result of they’re usually richer in nutritional vitamins and antioxidants.2 5 One other, um, glowing function to pay attention to: In contrast to different hydrating oils (like jojoba, argan, or castor oil), coconut oil is uniquely composed of “medium-chain” fatty acids that may be extra simply absorbed into your pores and skin barrier, Mona Gohara, MD, an affiliate scientific professor of dermatology on the Yale Faculty of Medication, tells SELF.6 7
What can coconut oil do on your pores and skin?
Let’s begin with the great things:
It’s extremely hydrating.
One of many largest advantages of coconut oil is its distinctive moisturizing skills. “It really works by reducing transepidermal water loss, which means that it stops water from evaporating from the highest layer of pores and skin,” Dr. Gohara explains.7
Due to these medium-chain fatty acids we talked about, coconut oil can assist the protecting barrier on the pores and skin’s floor, generally known as the stratum corneum, which is chargeable for locking in hydration, Dr. Gohara says.7 8 That’s as a result of coconut oil is occlusive, which is a elaborate manner of claiming it kinds a seal on prime of the pores and skin that stops water from escaping, she explains.
That mentioned, please don’t substitute your trusted facial moisturizer with the straight-up coconut oil in your kitchen as a result of it’s additionally comedogenic, which means it may simply clog pores and trigger breakouts. However on your physique, which Dr. Gohara says is mostly much less vulnerable to breakouts than your face, coconut oil can work wonders—particularly on cracked elbows, heels, arms, or legs throughout the chilly winter months.9 Or higher but: “Attempt a physique lotion or cream that has coconut oil in it,” Dr. Gohara suggests, as a result of “these formulations are designed to be much less occlusive and have a smaller focus of pure coconut oil.”7
It may well moisturize your lips too.
In case you’re searching for a flexible and reasonably priced lip balm, coconut oil is your gal. Simply as this family staple can hydrate your physique, it may additionally relieve chapped lips by, once more, making a protecting barrier to forestall moisture loss, Dr. Garshick says.10 One caveat to bear in mind: “Some individuals might develop allergic contact dermatitis [an allergic reaction], so it’s all the time finest to patch check on a small a part of your lip and use with warning,” she provides.
It has anti-inflammatory properties.
A number of small research have discovered that making use of virgin coconut oil topically may help suppress the discharge of inflammatory cytokines (proteins) and stimulate the physique’s wound-healing course of however there isn’t in depth proof to assist this profit.2 11 Nevertheless, sure fatty acids in coconut oil (like lauric acid and capric acid) are recognized to have anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, and anti inflammatory properties—which, Dr. Garshick says, might probably assist fight pores and skin infections and soothe irritation or itchiness.12 13 2 Nonetheless, attributable to a scarcity of complete and long-term analysis, Dr. Gohara advises towards rubbing pure coconut oil onto bothersome cuts or bug bites.
