I have a love/hate relationship with coconut oil. This past summer I began having a HORRIFIC outbreak. For the past 6+ years I have had acne. I am turning 35 this April. Never had acne when I was younger. But this past summer my face EXPLODED. I am guessing a hormonal change. I kept hearing about CO so I gave it a go. My face began clearing within a few days! I became a convert.
But after a short while, I began to notice that my skin was extremely dry. To the point of my hands/face/body began to look like an alligator. Surely I just needed more oil. DH was suffering from crusty elbows so I told him to try the CO. He began to notice that it was great...for about the first 20 mins or so. Then it was as though the CO disappeared, and what was left was worse than before. We both stopped using it.
My acne began again, and I used several products to combat it. But nothing worked. I have very sensitive skin, apparently. New acne every time I use a new product. Months later, I decided to give CO another try. and voila! acne began clearing again. I was so happy.The next couple of weeks were fantastic! My skin was SO smooth and soft. The acne cleared, not all of it but about 70% anyway. But then it started looking like an alligator again. Weird thing is that, although my skin is all dry and wrinkly, the acne is at-bay and my face is still smooth as a baby's butt! I am so torn. The only thing that I can think is that I was using a very hot wash cloth when I noticed the better results, but then I got lax and stopped that step.
I have read that water is ESSENTIAL in the CO working. So perhaps I will begin using the warm wet rag method again. Also, maybe applying it immediately after the shower to my body.
I have also recently read (today) about using it for oil pulling and as a hair conditioner (as I sit with it slathered on my head). I did the oil pulling as well and my mouth feels AMAZING! I was not fond of it during the process but the way that my mouth feels now just might have converted me to using it as a pre-soak for brushing. We shall see what the results are for both teeth and hair soon.
I use the CO as a makeup remover. It is amazing. Works better than anything else on the market. The problem with it is that it makes my eyes weird. I think that perhaps it is getting on my eyelashes and seeping down to my eyeballs or something. So I tend to not use it as an eye makeup remover. But it does this even when I do not put it on my eyes. So I think my eyelashes must be touching my skin somehow and getting it on them.
The method that I am going to try is this...I am going to put some on in the evenings to remove my makeup (rub around my face/eyes with my hands). Then I am going to lay a warm wet rag over my face and let it set for a minute or two (just until the rag cools, basically). Once I see the results of that method (probably about a week or so), I might add in my toner 1/day and put on some moisturizer, if needed. Everyone keeps talking about how moisturizing the CO is, but all I see is DRYNESS. SEVERE DRYNESS. My hands look like a 70 yr old ladies, and my face is too! I have to figure something out.
BTW, I am using LouAna brand CO. It is pretty cheap. It is food grade, has essentially no coconut odor or taste (except when eaten has a sense of 'nut' to it, which I do not particular like). It does not say virgin, organic or cold-pressed on it. It is white solid until it melts at about 76 degrees or so. This is what I have been using on my face/body and now as of today, hair.
I also have another jar that I just opened to do the oil pulling and to use for cooking. It is from Trader Joe's. It specifically says organic and virgin, but not cold-pressed. I do not remember the price, but it is slightly more expensive than the LouAna brand.
I hope I can figure this stuff out, because this is the ONLY thing that has not caused me sever breakouts!