I am always on the hunt for the “Next Best Thing” when it comes to beauty treatments! Living in Western Colorado where it is dry every month of the year, no matter what season, I am especially curious about ways to keep my hair and skin from drying up and blowing away all together! I have had dry skin all my life, but especially after having a baby. My hair, well obviously the drought climate does not help, but then you throw in the monthly trips to the salon for a couple hours of over processing and then you really realize how important a big drink of anything is to your hair! In the past I use to purchase heavy night creams and thick hair masks. I was never satisfied, and every time my current product ran out or if I even waited for it to run out, I was trying something new and feeding into the promises of having glowing younger looking skin and radiant silky hair for days. I never found anything I really loved or felt that really worked, than I came across the ultimate treatment- COCONUT OIL!
My hair stylist, Alex, who has also been one of my best friends since long before I ever became an oilfield wife, turned me on to Coconut Oil! After my trip to the hair salon last month I was telling her how itchy my head was, how tight my skin was feeling and that overall I just felt dry, was this just a dry Colorado winter? Alex, God love her, has become a bit of granola mama ever since she gave birth to her sweet little baby boy, and she told me she actually started using Coconut Oil for her son’s diaper rash and dry skin. Like any other mother, when you find something that works for your kid, you stock up on it and overnight Alex than was that lady in line at Sam’s with a bulk of Coconut Oil! With such a supply of Coconut Oil, Alex began using it on her own skin and even her hair, and said she was instantly in love!
Coconut oil is the best thing I have found for an at home hair treatment. I have always had coarse and dry hair. I color my hair and then I really put it through the ringer everyday with the blow dryer and flat iron! Once a week, usually weekends, because I am a working mama, I put a few scoops of the coconut oil in my microwave, melt it on high for 30 seconds, and then apply while I am in the shower. I let the mask sit on my hair while in the shower then rinse! Ok, now here is the key, you HAVE TO wash twice with shampoo after this mask. I cannot stress this enough or you will look like you got in a fight with a bottle of vegetable oil and the oil won! After shampooing twice I do not even use conditioner that day. Your hair feels soft and amazing!
Second to a good hair mask, I am a sucker for in shower sugar scrubs. In the past I was in love with the product “Need A Margarita” from the Spa Collection at Bath and Body Works! Like all wonderful things, it was eventually replaced. I had heard of people making their own at home sugar scrubs from Pinterest, so I made my own at home scrub with what else Coconut Oil! Not only is it natural and so much cheaper, but it works amazing! Living in Colorado, you step out of the shower and you are instantly a little prune, your skin dries up so quickly! With the Coconut Oil scrub I feel like I don’t even need lotion out of the shower! The steps are simply, take raw sugar, melted coconut oil, even ad your own favorite scented oils, (I use lavender) mix the three and that is it! I use mason jars for my scrub, and did I mention this little treat is great for gifts too!
My obvious next use for the miracle Coconut oil in my beauty routine is for what else, skin hydration! Again I melt the coconut oil and use it in place of a lotion. During the warmer months in Grand Junction, you have to apply lotion a few times a day, but not with Coconut Oil. Your skin has the glossy, radiant shine all day and you never feel sticky or oily either! Again you can add any fragrance with your coconut oil after you melt it and before applying it. My esthetician said she even uses it on her face, but I have yet to venture to that level, really mostly for fear I will appear to have the acne of a teenage boy, however she did say it is even a natural remedy for lash growth!
The uses for Coconut Oil really do go above and beyond the beauty category. A lot of friends say that they use it for baking. Coconut oil can be used as a substitute for Canola, Vegetable, and Olive oil all together! You can even use it in the place of butter in some recipes! You can use the ingredient even in protein shakes and one friend said she eats it in her oatmeal because of all the health benefits! Like I said before, my friend Alex found that Coconut Oil clears up her son’s diaper rash almost instantly, but our dog groomer said you can even use it on your pets! Again because of the dryness, our lab gets flaky skin. Our vet and dog groomer both agreed that we can feed her a tbsp. of the oil in its solid form or we can melt the oil and massage it into her skin! I am telling you gals the uses go on and on!
After reading the blog on realoilfieldwives.com on Bountiful Baskets http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/I was curious, I joined, and now I am in love! Last week on Bountiful Baskets you could get bulk Coconut Oil for a really great price, which is where I started researching the ways in which I could use oil for much more than staying pretty! Check out my Pinterest Beauty board for more ideas on at home beauty treatments, scrubs, and remedies: http://www.pinterest.com/beckyarnld/.