Coconut oil is the most versatile natural product that everyone needs to have in their homes. I honestly did not hear about coconut oil until a couple of years ago. At the time, I was having terrible issues with my gums. I had already had surgery on my gums twice, because they were receding terribly, and I was only 20! My gums were receding at an impossible speed. It was painful and scary experience. I tried everything to get them back to normal. I switched to an all natural tooth paste, I rubbed probiotics on my gums, I changed my eating habits, but nothing worked. My brother told me to try oil pulling.
Oil pulling is basically swishing around coconut oil in your mouth for a set period of time, to kill bacteria. It seemed crazy to me, but I was desperate. The first time I ever went through the process of oil pulling, I gagged from the taste. After a couple of times, I got used to it. I did it every night for 10 minutes, and I noticed that my gums stopped receding. I also noticed that my teeth were whiter! Coconut oil is miraculous!
Another time when coconut oil saved my life, was when my eczema flared up horribly. I was told by my mother to use coconut oil instead of my eczema fighting lotion that I bought from target. The coconut oil helped my eczema flare up go down a little bit, but it did not go away completely. It did, however, help more than the Up&Up eczema lotion.
Coconut oil has many uses spanning from lotion to teeth whitener. I even found an article from a blogger, on Twitter, that claimed there were 107 ways to use it. This article even claimed that coconut oil could be used as leather polish (http://everydayroots.com/coconut-oil-uses)!
My one word of caution is to research some of the more "out-there" ways to use coconut oil. It is super easy to trust bloggers based on their word, but it is important that you do your own research! Some natural remedies/ trends have not been studied extensively and should not be used until further studies are done. For example: I bought activated charcoal to whiten my teeth because of the advice from a blogger, but the long-term effects of scrubbing activated charcoal on your teeth have not been studied. Luckily coconut oil is, for the most part, harmless and no where near as foreign to a regular consumer as activated charcoal.
The best uses of coconut oil that I found from this article:
- Lotion
- Soothe bug bites
- SPF lip balm
- Shaving cream
- Deodorant (mixed with arrowroot)
- Butter replacement
- Under-eye bag remover
- Soothing your puppy's dry nose
I've read in numerous magazines and seen coconut oil advertised everywhere as the go-to-fix-all product. I've always wondered if it actually does all that people says it can, but have been too skeptical to try it because as you mentioned people have come up with crazy uses for coconut oil. I'm glad it helped you several times though! I think I may just have to try it out for myself.
ReplyDeleteIts interesting how the public goes through crazes with different health products. First everyone had to have garcia cambodia, then chia seeds would cure cancer, then kale would make you 10 years younger, and now coconut oil is a cure-all. The danger is when producers unethically try to pump out these products as quickly and cheaply as possible, and consumers aren't informed. I agree with what you said about trying coconut oil (or whatever) to a point, but not going over the top.
ReplyDeleteYes! I am always nervous about the quality of my products. Plus people are even paid to write fake reviews, so it is even harder now. I mostly trust products sold at Whole Foods and other natural food stores.
DeleteI love coconut oil!! I use it on my skin and on my hair but I also rub it on my cats so that they can digest hairballs easier
ReplyDeleteThank you for this informative blog. I've been wanting to use coconut oil for a while now. Although I don't like the texture of oil or lotion, I think it's worth a try on my hair. Also, the use of coconut oil on pets is very neat. I'll definitely give it a try with my dog!
ReplyDeleteWow! I have receding gums as well and have to get surgery soon so I should probably try this. Coconut oil seems to be all the rage right now but it's great to hear from someone that has actually used it and seen results!
ReplyDeleteI would have never thought to use the oil for receding gums. That is very insightful! Good post!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post! Never thought about how I can use coconut oil for receding gums. I will definitely check out the link that you mentioned to get more information about the oil!
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting to use coconut oil for so long and after reading this blog I am definitely going to buy some. My gums are receding a little bit and I get frustrated because i'm only 21 and this shouldn't be happening!! I use a sensitive toothbrush but i'm still not satisfied. After reading this, I'm going to try oil pulling. Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteI love coconut oil, and I've seen so many blog posts and pinterest links to its benefits. I like to say I used it before it was a big trend, but I don't know if that's true. I've used it as moisturizer on my face and as a treatment on my hair. It worked great for both uses.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of using coconut oil for receding gums, but I use it for so many other things! I have really dry hair, and coconut oil is great for bringing some of that moisture back. It's also a smart packing tool-- instead of bringing hair conditioner, lotion, etc, I just bring some coconut oil and use that! It works for everything!
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