During the harsh winter months, one of the biggest favors you can do for your skin is to put coconut oil on it. We are continuing to see wonderful testimonies from people who are applying coconut oil to dried and cracked hands, feet, and lips. So let's take a look at this wonderful skin moisturizer that has moisturized the skin of Filipinos for thousands of years now. Filipinos are well-known for their youthful appearance and soft, wrinkle-free skin, even though they live in a climate that exposes them to the sun's rays year round. Skin cancer is basically unknown in the Philippines, even with all of their exposure to the tropical sun. Since coconut oil is their main dietary oil, and is also the main ingredient in their skin care products, one must take a closer look at how Virgin Coconut Oil provides skin health.

I wanted to share my experience with virgin coconut oil. I have been using the oil for about two weeks. My skin looks great, no more dryness-I use to have very dry skin. My hair looks great, soft and shiny, no more frizz. And my scalp is no longer dry. Also, my eyelashes have grown longer and thicker! This is a plus I did not expect. I now make an effort to apply a bit of oil with a clean mascara brush each morning/night. Lizmarie (Coconut Diet Forums)

Coconut oil's ability to nourish and heal the skin has been known in the tropics for hundreds of years. Even when the anti-saturated fat campaign waged in the US convinced many even in coconut oil producing countries to switch to polyunsaturated oils, Filipinos and others never stopped using coconut oil on their skin because they knew about its wonderful moisturizing and healing powers for generations. As a saturated fat consisting primarily of medium chain fatty acids (MCTs), it is not easily oxidized and does not cause harmful free radical damage like polyunsaturated vegetable oils. Most commercial skin care products in the US today are made from polyunsaturated oils which oxidize and turn rancid very quickly causing free radical damage in the skin. There is good evidence that this is not only true for external applications, but also holds true for the oils one consumes. One of the main reasons that we experience so many skin problems in the US today is a switch in our dietary oil. Our forefathers consumed primarily saturated fats, but most people today consume polyunsaturated fats and trans fatty acids.

In addition to ingesting the coconut oil, I just have to tell you about another exciting way that coconut oil has helped me! I use it on my face and I can't believe how much it has helped. I used to spend hundreds of dollars on face creams. I won't waste my money on those empty promises again. I look ten years younger! Honestly! My pores are smaller, and my skin tone is much more even. I used to have breakouts once in awhile. Not any more thanks to coconut oil. Next March I will be 40 years old and with the help of coconut oil I will not only reach my weight loss/health goal, my face will look younger too! Kelly - Lander, WY

Hope for Skin Problems

Virgin Coconut Oil has been reported to help many skin problems as well. Depending on what is causing the skin problem, the coconut oil seems to work in a variety of ways. For example, we have had positive reports from people who suffer from yeast infections in the skin, and there is solid research that shows the MCTs in coconut oil do kill yeast infections (see our article on Candida.)

Most of the research on coconut oil's anti-fungal, ant-bacterial, and anti-viral effects have been done on the monoglycerides of MCTs produced inside our bodies when we eat the oil. However, the anecdotal evidence we were seeing from our clients suggested the MCTs had similar effects when applied topically on the skin.

While not everyone who has tried Virgin Coconut Oil for skin problems has reported success, it is by far the one area where we continue to see the most results. The range of skin problems that have been reported to us as being helped by Virgin Coconut Oil is almost limitless. Here are a few samples:

Hello! A friend introduced us to Tropical Traditions about six months ago, and I have since been telling everyone I know about it. We have been using the oil in more ways than I had imagined we would! I use it as a facial moisturizer, and I prefer it to the expensive lotion that I have used for years. Several people have even commented on my skin! Probably the most dramatic result we have gotten with the coconut oil is with my 20 month old son. He has had eczema on his legs and arms for a long time, and nothing seemed to help it. I even tried costly lotion just for that purpose and it seemed to make the dry, scaly patches worse! Many people noticed it, and I just didn't know what to do. Well, I began putting the coconut oil on his skin nightly and there has been HUGE improvement!! The big, rough, red patches are gone and there is just the tiniest hint of a rough feeling in places, and only when I slack off and don't use it for a while. We do eat the coconut oil, by the way, and have enjoyed it very much (especially the almond bark recipe on your site-yum) but I wanted you to know how much it had helped us in ways that people may not realize it would. THANK YOU, Louise - South Carolina

I was fortunate to have found the miracle coconut oil. For years I suffered with a skin condition called keratosis polaris (bumpy, itchy skin). I tried many, many treatments and spent hundreds of dollars on creams and cleansers. Nothing worked, until Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil. I have been using the oil for cooking and as a body cream. My skin condition is 100% improved. The products are very inexpensive compared to the cost of most of the useless products I tried in the past. Thank you for this miracle product! Janet - Elizabeth, NJ

Last year I stared noticing embarrassing little red scaly itchy patches of skin on my hands. I tried just about every lotion for dry and sensitive skin on the Wal-Mart shelf, and got very few results. I made an appointment with my doctor and she diagnosed me with psoriasis. She sent me to the pharmacy with a prescription for a psoriasis cream and a lotion and instructed me to use them everyday. The lotion and cream stung so bad, it was worse then the itchy skin I had been dealing with for months. By this time I had big patches on my hands, few on my neck, and on my eyelids. I was getting desperate because people were starting to notice more and more my red flaky skin. While doing some research for a natural solution on line I stumbled across the Tropical Traditions website, and read about all the health benefits of cold pressed coconut oil. I don't see anything specific about helping to alleviate the dry skin of psoriasis, but it did say it was an excellent skin moisturizer so I thought I would give it a try. The day I got it I started adding a little to just about everything I ate. I ended up incorporating about 2-3 Tablespoons a day into my food, and using it as a moisturizer on my psoriasis patches as well as the rest of my body. In no time at all my psoriasis was gone. As an added bonus my splotchy complexion started evening out, my skin has never been softer, and my body temperature rose to the level where I was no longer cold all the time. I am very grateful I found this perfect oil, it has made a huge difference in the way my skin looks and feels. I am now a lifetime customer of Tropical Traditions Cold Pressed Coconut Oil. Ashley - La Cygne, KS

I have been using the coconut oil for 2 weeks, 3 times a day on my elbows and knee since they have psoriasis. It's unbelievable how this has helped my skin and I'm almost there to having normal elbows again!! I have suffered with the "heartbreak of psoriasis" for 40 yrs. and tried numerous products. Of course, nothing helped and it was not natural products, there were always side-effects. It started in high school and I am in my 50's now. Wow!! I've been a Christian for many years and at church today told a friend and she is telling her employer, a dermatologist. Believe me, I will be telling everybody and showing them the proof. What an answer to prayer!!!!!! I'm just overwhelmed!! Ruth - Mesa, AZ

Dear Tropical Traditions, I love your Virgin Coconut Oil! I started using it on my skin and in my diet after reading about its healing powers. I am a licensed esthetician and have been working with many clients with rosacea. Nothing was working. A few of my clients even tried prescription medication and expensive laser treatments. As an skin care specialist, I am used to using multiple products on my skin and on my clients, yet I transitioned to only using a mild cleanser and virgin coconut oil on my self. I decided to experiment on my clients. During a skin care treatment on my client with tenacious rosacea, I applied coconut oil and let it absorb for about 15 minutes. I could see results instantly. My client was very pleased and has continued to see more improvement! I look forward to receiving your product so I can have it available to my clients to use everyday. Who would of thought it could be that simple? Leslie Licensed Esthetician

Yes, coconut oil is great for getting rid of both dry skin and pimples. I have had combination skin for years; but almost immediately, I saw my face free from pimples and free from dry areas. In fact, I had a flaky, itchy patch of skin just below my eyebrow that disappeared and has not returned, since regularly using coconut oil on my face -- which has been just over a month now. I put in on before bed, without first washing my face; then I wash it off in the morning. From what I understand, the medium chain triglycerides break down into the useful antimicrobial free fatty acids because of the affects of bacteria on the skin. So I decided to start using the oil on my unwashed face instead of a newly cleansed face, which would have less bacteria and therefore (I assume) a slower breakdown of the oil into fatty acids. My skin looks great, smooth and healthy. And it's definitely softer than it used to be, too. Melinda

My son really did not want to use it, but his Benzemyacin was really not working very well...and the retin A just brutally destroyed his skin (painfully red and dry and cracked) so he used his neutrogena face wash and then applied the oil, it takes a little while to soak in, but by the next morning his red skin from the retin A was gone, his face was white again...He uses more at night when no one sees him, and less in the morning before he goes to school...when he gets home from school, he would dab a little just on the spots that are worse...I have used it, and I was afraid at first cause the thought of oil on your face is the opposite of what we are taught about getting rid of pimples. But I just tried it on a few blemishes, and they were gone the next day...it was amazing. I now use it all over my face! My son's acne is under control now, he has some problem areas, but they are slowly getting better. Robin (Coconut Diet Forums)

A Healthy Head!

In India, a whole coconut oil industry has survived in recent years among the anti-saturated fat/coconut oil propaganda almost entirely for one application: the conditioning of hair. This is the number one reason why people in India buy coconut oil today, to condition and nurture their hair.

In the short time I have internally consumed and topically applied the Virgin Coconut Oil, I as well as others, have noticed a significant difference in my skin tone, as well as how shinny my hair has become. Recently my husband asked me what I had done differently to my hair because it was so shinny! The skin on my entire body has become softer and more subtle. I know this is a result of the Virgin Coconut Oil because I haven't been using any body lotion. I couldn't be more thrilled! C. Morgan - South Bend, IN

Studies in India have been done on how effective various oils are on treating damaged hair. One study compared mineral oil, sunflower oil, and coconut oil because these were the three most commonly used oils in hair treatment products used in India. The aim of this study was to cover different treatments, and the effect of these treatments on various hair types using these three oils, and the number of experiments to be conducted was a very high number and a technique termed as the "Taguchi Design of Experimentation" was used. Their results:

The findings clearly indicate the strong impact that coconut oil application has to hair as compared to application of both sunflower and mineral oils. Among three oils, coconut oil was the only oil found to reduce the protein loss remarkably for both undamaged and damaged hair when used as a pre-wash and post-wash grooming product. Both sunflower and mineral oils do not help at all in reducing the protein loss from hair. This difference in results could arise from the composition of each of these oils. Coconut oil, being a triglyceride of lauric acid (principal fatty acid), has a high affinity for hair proteins and, because of its low molecular weight and straight linear chain, is able to penetrate inside the hair shaft. Mineral oil, being a hydrocarbon, has no affinity for proteins and therefore is not able to penetrate and yield better results. In the case of sunflower oil, although it is a triglyceride of linoleic acid, because of its bulky structure due to the presence of double bonds, it does not penetrate the fiber, consequently resulting in no favorable impact on protein loss.1

Many have also reported wonderful results from dry scalp conditions.

I have three children, 4, 2, and 3 months and they ALL get it on their skin. Along with our skin, we use it for our hair and scalp. My youngest son had very dry scalp (cradle cap) and the coconut oil healed it in two days. It was wonderful! Amy Falls Church, VA

My mom had been suffering for the past 4 months with a very red, dry, peeling scalp. It moved to her neck and hands....the pain was so bad she would sometimes cry. She tried using every dandruff/dry scalp shampoo on the market and would put various substances on her scalp nightly in the hopes of hydrating it. She would even leave these items on her head for days at a time. She tried crisco, baby oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, and every dry skin lotion out there but nothing helped...it just got worse. The doctors did not know what it was and were trying to get her to take medicine orally and to experiment with different cremes consisting of steroids. I just happened to be reading up on the coconut oil and suggested that she try it before the using the items that the doctors were tying to give her. After ordering your product, I gave some to her. She messaged the coconut oil into her scalp and left it on overnight. When she woke up the next morning, 95% of the dry skin was gone and almost all of the redness. When my mom told the doctor what had helped, he didn't believe her as her scalp, hands, and forehead were so bad. It has been over a month now, and you can hardly tell she ever had any skin problems. Praise God! Michelle - Tucson, AZ

I not surprised, but I had to respond because it has been two days since I used the Virgin Coconut oil, and I am completely astounded. I applied it straight on my scalp and the results are unbelievable. I have tried everything from sulfer 8 to prescription medicine such as grisofluvin. I had this problem for almost a year. I even had to cut my locks off my head which was so hard to do. This product is unreal. Its has only been two days and I have no more dandruff. I use to wake up with dandruff. I hope this isn't some kind of gimmick, because I am so impressed. I went to the doctors on Thursday of this week. He told me to us a shampoo called Ioul T. I went to Rite Aid to see if they had it but they were out. I came home read my Kevin Trudue book and it referred me to your web site. I researched the product and read the testimonies and I am just so happy that my scalp infection is almost gone within two days. I wish I had a before and after shot because I would send you a picture. Thank you so much for this product, and believe me I am going to tell as many people as I can about this amazing product. Paris - Middle River , MD

In recent years, coconut oil has been popularly used for natural hair treatment with African hair types. One of the most popular hair treatments referred to as a "natural relaxer" gained widespread popularity on Youtube in 2008. This treatment utilizes Virgin Coconut Oil, Coconut Cream Concentrate, and plain yogurt. Coconut Cream Concentrate is ground up whole dried coconut in a concentrated form. It is high in fat and the protein from the coconut fiber. Here is the main video that started the popularity of this treatment:

In this video, a lady from England shows how to detangle dry hair as a pre-wash: