I decided I would kick off my first post of 2014 with a slightly nutritional post for those of you who are trying to be a bit healthier this year. If you’re like me and already broke your healthy New Year’s resolutions (mine were less Mexican food and chocolate), stay tuned. In case you’re one of those people who are sick of hearing about the latest nutritional fad and stopped reading after you saw the title, I need to provide a little disclaimer for you. I am typically pretty skeptical of the latest nutritional trends (juicing, for example) so when people tell me about new miracle foods that I should buy, I do my research because let’s be honest, who can you really trust these days? Some of the time, even our best friend Google can reveal itself as a deceitful foe.

Over the past year or so, I have seen countless articles and blogs about how amazing and healthy coconut oil is. It seems coconuts are currently having a moment of fame with fads like coconut water and coconut milk. But coconut oil? How many things can come from a coconut anyways? I hate coconut water, but love Almond Joys (that counts, right?) so I was pretty skeptical about this newcomer. 

Although it’s obvious coconut oil certainly has healthy benefits in the kitchen, it is also making quite the breakthrough in the beauty world. Beauty bloggers and YouTube gurus alike seem to think this is some kind of holy grail product for hair, skin and nail moisturization. A do it all product? That’s something I’ve got to try. 

I put off the purchase of coconut oil for a while because of the steep price, but luckily a couple of weeks ago I ran into a good-sized jar for $9.99 at HEB. Although it’s still a bit expensive for what I would like to spend on one product at the grocery store, the jar actually comes with a good amount of oil that with daily use, I predict could last me anywhere from 6 months to a year.

So, I finally put it to the test. What I initially noticed about the oil is that it’s thick and requires the help of a spoon to get it out, so it’s not what you would think of as your usual oil. It’s creamy and rich and smells amazing – literally like you just opened up a fresh coconut. As someone who loves the smell of coconut, this made it pretty easy to use as a beauty product.

First, I tried it as a sort of hair mask and put it on the ends of my hair overnight (I always avoid putting oils on the roots of my hair because I tend to be prone to oily skin) and I woke up with my ends feeling super soft after my morning shower. Check.

Then I tried it as a face mask. I didn’t quite get on with it as an overnight face mask because I do have combination/oily skin and I don’t usually need that much moisture added to my face. However, it was great for a quick 10-15 minute mask and I think it would be a particularly good overnight mask for people suffering from dry, flaky skin this winter.

Now for my favorite part of my beauty routine: nails. I suffer from extremely dry skin around my nails and cuticles and nothing really seems to fix it. However, a dab of coconut oil rubbed into my skin and nails worked wonders. When I woke up in the morning, my nails felt moisturized and soft.

I have yet to try cooking with the coconut oil because for some reason the thought of sautéeing my vegetables with a coconut flavor seems extremely off-putting, but I have tried putting a dollop into my fruit smoothies! If you like coconut, you’ll find it adds a delicious creamy yet subtle coconut flavor and provides some incredible health benefits.

In case you’re interested in some more benefits of coconut oil, check out this great list of 101 uses!