Coconut Oil For skin
The History of coconuts and coconut oil
Spanish explorers thought that coconuts look like a monkey’s face, so they gave it that name since coco means monkey face.
People living in lands where palm trees were growing had a healthier diet. Coconuts became a large part of their diet since they were nutritious. People living in Asia and the pacific islands used coconuts for healing purposes too. Coconut fossils go back 15 million years. People found coconut fossils in different areas including New Zealand and Bangladesh!
In Indian Ayurvedic medicine (1500 BC) people used to use coconut oil as a medicine. Indians called Coconut “ Sriphala” which means “fruit of the gods”. They also call the coconut tree “Kalpavriksha” meaning the tree that gives all the necessities of life. In the Philippine, they called coconut trees, the tree of life or tree of heaven. From the names we can understand how important coconuts were to the people.
The Origins of Coconuts
The origin of coconuts isn’t clear. A study done discovered that coconuts had two differentiated populations of coconuts. This study suggests that coconuts were cultivated in two separate places. The pacific basin and the Indian ocean basin.
In the pacific, People in southeast Asia probably cultivated coconuts. So in countries like, the Philippines, Indonesia and/or Malaysia. In the Indian ocean people might have cultivated in the southern periphery of India, including Sri Lanka, the Maldives and the Laccadives.
People are also not sure if coconuts were distributed by people in trade routes or by floating on the ocean. Coconuts can sprout when they get embedded on shore. So, the spread of coconuts could be by both humans and coconuts floating.
People believe Polynesians introduced coconuts to the Hawaiian Islands.
Coconuts and Hinduism
Coconuts are part of every Hindu ritual. Since coconuts look like a face with three eyes, Hindus consider it to represent their supreme deity, lord Shiva. Hindus also see coconuts as a noble heart, hard on the outside, but soft on the inside.
In Hindu religion, Puja is a very important ritual. It honors the divine spirit, and it connects the devotee with the gods. They break a coconut open and put the shell containing water in front of the deity. Hindus perform this ritual in temples, homes and offices.
The use of coconuts in ancient times
Coconuts were very important for people In ancient times. They provided a source of clean water to drink. Coconut water is also full of vitamins, providing people with nourishment.
People used coconut shells to make ropes, utensils, and accessories. They also used coconut oil for cooking and in traditional medicine.
People also used coconuts to make coconut milk and cream. They mixed the shredded coconut water to make coconut milk. After that, they refrigerated the coconut milk. After the milk cooled down, a cream layer was formed on top. People separated and used that cream for numerous things. They also used coconut oil in traditional medicine as an antiseptic and antibacterial.
People use coconut oil in traditional medicine to treat bruises, burns, rash, scabies, scurvy, sore throat, stomachache, swelling, syphilis, toothache, wounds and much more.
Coconut oil for skin
Many skin care and hair products use coconut oil as an essential ingredient, Since It has moisturizing and softening properties. We can find coconut oil in a lot of creams, lotions, soaps, and shampoos. Coconut oil may help support our skin barrier.
Some people like to use coconut oil on their lips as a lip balm since it provides lots of hydration. You can also use it as a makeup remover since the oil breaks down the makeup particles left.
Mother nature gave us a natural anti-microbial which is coconut oil . Coconut oil is made up of medium chain triglycerides and saturated fatty acids like lauric acid, capric acid, and caprylic acid. These fatty acids have antimicrobial properties. So, Coconut oil can help fight bacterial and fungal infections. It can also help fight against acne as it kills harmful bacteria.
coconut oil in soaps
Coconut oil has anti-inflammatory properties that help fight different types of skin inflammation. So, it could help sooth or calm inflamed skin, and work well for people suffering from eczema or psoriasis. It may even relieve any main caused by eczema or psoriasis.
A study proved that coconut oil can be as effective as mineral oil in hydrating dry skin, meaning coconut oil has great hydrating properties. The hydrating properties helped reduce redness caused by eczema.
Coconut oil may help heal wounds too as it speeds up the healing process and increases the levels of collagen production. The antibacterial properties can also help prevent infections from happening.
Coconut oil has anti-aging properties as it fights free radicals which cause damage to the skin.
To conclude, coconut oil could be a great addition to your skincare routine since has many benefits for the skin; like: Its powerful anti-bacterial properties, anti inflammatory properties , antioxidant, and anti-aging properties. These properties combined with the fatty acids present in coconut oil act as a great skincare product even for those who suffer from dry skin or acne.
If you are interested you can read about the benefits of olive oil for skin here!
We use virgin coconut oil for our soaps. Check them out!