Nuts for Coconut

It’s a fantastic day when you stumble across a miracle product. It’s an even more fantastic day when this miracle product costs less than £2.50. This revolutionary discovery of mine is Superdrug’s own brand tub of coconut oil, which you can pick up for a bargain price of £2.29.

What are the beneficial qualities of coconut oil? I think a better question might be, in fact, what aren’t the beneficial qualities of coconut oil. Coconut oil can be used for all manner of beauty procedures, and has transformed my hair care regime.

Great for your hair but for the love of god DO NOT EAT!

As someone who dyes their hair blonde frequently, I find that my hair becomes dry, brittle, split and generally not the luscious mane that I want. I also am (to my constant annoyance) genetically predisposed to a dry scalp. However – split ends no more! Dandruff, see you later! All I need to do now is once a week, use a handful of coconut oil as a hair mask. I simply run the coconut oil through my hair, massage it into my scalp, tie it up in a bun, then I sleep with it in overnight. When washing it out in the morning, it is like someone has swapped my hair with silk – my hair is so smooth, so soft and feels dramatically improved in condition. And I smell like I’ve been on a tropical holiday in the sunshine, which gets the day off to a good start.

But coconut oil isn’t just nourishing for your hair. Semple’s Editor Sophie Maguire uses the stuff for everything: as a moisturisers, adding it to her cooking as a healthy alternative to other fatty oils, she gives it her puppy to help keep his coat silky and opts for coconut oil over shaving creams any day. It is important to add though that if you would like to try the delights of coconut oil for anything other than hair care, to opt for a 100% organic pure coconut oil. While the superdrug version is cheap and delicious smelling, it is fragranced and not 100% natural therefore it is unsafe to eat and we would recommend you do not apply this to your face.

So for a coconut oil with endless possiblites here at Semple we suggest trying the ‘Tiana’ fair-trade option available at Holland and Barrett. The changing seasons and change of temperature from miserable winter to mild spring plays havoc with your skin. But we find that with a brisk application of ‘Tiana’ coconut oil after a bath all dry cracked skin issues  will disappear, as if by magic. A table spoon a day will also work wonders on your waistline, helping to aid digestion and is lower in calories than other oils used in cooking. It maybe a little bit pricey at £16.55 but this is one thing worth spending on.

Endless possibilities say Sophie #coconutoil

My favourite thing about coconut oil? Apart from the fact it makes my hair look like I’ve had a designer haircut and revitalises my skin…it is a purely natural ingredient. There are no added chemicals which add fake fragrance (if you opt for the right one, do some research before you hit the shops) or promise of moisturising qualities. Just pure coconut. Those of you who suffer from sensitive skin would love this, as it removes the nasties which would flare up the skin. I cannot stress enough how much I love coconut oil! If you haven’t got some in your bathroom already, pop down the high street and pick yourself up a tub now.

By Jessica Moffatt-Owen