The Ultimate List of Coconut Oil Uses!

Coconut oil is the most used item in my house between myself, by boyfriend and our pets.  It has so many great uses.  Although, when I mention to people we use coconut oil for so many things, a majority of them look at me like I have two heads.  “You give oil to your dog?”  “You put it on your face?” “Why do you rub it all over your cutting board?” are a few of the comments I’ve gotten.   I thought I’d share with all you lovely people the never-ending list of uses for Coconut Oil! If you have a use for it that I haven’t listed below, please share with us! 

* Coconut oil has anti-microbial, anti-bacterial  properties and is a natural anti-biotic

Coconut Oil comes in jars, and it’s almost a solid product when cold, but when it gets warm it turns into a liquid (warm = body temperature or hotter).  So make sure to keep it in a dark, cool place!  I keep our jar in the fridge during the warmer months, just because it’s easier to use when it’s thick, versus a liquid. 

Extra virgin, cold-pressed is what I buy.   I don’t really have experiences with any other kind, but this has worked for me so I won’t mess with something that isn’t broken. 

You can find Coconut Oil at almost any grocery store, Walmart, Bulk Barn (in jars), Costco, health food stores, etc..

Here are some ways you can use Coconut Oil..

Beauty

• Makeup remover – put a small amount on a cotton pad and use it as a makeup remover wipe!
• All-natural skin moisturizer
• Hair conditioner
• Hair mask/treatment – mix with mashed avocados and let sit on your hair for 5-10 minutes!
• Mix with equal parts sugar for a body & lip scrub
• Mix with baking soda for a face scrub
• All-natural chapstick
• Nail & cuticle treatment
• Prevent hangnails by rubbing coconut oil on sides of nails
• Tanning oil
• All-natural deodorant
• Frizzy hair – put a small amount on your finger tips, and run your fingers through your frizzy hair
• Shave cream/shave lotion
• Remove gum from hair
• Dead skin scrub – mix with equal parts salt
• Put a tbsp into your bath water for smooth skin
• Use to help new tattoos heal
• Reduce cellulite – combine coffee grounds and coconut oil and firmly massage into your thighs and booty to increase circulation and reduce the appearance of cellulite
• Rub some onto wax left behind after waxing, to remove the wax
• Improve acne
• Clean your makeup brushes
• Smooths wrinkles
• Remove gum from hair
• Prevents hair dye from staining your face when rubbed along the hair line, (if you are dying your hair I recommend using natural hair dye to avoid damaging your hair!)

Pregnancy, Babies & Children

• Use as diaper cream – it’s cloth diaper safe!
• Rub it on your skin to avoid stretch marks during pregnancy
• Baby’s cradle cap – just rub some onto the babies head and rinse off with a warm moist cloth
• On your perineum to help heal after giving birth
• In place of lanolin for sore, cracked nipples during breastfeeding (safe for baby)
• Help boost milk supply – ingesting 3-4 tbsp of coconut oil can help boost your milk supply
• Baby lotion
• Helps prevent gestational diabetes
• Assists in removing newborn meconium

Pets

• A spoonful in dog/cat food (adjust the amount to their specific size) to keep their coat shiny
• A spoonful in dog/cat food (adjust the amount to their specific size) to treat allergies from the inside-out
• Treat rashes
• Treat cracked nose
• Treat cracked paw pads
• Put a small amount on a cotton ball to clean their ears, also soothes itchy & red ears
• On nursing pets’ nipples
• Give a small amount to your cat to help reduce hair balls
• Rub a small amount on the bottom of their paws to also help with hair balls when they clean themselves
• Udder soother for cows
• Prevents kitty litter from sticking and damaging the tray
• Kills fleas & ticks
• Improve your pets breath

Around the House

• Wood conditioner – because of the antimicrobial properties, this is why I condition our bamboo cutting boards with coconut oil once in a while. 
• Use coconut oil to prevent cracking in wood, such as wooden spoons and wooden handled knives
• Metal polish – rub a bit of coconut oil over metal with a soft cloth
• Stainless steel polish
• Leather polish – with a soft dry cloth, rub a tiny bit on leather in a circular motion
• Rid soap scum – apply a thin layer of coconut oil onto the soap scum, let sit for 20 minutes then wash off with a rough sponge

Health & Wellness

• Use in place of toothpaste
• A natural SPF 4-6 sunscreen
• Treat fungal infections
• Treat cold sores
• Yeast infections – apply topically or put some on a tampon, and insert
• Prevent heart diseases – scientist have proven that ingesting coconut oil actually helps prevent heart diseases, because it has 50% lauric acid, which helps in actively preventing various heart problems like high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. Take 1 tbsp daily.
• Help sooth psoriasis and eczema
• Reduce risk or effect of Alzheimers
• Sooth black fly and mosquito bites – adults, children, babies and pets!
• Lice treatment – mix with apple cider vinegar and let soak for 24 hours
• On the inside of your nose to help alleviate allergy symptoms
• On the inside of your nose to moisturize if you blow your nose often, like during cold & flu season
• Massage oil
• Improve insulin levels
• Treat cankers
• Improve acne
• Mix coconut oil with garlic oil and apply a few drops three times a day to clear up swimmer’s ear.
• A teaspoon can help treat chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia
• Reduce hot flashes and discomfort during menopause
• Use on the roof of your mouth if you burn your mouth with hot food/drink
• Reduces discomfort on blisters and burns from cooking
• Mix with oregano oil for a natural hand sanitizer
• Inflammation – ingesting coconut oil can help with inflammation and arthritis
• Speeds healing of a sunburn (do not put it on if you’re still in the sun! or it’ll do the opposite)
• Dead skin scrub – mix with equal parts salt
• Reduce itch of chicken pox and poison ivy
• Base oil – mix with essential oils for use on skin
• Help treat depression and anxiety
• Ingest it to help the body absorb calcium and magnesium
• Help regulate your bowel movements – a tbsp every morning
• Take care of diarrhea
• Insect repellant – don’t ask, it just works! Rub it on as a moisturizer and mosquito & other insects will keep their distance
• Treat athletes foot – the anti-fungal properties help treat athletes foot, naturally
• UTI’s – ingest, and also apply topically
• Hormone production when taken internally
• Help boost circulation
• Improve immune system
• Improve side effects of HIV
• Treat IBS
• Scratchy throat and bad, dry cough – swallow a spoonful
• Personal lubricant – not compatible with latex!
• Dip a Q-tip in coconut oil to help clean your ears
• Prevent chafing
• Heal bruises
• Mix coconut oil with tea tree oil and rosemary oil for an all-natural vicks rub
• Clean your mouth guard, dentures or retainer
• 1 tbsp of coconut oil a day can help you lose weight
• Suppress your appetite
• Treats ringworm
• Treats pink eye
• Treats hemorrhoids
• Prevents gingivitis
• Treats jock itch
• Eliminates nausea when rubbed on the inside of the wrist
• Treats hives

In the Kitchen

• In place of cooking sprays
• To grease pots, muffin pans, or other dishes
• In place of cooking oil in recipes
• As a non-dairy butter substitute
• On toast in place of butter
• Add to smoothies for increased energy
• Coffee sweetener – just mix a spoonful into your coffee in lieu of coffee creamer (which contains an obscene amount of sugar!) for a light sweetness and great taste
• Season & condition cast iron pans
• Season popcorn, instead of butter
• Tenderizes roasts
• Adds nutrients to soups and stews
• Natural coconut flavor in alcoholic drinks
• Mix with balsamic vinegar for a salad dressing
• Use it in many recipes
• Use it to make granola bites (aka energy bites)

Miscellaneous Uses

• Shining your car – use on your leather seats or dashboard.  Can also buff out small scratches on the paint
• Unsticks stubborn zippers
• Removes sap
• Lubricates guitar strings
• Replace other oils with coconut oils in diy play-doh recipes
• Removes wax (candles, Scentsy, etc..)
• Use coconut oil to grease squeaky hinges in place of WD-40
• Fire starter – dip some cotton balls in coconut oil and use them as fire starters
• Mix with baking soda for a natural Goo-Gone
• Remove gum from hair
• Remove labels and stubborn price stickers – spread on a film of coconut oil, leave it for awhile and scrub off
• Mix with lemon juice for a natural furniture polish
• Rub some on a bike chain to grease it up
• Polish your shoes
• Mix with equal parts vegetable oil and spray on weeds – they’ll wilt in no time!
• Put some coconut oil on your satellite dish in the winter to prevent snow from sticking
• Clean paint brushes

Do you use coconut oil? leave us a comment letting us know what you use it for.