Loco for Coco(nut Oil)

Let me preface this post by admitting that I’m not a huge fan of coconut. I love the scent of it (not the fresh stuff, but the made-in-a-factory kind you smell in inexpensive lotion and bath product - eek I love it!) but I’ve never been one for the taste. Let’s put it this way, I’ll skip a dessert if it has coconut on it. That’s saying a lot. I love dessert. So when I realized my love for this - err... beauty product? - I was quite surprised. 

I first found out about this when a group of my girlfriends were prepping in Leah’s bathroom to go to dinner. I was minding my own business, applying lipstick while waiting for the glue on my fake lashes to dry when I smelled heaven. I mean, I don’t really know what heaven smells like... but I think it’s something like this. Or donuts. I whipped my head around to see Leah with a jar of Trader Joe’s Organic Coconut Oil. She was slathering it all over her legs. Being a beauty addict, I had to see what it was. 

After re-reading the label three times I realized nowhere on it did it mention anything about applying it to your body. It was a cooking oil! Startled, I asked Leah in a joking way if she was planning on cooking herself for dinner. She laughed and explained a friend of hers had told her about using this organic oil instead of body lotion. Not only does the coconut smell amazing (and taste too! Because it’s normal to care about what you taste like, yeah? O_o ) but her legs looked as silky as a Victoria’s Secret model! That night I applied some to my arms, legs and chest and felt super sexy the whole evening. 

The next morning I headed to my neighborhood Trader Joe’s to grab my own jar of the magic slime. Of course I ended up leaving with a cart full of groceries including daisies and fresh frozen salmon. (How in the world is the salmon fresh if it’s frozen?!) When I found the holy grail item that sparked my shopping spree I was quite confused. Some of the jars looked as if they contained absolute liquid oil and some seemed to be the same but in more of a solid form. Almost as if it had been frozen. I picked the latter since it looked the most like the one Leah had. I also think it would be easier to apply like lotion instead of a straight up liquid that would slide straight through my fingers. Let the odds be ever in my favor. 

Fast forward a week and a few days. I don’t know what I did without this. I’ve realized that I love applying it to my legs everyday when I get out of the shower (Use sparingly so it soaks in properly! If you glob it on it stays greasy.) but I’m not a huge fan of it on the rest of my body. Don’t get my wrong, I won’t use anything else on my legs now. But there’s something about it that I would rather use regular body lotion on the rest of me. Maybe it’s my irrational fear that I’ll smell so good the bugs outside will be attracted to me and attack me. Who knows? It could happen. Anyways, I’ve never had silkier, smoother legs and I’m just glad I was introduced to this product before summer is over!

I did some online digging about this oil and here’s what I found...

1- A lot (and I mean a lot) of people know and rave about coconut oil. Where was I when everyone was discovering this miracle product? Living under a rock - or coconut - obviously! 

2- There are a ton of beauty uses for this product. Everything from using it as a makeup remover to a hair mask. I’ll keep you guys updated on which ones I try and whether or not I liked it. 

3- You can get your own 16 oz jar at Trader Joes for $5.99

For those of you who don’t live near a Trader Joe’s (I didn’t even know what it was for the first 17 years of my life) I found some online alternatives for you... here, here, here and here!