Cuckoo for Coconut (Oil)

Ever since I had Button my scalp has been really dry. With Bub it was eczema on my fingers. So apparently something weird happens with my skin postpartum. I've been struggling with it anyway. I am always willing to try something new and the internet and Pinterest tell me coconut oil is the be all, end all of solutions. So I went to Fresh Market and got a jar. A big jar since it was the only jar available. But it has so many uses that I figured it would be okay. At home I found a couple of leftover baby jars that I had used to store small amounts of breast milk and that luckily I had not thrown away when I went on the baby feeding throwing away spree (all the bottles and such were discarded along with some of my breast feeding equipment). The internet told me glass was the best way to store it as the coconut oil will absorb some of the chemicals in plastic. I still had three jars so I filled each jar with coconut oil. One for my bathroom, one for Button's room and one for the shower. I decided to use it for a few purposes.

Button has been having trouble with her diaper area. I think in part because of the cheap store brand diapers I sometimes use. I try to use the 7th Generation diapers because they worked so well with Bub and his eczema issues. They are my favorite hypoallergenic diaper. But sometimes we run out or the budget doesn't fit buying them so I'll buy store brand. Nothing wrong with that except I don't think they agree with her skin. She recently was wearing CVS brand. So when I thought I'd try the coconut oil on her to see if that cut down on the redness and itching. And I think it has. She certainly looks better down there and doesn't seem to be scratching that much. So I am keeping a jar in her room and adding it to their baths. Bub still has really dry skin and is prone to eczema in his elbows and knees. I figure the oil in the bath and then some rubbed into his dry patches will help him.

As for me I've been using it mostly on my hair and face. I read somewhere that it makes a great cleanser so at night I've been rubbing some on my face and then putting a hot washcloth over my face for 10 seconds and then wiping it off. It seems to be working and strangely enough my face is less oily throughout the day. And in the mornings I use it on my hair to smooth out some of the frizz and then mix a tiny tiny bit in with my day time moisturizer too.

But the biggest thing I've done is use it as a hair mask. The first night I had it I put it on my hair for about an hour. The problem was I didn't get it all washed out so my hair looks stringy and greasy. Sunday night I put it on as a mask and slept with it all night. I washed my hair with shampoo the next morning and made sure to get it all out. My hair looks really good right now, very bouncy and shiny and my curls look good. So thumbs up on that. The only issue I had is that it was not that comfortable to sleep with a shower cap. So next time I think I'll go back to the 2 hour thing and try a heated towel over it and see how that works.

I have to say I am always skeptic about things that are claimed to be miraculous but this stuff is living up to its hype. I mean I smell kind of tropical but there are worse thing to smell like after all. And it doesn't last all day anyway. I haven't tried cooking with it and I probably won't use it as a deodorant or toothpaste. But it does help with dry and irritated skin, something that is a chronic problem at my house and I'll try anything to help with that. It does melt quickly especially on contact with body heat and I found out you have to be careful where you store it. But at least I don't have to worry about what will happen if Button finds it and tries to eat it like I would most lotions and body oils.