Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
from Gaden of Life Living Foods

I’ve given up on body lotion. The reason? Coconut oil. That’s right, the kind you use for cooking.

I grew up in the tropics, where locals use coconut oil for just about everything from conditioning hair to protecting wounds from infection. And, of course, for protecting the skin from sand, wind, salt water and sun, and keeping it well nourished.

The concept is not so strange–the timeless Italian beauty Sophia Loren used olive oil emulsions to keep her skin healthy and young.

Garden of Life produces a vegetarian extra virgin coconut oil that you can find at most health food stores for under US$ 10.00. This oil is not hydrogenated, bleached or refined: it’s made from shredded, cold-pressed and fermented organic coconut meat. It’s great for cooking, but even better for luminous, healthy skin.

If you decide to give it a shot, don’t be disillusioned if the contents of the jar look solid when you open it. Coconut oil is only liquid over 75° Fahrenheit (23.8° Celsius), anything below that and the clear oil becomes a white solid.

All you have to do to get it back to a liquid is hold it in your hand. Your own body heat will help melt it and make it easy to apply.

I usually apply the coconut oil immediately after I come out of the shower. When I’m in a rush, I use my towel to pat it dry so my skin doesn’t feel oily, but you’d be surprised at how quickly the body absorbs the coconut oil on its own.

If you find the scent a little overpowering, look for more processed kinds of coconut oil–those usually are a lot less fragrant than the extra virgin varieties. Keep in mind, though, that virgin coconut oil is far, far richer in antioxidants, which fight free-radicals on the skin and make it better than most lotions you will ever try.