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Here's to Your Health:  Question about the "virginity" of coconut oil  |
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happyhousewife
True Blue Farmgirl
201 Posts
Mary
North Pole
Alaska
201 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 07 2007 : 11:57:17 AM
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 For those of you who use coconut oil as a moisturizer, does it matter if it's extra virgin? Does the non-virgin have additives, or just nutrient-loss?
If my question makes me sound uneducated, it's because I am!  Educate me, please! |
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KarenP
True Blue Farmgirl
666 Posts
Karen
Chippewa Falls
Wisconsin
USA
666 Posts |
Posted - Mar 08 2007 : 4:05:25 PM
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I think for eating purposes I would stick to Virgin.(if you like it)
For me I don't like the "coconut smell or taste" so I use just coconut oil.
For skin care, soap making etc I would think plain coconut oil should be fine.
I know heating to extract, affects oils.
Just my 2 cents
KarenP
"Purest Spring Water in the World" |
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momtoeight
Farmgirl in Training
35 Posts
Laura
Medicine Bow
WY
USA
35 Posts |
Posted - Mar 12 2007 : 09:21:26 AM
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Most coconut oil is hot pressed, from copra. Copra is dried coconut.
Virgin Coconut oil is fresh pressed, but still hot pressed.
Extra virgin coconut oil is both cold pressed, and fresh pressed. It is the highest in nutrition.
Heat changes coconut oil. If you take extra virgin coconut oil (which SMELLS like coconut!), and heat it on the stove, the smell changes, and the fresh coconutty smell disappears. It develops a greasier, kind of chemically musty smell instead (which is, incidentally, the same underlying smell in other types of coconut oils). This means, for baking where the temperature does not get too high (biscuits, cookies, bread, etc), extra virgin will make a difference. For frying, or other high heat cooking, you might as well use the cheap stuff (still better than canola oil). It also means, that for practical purposes, there is NO difference between standard, and Virgin coconut oils - the only one that is better is Extra Virgin (try the Nutiva Brand - Amazon.com has 52 oz jars at a very good price).
As far as use on skin or hair, there are two issues: Skin does not absorb nutrients - skin and scalp do. Higher nutrients in the oil means it can potentially be more effective. The other issue is smell. Fresh, cold pressed coconut oil is simply more pleasant to use, because it smells nicer.
Now, as a moisturizer, it will probably do just as much good to EAT it, as to spread it on! We have found that with Borage Oil (very good for dry skin), and with coconut oil, if you use it as a dietary supplement, your skin condition improves after about two weeks. Borage oil takes just 1 capsule a day, coconut oil takes 1-2 tablespoons a day.
In fact, if I use coconut oil on a regular basis, my hair and skin both get oilier after about three days. But my skin condition improves as well - I have sceborrhetic dermatitis, and both Borage and coconut help to clear it up - and they both work better internally than externally.
Laura
Mom to Eight
Firelight Web Studio - http://www.firelightwebstudio.com - Small Business Website Services with a Difference - Personal, Flexible, and Friendly |
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Here's to Your Health: Question about the "virginity" of coconut oil |
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Question about the "virginity" of coconut oil
