Aloe, Coconut Oil
★★★★★
Biotin
★★★★★
Black Seed Oil
★★★★★
A friend and I heard about black seed oil last summer (also know as black cumin seed oil or being billed as "curing everything except death". We decided to try it. Now I can't remember why except that what ever it was for, after I'd used or taken it several times, I felt like it wasn't doing anything for me. So I stuck it in the fridge.
When coconut oil stopped working for my skin, it popped into my head a couple of weeks ago that the black seed oil might help. I began rubbing a little on my hands every day, twice a day. Just enough to rub in without leaving any excess to look or feel greasy. Since then, my right hand looks remarkably better. There are still a few tiny spots where the skin still looks dry but I have to strain to see it and I think that's because I haven't used the oil in about a week.
I also began using it on my face because I noticed the coconut oil wasn't doing anything for my face other than softening my skin. It actually seemed to be leading to breakouts more and more. The black seed oil seems to be helping minimize breakouts and moisturizes well without leaving a greasy feeling.
For my face, I use it like a moisturizing cleanser. Meaning as soon as I come in for the evening, I put some on a cotton ball (not cotton pad) and use the oil to clean the day's dirt off. (Being careful to avoid the areas around and near my eyes.) I take a second cotton ball and go lightly over the same areas, to remove a little oil and any residual dirt. (Usually not much of either.) By the time I go to bed, any oil left has soaked into my skin. It looks nice and calm, feels like silk when I wake up.
If you try it, be careful NOT to get it near your eyes. The smell is slight but it causes my eyes to tear up if rubbed anywhere near them.
Castille Soap, Coconut Oil
★★★★★
Castor Oil + Lanolin
★★★★★
One of my toddlers (many years ago) had very dry cheeks, and none of his siblings did. He is an adult and still has a bit of trouble with that. Anyway, back then the pediatrician told me to use Eucerin. I did but don't it helped a ton.
My current favorite dry skin solution is 1/2 castor oil and 1/2 lanolin. I melt the lanolin and stir in castor oil. The resulting oil is very nourishing to the skin and usually makes skin very soft overnight. Castor oil alone works quite well but I find the addition of lanolin to be amazing.
~Mama to Many~
Coconut Oil
| 5 star (6) | 75% | |
| 3 star (1) | 13% | |
 (1) |
13% |
★★★★★
Coconut Oil
★★★★★
Oh and I put about a tsp into my dogs food every day for moisturized skin and shiny hair/fur. No more expensive dog shampoos and conditioners. They are healed from the inside.
(Northern Va)
09/14/2016
Hi. I've read here on EC that applying extra-virgin organic coconut oil topically can moisturize, but also that it can dry the skin. Does it depend on how much you use? Or skin type? And what about taking it internally -- could that also cause dry skin? I am interested in its health benefits but my skin is already very dry (I am in my sixties.) Thank you for any help, EC is the greatest!
(Somewhere, Europe)
09/15/2016
Sue, the only way you'll know how it affects YOU is by trying it. As far as I know, it can do no long term harm. Make sure you aren't allergic to it. A little goes a long way, no need to slather it on.
Coconut Oil
★★★★★
Coconut Oil
★★★★★
Coconut oil tastes delicious in oatmeal, that's how I finally managed to get it into my regular diet. Start small though, it will detox your digestive system and you might not like how it feels if you start off with too much. It's also good for constipation...it will really get you going!
Coconut Oil
★★★☆☆
WORKED TEMPORARILY
Thank you so much for your great pieces of advice about using coconut oil for dry hands! I have been trying your methods and experimenting with the concepts.
I have tried the ACV (which I love for other things) and am still determining the effectiveness.
You were so right that heat helps the coconut oil penetrate. I have cold hands and live in a cold climate! Based on your advice about warm water, I have been trying microwavable hot packs. After I apply the oil, I place my hands inside the warm packs with towels over them and then the oil seems to absorb quickly. For a short time afterwards my hands feel less dry.
Have you had any experience with losing the "lotion" effects of the coconut oil after your hands touch water during routine daily tasks (cleaning, etc.)? My fingers instantly become dry after I so much as use a damp paper towel. The coconut oil doesn't seem to maintain for me, even when I minimize water exposure. I would just love to have the moisturizing effects of the coconut oil last throughout the day.
Thanks again for your kind help and thank you in advance for any other ideas you might have!
Good Health to everyone!
-Chanson
(New York, NY)
01/13/2009
Hi, Chanson. I too tried coconut oil for dry skin and found it didn't last very long. Two things might help you - pure shea butter and a lotion with alpha hydroxy acids. I have been using shea butter in the winter for 2 years now and it is phenomenal. Great for cracked heels too. When I visited my mother over the holidays, she had some alpha hydroxy skin lotion that she bought a natural food store. I tested it out and found it immediately cured dry skin and lasted all day, even after multiple washings. I wrote the name down but now can't find it amongst all my scraps of paper. I found a generic alpha hydroxy at the drug store and it does get rid of dry skin, but doesn't absorb well. If I can find the name of the good stuff, will post again. It made my skin amazingly silky and soft!
(Austin, Tx)
01/13/2009
chanson - glad it is helping even just a little. btw - if the coconut oil is not enough moisture you can add another oil like olive or cocoa butter or even sesame oil. i just prefer to not have to buy more oils and so use the coconut. actually, the only way VCO will help my very dry hands is if i apply it and then soak in warm water AND/or apply a small amount of it after i have soaked in a bath and i am still wet. what you want to do is to seal in the water. the oil doesn't help so much for moisturizing as the water does - it just seals in the water. also when i drink 3 liters of water a day my dry skin really just goes away... so i know with me it is really water that i need.
also, some people find VCO to be slightly drying to their skin. it is a semi-drying oil - that is why it doesn't feel greasy. so if you find this to be the case you can add another oil to your VCO or just switch to a more moisturizing oil. this is why VCO seems to disappear on your skin and not stay greasy. and i have found that the longer i use it that the less i have to use it. hope this helps.
djh/austin, TX
(Austin, Tx)
07/15/2009
if the coconut oil is not enough for your dry hands - try using castor oil. castor oil will soak in overnight and will protect your skin from drying out.
also i have found that coconut oil takes some time to work but it will eventually heal dry skin - unlike some other oils that appear to just work when they are on the skin and when you wash them off your skin is dry again.
you may also take some coconut oil or olive oil and add a little melted beeswax (melt the VCO too) and stir or mix it very well. the beeswax will add a little barrier to the skin to keep the cold and wet from removing more moisture.
DRINK MORE WATER!!!
(New Zealand)
08/12/2017
Did you ever find the name of the product you could not find that worked? My 20-month old has very dry skin - legs, scalp. The Extra Virgin Coconut Oil on his head does little help and work. I read about castor oil working. I will try that. My toddler needs help!! My 3-yr. old is okay so I don't know why the 20-month old is so different and has severely dry skin. Both kids eat the same, etc.
In reply to Michelle (New Zealand),
Food Grade Vegetable Glycerin / Glycerine / Glycerol may be helpful for the dry skin issues of your infant. It is mild and commonly found in many creams and lotions. Glycerine is a humectant and can draw moisture to the dry skin areas. You can apply it full strength or dilute it down with filtered water to any percentage that feels comfortable on the skin. If you dilute it enough, you can also make a spray. You can add it to many different moisturizers, lotions and creams to improve the moisturizing effects of these. Be sure it is food grade in case your infant manages to lick the affected area.
When I have used it, the moisturizing effect seems to last all day. I have mixed it with different things like witch hazel and it seems to blend well with many others.
I just tried mixing it with castor oil and it does mix, which might be another possibility, but for adult use, adding a little lavender essential oil might add a soothing quality to the mix since I'm not a fan of the smell of castor oil. The glycerine does not seem to have a scent that I can detect.
Good luck!
Art
Coconut Oil
I am interested in trying again with the virgin coconut oil. Here is the problem. Even if I massage it in to my hands for several minutes and wait for a half an hour, it still has not absorbed into my skin. It is very greasy and I can't proceed with tasks I need to take care of. The oil is coming off my hands onto other things. Moreover, I need to either wash my hands several times a day or expose them to water in the course of my day, and after so doing I need to reapply lotion. So it's not working to have grease on my hands so frequently.
I don't use a huge amount of VCO. I thought perhaps I could use a towel to wipe off the surface grease, but in trying that, it seems that the skin on my hands is just back to where it was, feeling not moist. It has occurred to me that I could try applying it before bed and putting cotton gloves on, but I feel I will still need some kind of lotion during the day after I have washed my hands.
I am wondering what other substance could possibly be added to the coconut oil to make it easier to penetrate the skin? I have read that commercial hand lotions use alcohol to help their oils be absorbed. I am at a point where I would resort to that. Sadly, I have also heard that the alcohol is drying to the skin, and therefore makes you need to reapply the lotion. Perhaps this has something to do with what I call "hand lotion addiction". None of the commercial lotions I have ever used have genuinely improved my skin, in fact, I fear that they have made my skin lose it's natural oils. I am very sad that my dermatologists have recommended these products, products with long lists of synthetic chemicals, that seem to have done nothing for me other than possibly cause a sort of dependency upon them.
If anyone has any guidance on how best to use coconut oil for the skin, particularly the hands; or a suggestion for a preparation that uses VCO effectively in combination with something else, I would be VERY appreciative! Thank you very much and Good Health to all!
(Austin, TX)
12/29/2008
hi - i just wanted to say if you are having trouble with the virgin coconut oil sinking into your hands - first try wetting your hands first and putting a tiny bit of the vco on and rubbing them together. also if you massage the vco on your hands and then soak them in hot/warm water this helps it penetrate too. another thing you can do is wet your hands and rub a larger amount of the VCO on them and put on cotton gloves and sleep with it on. all and all- with vco i have found that less is more and that more (unless used by the last method) actually tends to make my skin feel drier. the massage and then soaking in warm water really really helps.hope you figure out a way to use it.
also you may try spraying apple cider vinegar diluted in 2/3 water on your hands before applying the vco. all of these methods have helped me. but the main thing i have found the most useful for very dry hands and cuticles is urine therapy - i use the first morning urine and just rub it onto my hands and then put a thin layer of vco over the top of it. then i go back to sleep and when i wake up my hands are very soft.
(Perth, Wa, Australia)
11/21/2009
Hi Chanson
I too have had dry hands my whole life and nothing seems to last until I tried pure shea nut butter. It works wonders, it does soak into your hands but does take a while. If you want something that will soak in quickly pure Jojoba oil in fantastic. It will soak into your skin within a minute or two and leaves your hands feeling so much softer. Hope this helps and good luck.
Coconut Oil
★★★★★
Coconut Oil and Beeswax
★★★★★
(Ithaca, Ny)
01/19/2011
★★★★★
This stuff works!!! My son has had a chronic dry skin problem. He's ten years old now and ever since he was a baby we tried every kind of lotions on market, some even organic. We tried castor oil, ACV, etc. Nothing seemed to work. But after I read this post, I rushed to a healthfood store and got beeswax and made this balm and lo behold... He tells me his skin feels dramatically different! I am so thankful that somebody posted this. At first I tried 50/50 combination of oil and beeswax, but that is a little too hard to rub on skin (but made an EXCELLENT lip balm -- far better than any commercial lip balms, including those that claim organics like Kiss My Face) so I tried 2/3 oil and 1/3 beeswax combination in the second batch, which is softer and more handleable for rubbing into a large area of skin.
For oil, I used EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and some castor oil too.
GREAT TIP!!! THANKS!!!!
(Fort Lauderdale, Fl)
03/08/2012
(Columbia City, Indiana)
11/03/2012
★★★★★
To concoct this recipe, I suggest the following.
For a cream consistency you'll want to take the previous commenters advice and make a ratio of 1 part beeswax to 2 parts oil. Oils have different healing properties, so choose accordingly.
If you are experiencing simply dry skin, I suggest using olive oil (does not have to be Extra Virgin ). If you are also experiencing a rash or skin peeling, I suggest using a cold pressed coconut oil. (Very effective for fungal infections). For a lighter cream, perhaps for spring and summer, I reccomend using sunflower oil.
Now for the recipe... Take 1 part beeswax and put it in a small pan. Heat on the very lowest setting, stirring with a wooden spoon regularly.
When the wax reaches a smooth consistancy, add in your oil of choice. Mix thouroughly. At this point you can also add a few drops of an essential oil of your choice. Add only a FEW drops, as essential oils can be very potent. If you do decide to add essential oils, I suggest testing a small amount of the cream on the inside of your elbow and allow to sit for a few hours to ensure you do not have a sensitivity to the mixture.
While the cream is hot, pour into a small air tight container. Your cream is now ready to use. Do not place the mixture in the refrigerator because it will harden and become difficult to use.
Coffee Grounds
★★★★★
Coffee Grounds
★★★★★
