It honestly baffles me how people continue to use coconut oil on their skin. It’s like the worst fad you could follow, minus joining a suicide pact. And, there’s people all day long on Instagram who love to argue with me that “It works for them”- works for you how, b*tch? There is literally scientific evidence that strongly suggests keeping that sh*t far, far away from your skin. I learned this in esthetics school, but all this information is a short google-search away, clear as crystal, not hidden or obscure in the slightest. Totally readily available, yet apparently people aren’t very fond of researching what they coat their skin with. So, I’ll lay it out for everyone.
DON’T PUT IT ON YOUR ZITS, WTF?
So, coconut oil is super comedogenic, which is just a fancy way of saying that it clogs pores, and leads to breakouts. When a product says non-comedogenic on its label, it’s just assuring you there’s no ingredients that are known to cause flare-ups. Anyways, coconut oil is far too wax-like to penetrate the pores, so all it can do is just sit there on the surface layers and congest everything. And, as we are all very familiar, when our pores become clogged they can turn into the lovely blackheads, whiteheads, and other pimples that wreak havoc on our selfie confidence, which bums me the hell out, because, I don’t know if you’ve seen my Instagram, but my life is a never-ending stream of selfies. So, as a result, anything that’s proven to be comedogenic is nowhere in my skin routine.
But, people shout that it’s antibacterial, and therefore good for acneic skin types, which is definitely true, that coconut is antibacterial, and those are great to use on zit-prone areas. However, as I’ve stated above, coconut oil is proven to be comedogenic. So, the fact that it has antibacterial properties means nothing for acne, when it’s just going to clog your pores anyways. There’s tons of better options for reducing all that gross bacteria squirming around on your face, options that don’t induce breakouts. Like salicylic acid, which is a staple in all successful acne treatment systems.
YEAH, IT’S DEF NOT FOR DRY SKIN, EITHER.
Then there’s the people who tout its moisturizing benefits, which is also true. Coconut oil is hydrating due to its fatty acids, so it can improve the driest of dry skin. Like, where your skin is rough and flaky from being so parched. It can even help improve eczema with both its moisture-retentive and antibacterial properties. Other than that, most experts avoid referring it, due to the fact that it can exacerbate other skin conditions (Like acne & rosacea), and that there are way better alternatives that make its use for moisturizing almost obsolete.
For moisturizer, you want something that contains humectants, occlusive agents, and emollients. Humectants are ingredients like aloe, glycerin, or hyaluronic acid, which attract and lock moisture into the skin. Occlusive agents create a physical barrier, preventing moisture from evaporating, which would be like petrolatum or stearyl alcohol. Finally, emollients smooth and soften the skin texture, examples are like shea or cocoa butter. Funny thing is coconut oil is just an occlusive agent, since it’s so wax-like, and is an ANTI-humectant, which means it repels water instead of attracting it. That, to me, sounds like a sh*tty way to try improving dry skin, when there’s a plethora of more advanced, clinically-demonstrated options out there.
Now, consider yourself educated on coconut oil. Is it phenomenal for acneic skin? It’s comedogenic, so absolutely f*cking not. Is it a miraculous moisturizer? No, it just creates the barrier that prevents your skin from losing anymore moisture than it already has. Should we continue to use it? Um, no, it’s basically like rubbing butter all over your face. But, if that’s your thing, then jam that sh*t into your pores, and don’t say I didn’t warn your a** what’s up.
Really enjoy your work.