Once upon a time, my friend accidentally knocked over a fragile glass vial of my very favorite, very pricey face serum, causing it to shatter on the tile floor. I cried (not really) (but really) as I picked up the shards of glass and wiped up the mess. I was thisclose to forgiving her when she had the audacity to say, “You don’t need all those skincare products anyway—all you really need is coconut oil.”
Um, what?! I thought. How dare she?! But my rage quickly turned to curiosity. Could she…be…right? Is coconut oil actually the miracle beauty ingredient I’ve been needing all this time but have been avoiding out of fear of breakouts and oil slicks?
I mean, sure—people have been talking about coconut oil like it’s magic for ages. Bad breath, underarm B.O., dry hair—coconut oil supposedly cures it all. But it couldn’t possibly be the skincare miracle worker it’s touted to be, right? Right!?
Skeptical, I reached out to dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD, director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC, to find out what’s true and what’s just beauty BS. Keep reading to find out what you should know before slathering coconut oil all over your face.
What are the skincare benefits of coconut oil?
Although coconut oil is usually praised for being a great, hydrating moisturizer thanks to its fatty-acid content, here’s the crazy truth: Coconut oil is actually too thick to soak into your pores and sufficiently hydrate your skin. In fact, all facial oils kinda suck at moisturizing (what! Yeah, it’s true).
Still, if you’re really amped up about dipping your face in coconut oil, make sure to apply it over a layer of moisturizer to make it effective. Or tiptoe into the trend by using it as a makeup remover or cleanser since, you know, oil dissolves oil, says Dr. Zeichner.
Article pulled from: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/beauty/a27305882/coconut-oil-benefits-skin/
