Coconut Oil The College Students New Best Friend

Coconut Oil The College Students New Best Friend Image via Pixabay This stuff is edible, wearable, aromatic and an incredibly great value for its price point ($5.99 at Trader Joe’s!). It’s an all-around wonder that can be used as a substitute for different ingredients, and it’s a remedy for common beauty and health ailments. Plus, it’s one of the healthiest natural substances in the world. In college without much money to spare, students often seem to hunt for products that can perform more than one function and solve more than one problem in order to maximize the extent their dollars can go. Thankfully, coconut oil fits the criteria perfectly. A frugal college student can use coconut oil in their health, beauty and cooking routines: •Use it as a detangler, split-end fixer, scalp treatment, deep conditioner and flyaway-tamer Coconut oil is oily, obviously, and it’s great at making knots easier to comb out if you have long hair. Applying just a little coconut oil to the ends of your hair will help seal the strands and get a little extra moisture (the tips of your hair often miss out on your body’s natural oils). Students on a budget can get one jar of coconut oil and be set for the shower with this multi-use wonder. Say goodbye to spending $6 on a bottle of conditioner, another $6 on shampoo, and so on! P.S. Coconut oil also prevents lice! College students may not think they could still get lice (after all, isn’t lice an elementary school thing?) Lice can jump on anyone’s head regardless of the person’s health habits, and to prevent it from happening to you, use coconut oil in your hair. •Use it as lotion, moisturizer, makeup remover, cuticle cream or even an acne tamer Coconut oil moisturizes like no other, and you can apply it directly onto your skin. It smells mild yet fantastic, and you’ll be able to feel your skin get 20x softer after a single use. This oil is full of antioxidants that calm down sensitive skin, so you can even apply it onto your face. It even helps with acne and chapped lips. •Use it as a butter substitute, cooking oil and coffee creamer You open up the fridge to get a stick of butter for your cookie recipe, and all that’s left is an empty wrapper. What do you do? Coconut oil can take butter’s place as a healthy alternative, supplying a richer flavor than butter in whatever you’re baking. Need to make a stir fry? Use coconut oil. Baking something? Coconut oil has a very high smoke point and can withstand hot temperatures well. It works as a substitute for vegetable oil if you don’t have any at home, and also saves the day when you’re making coffee at home before class but realize you’re out of creamer! To use coconut oil in your coffee, stir it in right when your coffee is hottest so that it doesn’t all float up to the top of your cup. Image via Wikipedia Commons What are the health benefits for coconut oil? Coconut oil is a healthy fat, making it the desirable choice as a cooking oil that will increase your metabolism. Ingesting coconut oil in any form also boosts your immune system because of its antiviral properties. The saturated fats in coconut oil can also take action against parasites that cause indigestion. Plus, if you put coconut oil into your body on a daily basis, you’ll find yourself sleeping better, as the chemical makeup of coconut oil helps build sleep hormones. There are also dental benefits to using coconut oil on your teeth and gums. Compared to the usual mouthwashes dyed blue and green with a harsh chemical taste, coconut oil is the mouthwash to beat. By swishing coconut oil around in your mouth for a few minutes, you’ll be taking part in the process of  â€œoil pulling,” a technique that may make sense to you if you’ve taken a molecular biology course. Oil is hydrophobic, thus it can only mix with other oils and will not mix with water, a hydrophilic substance. Using coconut oil as a mouthwash will draw out the microorganisms that cause halitosis, plaque and gingivitis, since their cell membranes are composed of hydrophobic molecules that will respond to coconut oil (and not water, which is the basis of most mouthwash sold at convenience stores). For these reasons, coconut oil has been proven to work against tooth decay, and its lauric acid serves as an anti-microbial agent. The oil will not hurt your teeth or gums, but will remove the toxins dirtying your mouth. In truth, these are only a few ways you can use coconut oil. A simple Google search will turn up countless other uses you may find helpful throughout your life. It only makes sense for a college student to own at least one jar of coconut oil, as it’s a substance that can clearly do it all. If you’re going to buy one thing at the grocery store, buy coconut oil and you’ll essentially be buying 10+ other products all wrapped into one!