Marina | February 11, 2014 | DIY |

If you were given the chance of choosing which product to use, would you go for the commercial ones that are convenient and ready to use or would you rather take a bit of your time to make your own, knowing full well that there will be less harsh chemicals in it? I personally would choose the latter. One of the best products out there to use for beauty purposes is coconut oil. It’s completely edible and safe to use for your hair, skin, teeth and other head to toe beauty needs. Here are some amazing DIY beauty uses for coconut oil.

• Deep conditioning – there are plenty of deep conditioning treatments you can buy from beauty supply stores out there but why spend so much when you can get the same effect with coconut oil? To deep condition using coconut oil, part your hair in manageable sections, take a small amount of coconut oil and rub between your palms to warm it up then apply from the roots to the tips. Do this on each section until all your hair is covered, leave for 10 minutes and rinse with warm water. The fatty acids in coconut oil will help soften and detangle your hair, giving you soft, silky and tangle-free hair afterwards.

• Makeup remover – if you’ve ever used those long-lasting, water-proof, smudge-proof mascaras before, you know how it can be such a pain to remove, even with specially formulated makeup removers. With coconut oil, removing even the most stubborn mascara is a breeze. Aside from it’s fascinating ability to remove all kinds of facial dirt and grime, it also has antibacterial properties so you know you aren’t putting your skin at risk for infection.

• Lip balm – with winter’s cold temps drying out every inch of your skin including your lips, coconut oil would definitely come in handy. Coconut oil has a subtle sweet taste and it’s completely edible too which makes it the perfect lip balm for dry, chapped lips. It has fatty acids that lock moisture in on your lips, leaving it soft and well-moisturized all the time. Just dab some on anytime you feel your lips drying up for instant moisture and relief.

• Cuticle oil – coconut oil has anti-fungal properties and if you’ve got ragged cuticles, you know how cuticle oil is important to keep them looking decent. It keeps your cuticles soft while also making your nails stronger. Just warm up a bit of coconut oil until it melts into liquid, let it cool a bit and then massage on to your cuticles, both on your hands and feet.

• Body scrub – looking for an all natural way to scrub those dead skin cells away? Warm up and liquefy some coconut oil and add in some sugar or salt and you’ve got yourself a body scrub that won’t only exfoliate but would also moisturize your skin at the same time! You can use any sugar or salt of your choice to act as the exfoliants. Epsom salt is recommended if you want something therapeutic.