Tuesday, July 2, 2013

The Coconut Oil Experiment

So, I have a huge jar of Coconut Oil that lives under my bathroom sink. I like to scoop out a few tablespoons to be put into a smaller container for easy access when needed.

If you want to know a little about the benefits of coconut oil, start here:

Coconut Oil Skin Benefits

I personally like to use it on my face to heal occasional dry patches and/or the occasional acne breakout. It's quite effective!!!

I decided to do a little experiment today by using nothing but coconut oil under my arms in place of my deodorant. The theory is that the lauric acid in it fights bacteria, which can cause odor. The idea came to life the other night after shaving. I exfoliated my freshly shaved underarms with Qtica's Lime Zest Sugar Scrub and got the urge to put coconut oil on them after drying them thoroughly. Let me tell you, my armpits never looked or felt better!!!!

The experiment: I applied the coconut oil at around 5:45 a.m. while getting ready for work. I scooped it out of my smaller container with cotton swabs and then spread it around with my fingers. I went to work and checked my underarms around 10 a.m.: they were still completely odorless. After a full day at work and my commute home (three trains a couple of blocks of walking and a short drive to/from the lot by my house), I checked them again (6:45 p.m.). This makes no sense, but my right underarm was STILL COMPLETELY ODORLESS!!!, however, my left one had just started to get a bit stinky. I wonder why that was...perhaps I inadvertently put more of the oil under my right arm than I did on my left; or maybe I'm just naturally more stinky on the left side of my body! Ha!

The oil didn't stain my clothing by the way. I think I'll do it again tomorrow, this time with a bit more oil under both arms. If I decide to stick to this, I may even decide to bring a little of it with me every day in case I need some extra product to take me through an extra long or extra sweaty day...

This was pretty brave of me if I do say so myself. I mean, it's hot and humid as a mug outside and I'm a bigger girl prone to sweating easily in this kind of weather. The real issue, however, is that my arms are practically never raised, and I keep a jacket on in my office all day because it's cold. Even when I'm cold, my underarms are still prone to sweating a little bit because I pretty much never let them breathe!

Now, I've heard the rumors about how terrible the aluminum in deodorant can be for you, - I've done ZERO research - but, I kind of adore the idea of smelling naturally clean without too much help from deodorant. And recently, I've really hated putting deodorant on after my nightly shower just before bed.  Sometimes I like to stretch my arm out under my head and I really hate when the deodorant gets on my sheets/blankets when wearing sleeveless shirts.

Hey, my deodorant is 110 percent effective; there's no doubt about that, but I wonder if continuing with coconut oil will have lasting underarm skin benefits. Time will tell!!

Now if I could only get the FULL benefit of coconut oil by actually cooking with it and/or finding ways to actually EAT IT....

Here's some more info on the health benefits and MANY uses for coconut oil:

Health and Other Benefits of Coconut Oil

Until next time,

XOXOXO - Jessika

2 comments:

  1. Now you've got my attention! I've been holding on to a jar of Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil for a while now, I haven't even used it but once in my cooking, which was unsuccessful because I didn't like it for the item I used it to cook. But skin care and what not, that's interesting, I'd be willing to try it in my hair, that is until I receive something from Mainely Cole's for hair. Please keep me/us posted about your progress with using this product as a deodorant.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've tried it on my hair and I just found that it made my hair frizzier, which is something I DON'T need! LOL!
      As for the deodorant experiment, I started out the morning pretty much the same way. And I don't know if my body's acting extra weird today or what, but my left underarm as of just a few minutes ago left much to be desired...so I just put on some deodorant that I have here in the office. I believe I will need to limit my coconut oil use for the underarms for nighttime only!!

      I definitely recommend it for skin care issues. It's really quite magical in that respect!!

      Delete