Coconut oil - do you love it or hate it?

Features

May 10

Something has been bothering me lately and I am hoping that you guys can help me out. As you may have heard, my company has recently come out with a skincare brand called In Her Element. It's proudly Filipino - everything is made in small batches and ingredients are sourced here! The response we've been getting is amazing so far. There is one common reaction that we get a lot though: it's along the lines of "why add coconut oil? I might break out!"

A quick defense of coconut oil

I personally have not broken out from any of our products so far so I don't have an issue with coconut oil. My personal experience aside though, here's why we like to include it in our skincare:

Coconut oil is rich in fatty acids which help to moisturize skin and help with inflammation. As a skin emollient, it shows higher performance compared with mineral oil.
It is also rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants keep your skin from receiving and retaining as much damage from environmental factors.
Coconut oil has natural antibacterial properties, which benefits us when used in a dermatological formulation
Coconut oil is thinner in texture compared to some oils and is therefore more pleasant to apply on the skin and hair.
It remains stable for a year or so without no need for preservatives; it doesn't easily go rancid when stored properly in a cool dark place.
Using coconut oil in our products supports local farmers who supply it to our manufacturers. It helps the economy by providing jobs and income. Coconut oil from the Philippines is world-class; it is heavily imported and valued all over the world. Why not support the industry in our small way, as it were?

What scares most people off coconut oil though is the fact that it has a high rating of 4 in the comedogenic scale of 0-5. This is however an outdated rating system, as we discussed at length in this article.

But I don't mind being corrected

That's not to invalidate the the chance that you may have broken out - or will break out - from coconut oil in your skincare products. Each one of us react differently to different ingredients; no one can predict what will happen. As with all new skincare, I highly encourage you to do a patch test on your inner arm or jaw first (leave it for 24 hours) to see if you will get any reaction!

I'd love to know what you think. Do you love or hate coconut oil? Why or why not?