Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Simply Smitten : Natural Beauty

Meet my new obsession. Coconut Oil. I know I'm late to the party on this one but I don't even care because I'm too busy walking on cloud 9. If you've been following along my breastfeeding journey you know that I've been desperate to find answers. Just over a week ago someone suggested coconut oil to help with my cracked nipples because of the healing properties found in it. I can honestly say that it worked WONDERS. I was completely healed within five days. I started looking around online for other uses of this miraculous goodness and came across the article 333 Uses for Coconut Oil. Wow. I had some recollection of reading on this or that blog that someone was using it for one thing or another. Their hair, in tea, etc. Something about using it as a face wash really resonated with me. I typically have pretty dry skin, especially in the Winter, so I thought this was the best time, if any, to try it out. It makes a fantastic moisturizer/lip balm!! 

I got to thinking that if coconut oil could help with my dry skin maybe it could help with Benjamin's too. The eczema he got from his dairy intolerance still hadn't cleared up completely. It turns out there are lots of uses of the oil for moms and their babies, including that of eczema. I had stopped using lotion on him when he had the outbreak. I've now been using coconut oil on him for about 5 days and already notice a significant difference.

Then, a couple of days ago, one of my Instagram friends posted a photo of raw honey and talked about how she uses it for a face wash in conjunction with the coconut oil. On one blog I found, "The mild exfoliating alpha hydroxy acids in honey remove dead skin cells while encouraging collagen production, which as we all know, helps make your skin look smoother and feel more supple.Honey also contains antioxidants, the compounds that help reduce and eliminate free radicals on your skin. The sugar in honey makes it a natural humectant, so it pulls moisture from the air and hydrates your skin, while the amino acids in the honey help your skin retain that moisture level. Because all of these beneficial compounds are in their natural state and in small enough quantities to be effective but not intrusive, honey is even safe for sensitive skin." Eureka!

I've now used the honey/coconut oil combination twice on my face and love it. Not only does it smell and feel good but my skin is softer, smoother, and glowing! I thought I'd snap a few pics on my phone to share. I was tempted to use photoshop but decided to grin and bare it instead. (I'm trying to grow out my eyebrows a bit so ignore those). So now that I'm hooked on my new beauty regime I'm dying to learn about other natural regimens. Know of any good tips or tricks? 

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