Mowing the Lawn with Coconut Oil

Today's forecast for Lower Alabama: 92° with a slight chance of rain. PERFECT! These are ideal conditions for Mowing the Lawn with Coconut Oil!

You have probably read all about the benefits of coconut oil - if not, there is an interesting article HERE.

But mowing the lawn with it? That's absurd! Unless you've got all the details.

As I mentioned in PIN REVIEW: Homemade Moisturizing Lotion, I use a lot of coconut oil. It is a great moisturizer for skin and hair because it is one of the few oils that penetrates rather than just coating. It effectively removes makeup and moisturizes the delicate under-eye area. I massage it into my puppy's hide, he has very dry skin, because it hydrates his skin and it's lick-safe. I even have a friend who uses coconut oil in place of butter in her cooking (bless her heart!)

But this post is Mowing the Lawn with Coconut Oil! What's that about?

It's really about a coconut oil health food mask that leaves dry, brittle hair in amazing condition! The mask is a simple pre-wash treatment that only requires 3 items: coconut oil, a plastic shower cap, and a heat source.

To use this miracle treatment, start with a big dollop of coconut oil - my hair is thick and curly so I require an extra large serving. The oil is going to be solid at first but the heat from your hands will melt it.

Start at the roots and begin working the oil through your hair. I put some effort in at the roots as scalp massage is supposed to stimulate growth! Saturate your hair, working the oil in with your fingers and directing it toward the ends and any area prone to dryness. When your hair is completely soaked, cover it with the plastic shower cap; if you have long hair, you may want to twist it up on top of your head first. So now your hair is ready but your hands are slick with coconut oil! Take it to your skin, your knees and elbows will thank you!

Applying heat to the hair mask is not absolutely necessary but it does seem to open the hair cuticle, allowing for even better absorption of the coconut oil. Without heat, I typically marinate my hair for at least two hours - with heat, at least an hour. I have been known to run around all day painted up in coconut oil!

If you choose the heat method you have several options including the blow dryer or a hot towel. My preference is natural heat - and THAT is where the lawn mower comes in!

Cutting grass at 92° burns calories, loads me up with Vitamin D, sweats the pores, provides the cows a tasty green snack, and generates the heat to help hair soak up the benefits of coconut oil! Before I crank up Ol' Blue, I also slather my skin with coconut oil. Coconut oil has an SPF somewhere between four and ten and, mixed with a few drops of peppermint oil, it is an effective (and safer than deet) insect repellent.

Ol' Blue

When your time is up, and before shampooing, rinse hair with cool water to help close the cuticle and seal in all of that good coconutrition (I totally just made up that word!). Then shampoo, focusing on roots, and condition as you normally would. You should see a difference after only one application but your hair will continue to improve with repeated use. This coconut oil hair mask can be used every time you mow the lawn or as often as you like - I have found that a once a week treatment leaves my naturally curly hair soft, silky and nearly frizz free.

Have you gone nuts over coconut? I would love to hear how you are using coconut oil - your comments are always welcome!

PIN REVIEW: Homemade Moisturizing Lotion

Ahhh...PINTEREST, that delightful online corkboard for organizing and displaying pictures of the things that inspire us, has quickly become one of the hottest social media sites around. Users can upload, save and sort images (pins), follow other users and repin from their boards or directly from the internet. Categories include Food & Drink, Travel, Gardening, Education, and my favorite: DIY & Crafts.

But does that DIY stuff really work? Do the recipes turn out like the pictures suggest? I decided to do a test...

One of the recurring pin themes I've noticed on PINTEREST is homemade body lotion recipes. As an avid do-it-yourselfer and moisturizer hoarder collector, these pins got my attention! Today I have recreated one of the more common recipes so let's take a look at the ingredients, the process and the results!

While there was quite a selection to choose from, I elected to follow this guideline:
1 part Vitamin E Cream
1 part solid coconut oil
2 parts baby lotion

The process couldn't be much simpler: place the ingredients in a bowl and whip with a mixer until the mixture resembles fluffy, pink cake frosting. Store in airtight container (read: Mason Jar! )

Before we check out the results, let's take a look at the 'science' behind this recipe.

Vitamin E
According to THIS NBC news article, Vitamin E, applied topically, eases dryness by helping skin retain its natural moisture. It may neutralize damaging free radicals and reduce the unstable molecules present after exposure to cigarette smoke. For my lotion I used 4 oz of Vitamin E SkinCare Cream.

Coconut Oil
The benefits of coconut oil are being touted worldwide! An ARTICLE in the Farmer's Almanac  explains that coconut oil is rich in lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, which makes it beneficial as an antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, and antibacterial. As a moisturizer, coconut oil speeds healing of flaking, cracked skin, prevents wrinkles, and helps in the treatment of eczema, psoriasis, and other chronic conditions. Coconut oil is a solid that quickly becomes liquid when subject to heat, and returns to a solid when cooled. I have used coconut oil as a moisturizer for skin and hair and I love it! For today's experiment I used 4 oz of pure coconut oil.

Baby Lotion
Baby lotion smells really good (that's personal opinion, not necessarily science)! I haven't done research on the individual components of baby lotion, but in my experience this mild lotion is appropriate for delicate skin. It absorbs quickly and hydrates well. The creamy formula helps stabilize the coconut oil in this recipe. I have used 8 oz of pink baby lotion in this trial.  

So what about the results? Is this Homemade Moisturizing Lotion that's popping up all over PINTEREST really worth the effort?

On a 1-10 scale I rate it a 10!

Finding the ingredients: 10!
All of the ingredients were readily available in my local super center.

Cost of ingredients: 10!
Supplies to make 3 1-pint batches cost less than $14 and I had both coconut oil and baby lotion left over.

Preparation/process: 10!
Total time including measuring, mixing & packaging was 9 minutes, 13 seconds!  I can live with that!

The finished product: 10!
Because the 16 oz of ingredients are whipped, there was enough finished product to fill a pint mason jar - and plenty left over to slather on! The lotion is thick, rich and creamy but goes on light as air. The skin is moist, with a soft sheen, but doesn't feel greasy. And the scent is delightful! I used the pink baby lotion this time around but I am sure I will try the others eventually.

Homemade Moisturizing Lotion Rates A 10! 

This PIN is a WIN!   

Have you made this lotion? Tweaked the recipe? I would love to read your comments and suggestions!