Dry Sponge

Every beauty magazine ever will always tell you that the key to beautiful skin starts with moisturizer.

Obviously. 

It's a rare bit of advice that I have actually been following for a long time. Because of my work I have incredibly dry hands, as well. Dry to the point of being painful every time I wash my hands. So my go to was Aveeno, like it is for many people. 

It is also impossible to find a humorous picture of Aveeno. I tried for like, three minutes.

Aveeno was my go-to, all-purpose skin savior. I might as well have bathed in it. I have a bottle in my bathroom, bedroom, car, purse, and at work. Hands, body, face. Yeah. My face. 

Then one day I was doing research on coconut oil (which I use to remove my makeup at the end of the day) and some blog or another said how great it is, but be careful because it's not noncomedogenic. Words we all know, but suddenly it occurred to me that I wasn't entirely sure of their definition. 

Coconut oil is comedogenic. Usually when things are NONcomedogenic it says so right in the bottle. Aveeno is dermatologist recommended, it has to be noncomedogenic, right? RIGHT?!

No. In fact, it is comedogenic. Pore clogging, blackhead causing, skin suffocator. On. My. Face. 

No wonder the pores on my nose look so revolting all the time! Auuugh! But I was terrified. That meant that I would have to 1) pay for a separate lotion specifically for just my face.  I'm a cheapskate. I'm sorry. I like to pretend that it's frugality but secretly I know better; and 2) would have to try new products until I found one that worked for me.

My skin is the definition of an English rose. Pale porcelain with naturally pink cheeks. It's so sensitive that the least deviation from stasis sends my face into a tailspin. Red, dry, scaley patches, or cystic zits, or crazy overproduction of oil. It's very annoying to search for products that work on my skin. Once, a pal of mine gave me an expensive MAC facial cream that was heavenly, until my entire forehead scaled and peeled off. 

I've tried a handful of things ranging from "Oh god, why would someone put this on their face?!" to "This is so expensive, why would anyone pay that much for this?!" I think I've finally found a nice middle ground. Guess where I got it? If you said anything other than Target, then you haven't learned a thing about me since I've restarted blogging all of a week ago.

So the winner is: 

I can't believe the answer has been so simple all along. I've been using it about a week and a half by now. My pores looked infinitely better within two days. My nose isn't nearly as oily as I've been accustomed to. The dry spots on my face I think are still acclimating, but they're not flaking, not red, not itchy. It's amazing! I know adding a facial moisturizer isn't really that much of a change in my beauty routine, but I still didn't want to. I am so happy I did though. My face is happier. All because I had the sudden realization that the word "noncomedogenic" actually has a definition.

A million uses for coconut oil

As though you haven't seen every list compiled on the subject already. But let's face it, I love the stuff. I feel like everyone does. I have three jars of it in my house, one in the bathroom for beauty use, one in the kitchen for consumption, and another in the kitchen for making lip balm. (Another post for another day, that.)

Obviously, I've been less than loyal to the makers of coconut oil, but really I was trying to find the right one! I think the Nutiva (available at Target!) is the one as its cold pressed, unrefined, AND in a glass jar. It's slightly more expensive than both the Spectrum and the Nature's Promise, but it has what I'm looking for. 

As I've already said, I use one to make lip balm. I'm still trying to perfect my recipe but it's incredibly nourishing! I've been working on a gin & tonic flavor and a morning coffee flavor. But I'm getting ahead of myself! Another post for another day! But what else do I use coconut oil for? I used to use it to spot treat the occasional zit (notice I say used to... Hmmmm). I use it to remove my eye makeup at the end of the day, even waterproof mascara. I swear, that stuff is magic. 

Additionally, I had my ears pierced with a second hole this past June. I'm a notoriously slow healer, and the saline cleaner was very much irritating my skin. I figured they were healed so I stopped cleaning them with the saline. Poor choice. My lobes got puffy and gross and I could squeeze them like zits. It was not my finest moment. So I started rubbing them with coconut oil every morning, et voilà! They're perfect. The infections went away, my skin is no longer irritated by salt water, and I have silky soft earlobes. Very sensual. (Joking.) It does get annoying having to rub your phone clean after you use it when you use coconut oil on your ears, but it's worth it for the health of my piercings. Plus I'm more of a texter. I am a millenial after all. But if your piercings are infected, go see an APP (Association of Professional Piercers) member before doing it. Otherwise you could risk having to take your piercing out. But this is a tangent. 

I also use coconut oil in my cooking, like normal people. Fry an egg? Don't use cooking spray. Coconut oil. Making pancakes? Coconut oil. Baking just about anything? Coconut oil. Delicious and not the worst alternative in the world. However, currently my favorite use for coconut oil: oil pulling. You can also use sesame or other type of neutral oil, but I like coconut. I've not been doing it for very long, maybe a month or slightly longer. My skin is clear and glowing, my teeth are super clean, my dark circles have all but disappeared. 

(A couple minutes post-shower, with moisturizer only. No makeup, no filters. But pretty good lighting...)

I had read up on it quite some time ago and it seemed interesting but only as a passing fancy. Time went on and the information available became more in depth. I learned why you do it for 20 minutes, why it's more beneficial first thing in the morning, all the potential benefits that can come from squishing oil around your mouth for a while every day. People report balancing of hormonal fluctuations. I'm not positive of that one myself, but I've never been stellar at monitoring my hormones to begin with. 

I'll also admit, the first time I did I said "I can do this, I can be awesome at anything." I put a tablespoon of oil in my mouth, kind of chewed it until it was completely melted, and immediately wanted out. Five minutes was all I could manage. But once I knew what I was actually getting myself into by experience, I was fine after that. With a little less oil doing the twenty minutes was a breeze. I take care of the cats, make my lunch, prep my breakfast, spit in the trash, rinse, brush my teeth, move on with my day.  It's another thing that definitely isn't for everyone, especially not those with caps or amalgam fillings, but for me, just the difference in my skin and teeth is worth it!