Is coconut oil good for you, does it help your tan, how is it used to treat hair and skin and which celebrities use it?
DEPENDING on who is waxing lyrical, coconut oil is either a miracle superfood or a fatty substance to be avoided.
From easing painful sunburn to helping give you glossy hair, these are all the benefits - and downsides - you need to know about.
What is coconut oil?
It is made from the flesh of a matured coconut - which is normally solid at room temperature, although it may melt in the summer months.
There are two types.
Refined: a cheaper oil without the strong taste of coconuts.
Virgin or extra virgin: a higher quality oil.
Is coconut oil bad for you?
Coconut oil as a beauty treatment is said to be bad for the skin, clogging up pores.
Speaking to Magazine, Dr Alexandrides founder of London-based brand 111Skin, said: "[Coconut oil is] an occlusive moisturiser and so hydrates by trapping moisture beneath the skin and essentially clogging pores; because of this, if you suffer from or have acne-prone skin it can often do more harm than good."
As for consumption, coconut oil should be avoided because it is packed full of saturated fats - according to new research.
The sat fat level in coconut oil is around 82 per cent, compared to 63 per cent in BUTTER.
Saturated fats are linked to high cholesterol and heart disease, suggesting that consuming coconut oil may not be as healthy as we were originally told.
And one Harvard professor has now said that using coconut oil is like cooking with "pure poison".
Dr Karin Michels has described the supposed "superfood" is "one of the worst foods you can eat".
And while many people opt for coconut oil over cooking with butter or vegetable oil,
Dr Michels has said cooking with coconut oil is more dangerous than cooking with animal fats.
"There isn't one human study that has found a positive outcome from coconut oil," she told an audience at the University of Freiburg.
There is, however, some evidence that coconut oil can reduce your appetite - while advocates claim it actually reduces harmful abdominal fat.
Meanwhile, fitness and healthy eating gurus Joe Wicks, Alice Liveing and Zanna Van Dijk all endorse using coconut oil for cooking - the key, like with any oil or fat, is to use it in moderation.
Can coconut oil be used as a sunscreen?
Many sources recommend using coconut oil a natural alternative to sunscreen, by mixing it with shea butter and zinc oxide to create a protective blend.
However, making your own sun protection can be dangerous - and dermatologist Dr Stefanie Williams from European Dermatology London says it’s not a great idea.
“Zinc oxide is a good sun protection ingredient – it’s a mineral filter that reflects UV rays like a mirror, and is used in many sun care products,” she told The Sun.
“But if you use it yourself, there’s no way of ensuring its stability – which means that when you mix it with different ingredients, it might become unstable, cause an adverse reaction and offer no protection from the sun.
“Nor will you know the SPF of the product you create, which puts you at risk of burning.”
How can you use coconut oil as a beauty treatment?
The main benefit of coconut oil is that it is multi-purpose, providing a cheaper alternative to a cupboard full of beauty treatments.
Here's the lowdown...
- Teeth whitening: An ancient Ayurvedic method of whitening your teeth, known as oil pulling, which involves swishing coconut oil around in your mouth - before spitting it out to remove stains. Speaking to Sun Online, dentist Dr Richard Marques agreed that it's great for removing plaque and toxins between the teeth.
- Removing cellulite: Coconut oil can be massaged into the skin to reduce cellulite.
- Moisturiser: The multi-purpose gem can also be used as a hair serum, cuticle oil and body moisturiser. It's said to fight the frizz in your mane, while keeping your skin hydrated.
- Miracle face cream: Because it is super moisturising, coconut oil is said to fight acne and prevent wrinkles - all while making you smell like your next beach holiday.
- Sunburn treatment: Most methods recommend mixing it with aloe vera gel and massaging onto the skin, as an alternative to traditional Aftersun.
Just don't use so much you get stuck in the bath, like this poor woman.
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Do any celebs use coconut oil?
Celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow and Miranda Kerr swear by the secret ingredient.
The nation's sweetheart Cheryl explained in her first interview after giving birth to her baby Bear that she loves the stuff.
She said: “My top tips for new mams would be - you don’t always get time to moisturise, when you’ve jumped in the shower quickly while they’re napping, or have a quick bath - so my thing would be, go in the bath and put in bath oil in with you so you don’t have to worry about that and you’re moisturised when you come out.
“I use coconut oil from head to toe. Literally, you can eat it, put it on your hair and you can put it on your face, your body. It’s brilliant stuff.”
Amy Childs recently got caught up in a social media storm when she admitted to using coconut oil on her baby daughter Polly's hair.
Some of the 27-year-old's fans claim the product will dry out the five-month-old's hair, while others have expressed concern at using it in the bath as it could make things dangerously slippery.