I am critical of all things that are considered hip in today's culture, one of which being the glorification of coconut oil. When given the opportunity to analyze and possibly discredit this substance, I had to jump on it. Everyone has been flipping out over the million uses for coconut oil. Though it has been shut down for its lack of nutritional benefit by the American Heart Association, it is still a great base for beauty and cleaning home remedies.
One of the popular uses for coconut oil is as an at-home remedy for sunburns. I wanted to find out whether using coconut oil for sunburns actually works so you can recover from your time in the sun safely.
Is Coconut Oil Safe on Sunburns?
A sunburn is when the rays of the sun damage and dry out your skin, thus making your skin desperate for moisture. With the vitamin E and other moisturizing properties of coconut oil, it's a great product to replenish your skin. The fatty acids in coconut oil will also soothe the sunburn due to their anitviral and antibacterial properties. Coconut oil can also assist in speeding up the recovery from the burn too.
With that being said, coconut oil should not be used as a preventive measure for sunburns. Coconut oil does not provide the necessary UVA/UVB protection found in sunscreen, thus leaving you exposed to the harmful rays. The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends using a sunblock that has an SPF of at least 15.
Coconut Oil Home Remedies for Sunburns
Is coconut oil good for treating sunburns alone? Yes! You can just rub coconut oil on the burn by itself as it's moisturizing on its own. There are a ton of essential oil combinations that you can try too, which can provide additional health benefits and each oil will provide something different.
Coconut oil mixed with lavender oil and aloe vera will pack a double punch of moisture to the burn. The aloe vera will assist in bringing out the burn and the lavender will provide an immunity boost to fight the inflammation and infection of the burn.
Coconut oil mixed with castor oil and a combination of essential oils will also help the burn. Castor oil will help heal the burn from over exposure while the coconut oil replenishes the moisture and promote healing. By adding essential oils, such a tea tree or rose, you'll help replace the vitamins and minerals lost by the burn.
If the itching is what is killing you the most, mixing tea tree oil with coconut oil will help relieve the itching. There are a multitude of healing combination options that can help relieve any and all aspects of a sunburn.
Is using coconut oil for sunburns safe? It's a good home remedy for treating sunburns, but if there is one thing you should remember is that it is not good for preventing sunburns. You can also add to the coconut oil with some of the options above if you really want to add a double punch of healthy to the healing process. Coconut oil has a ton of great uses, but be sure that you're really looking past the hipster fad to be sure that it's the best remedy for your body.