For the love of heck, STOP putting coconut oil on your face

It’s hard to believe that coconut oil is still being recommended in 2020, but here we are.

But whyyyy? What have we here at Wild Outlier got against coconut oil? 

A lot of things, actually. Buckle up.

Coconut oil being touted as a miracle cure for everything from keratosis pilaris to razor burn is a problem. Why? This humble, smelly oil is actually comedogenic as heck, and has the potential to turn your skin problems from bad to worse. 

If you’ve been using coconut oil for ages without issue, then carry on. But if you’ve never slathered this disgustingly ultra-viscous goo on your face, please, we beg you, stay away.

Wait. Comodo-what now?

Coconut oil has one the highest comedogenic ratings of any oil on the market. The comedogenic scale, rated on a scale of 1 to 5, measures an oil’s pore-clogging potential. While shea and squalane oil have a comedogenic rating of 0-1, coconut oil has a rating of 4-5, meaning that it can clog the pores and make irritation so much worse — even if you’re just using it as a makeup remover and washing it off. The oil isn’t going to come off your skin even with a double cleanse, so switch to a makeup remover or micellar water instead. 

You shouldn’t be using coconut oil as a “natural moisturizer”, either. First of all, it is incredibly viscous meaning that it’s just going to sit against your skin instead of absorbing. And, not to belabor the point, buuuut unless you like actually feeling like a slimy, filmy cooking pan, we’d say skip it. One last thing: most coconut oil sold at your local grocery store isn’t going to be raw coconut oil, but instead it’ll be a mix of partially hydrogenated oils and fat, so who knows what the heck you’re actually smearing on your face. 

There’s more!

In case you weren’t convinced already, we have one last thing to mention: BREAK OUTS. Coconut oil is incredibly occlusive, so not only are you suffocating your skin, but any trace amounts of dirt or bacteria left over from makeup, air pollution or your water is now sinking into your skin. Great.

What can I use coconut oil for?

Really, you should leave coconut oil where it belongs: in the kitchen. But bear in mind that coconut oil is 92% saturated fat, so any claims of its superior health benefits is hazy, at best. 

If you’re so inclined, you can use coconut oil as a hair masque to treat frizz, although shea butter will give you the same results and is easier to wash out. 

You can also use coconut oil for the practice of “oil-pulling,” where you swish a tablespoon of oil around in your mouth to promote oral health. Apparently. There’s little scientific evidence that oil-pulling does anything at all, beyond getting you to shut up for 15 minutes.