Coconut oil for body ranking. Coconut oil: types and uses. Unrefined and refined
Coconut oil has long ceased to be a novelty or something unusual. Many women love masks with coconut oil, pampering their face and body with beneficial trace elements that it contains in abundance.
But, unfortunately, there is not enough information on the Russian-speaking Internet about how to choose quality coconut oil .
Which coconut oil from Thailand is better: refined or unrefined?
Which oil is edible and which is the best to use for hair and body care?
And what is the use of this oil? Why does it lower cholesterol?
Can you lose weight with it? In what dosage is it better to use it?
I will answer these and many other questions in a series of articles on coconut oil. In this article, we will look at the question of choosing Thai unrefined coconut oil: what it is and how to choose the best coconut oil.
The health benefits part of the article was a literal translation into Russian of a brochure from one of our suppliers. This article has generated a storm of questions and conflicting comments. Many clarifying questions were also collected from customers who, before buying coconut oil from Thailand, want to learn more about its features and properties.
Since the time of writing the first article about coconut oil, I have learned a lot of interesting and useful things, and also from personal experience have repeatedly convinced that coconut oil is useful and effective for solving a variety of problems.
I have already written about how to distinguish natural from synthetic coke oil and many other things in the previous article. Here I will cover topics not covered in it.
Posts from popular health blogs in Thailand were used to write this article, as well as an article from the journal of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol Research University.
Types of coconut oil
So what do we know about the types of coconut oil? Right! We all know that it can be refined and unrefined. And that's all, this is where our knowledge usually ends. But everything is much more complicated.
The quality of this product depends on many factors. Unrefined coconut oil is considered more useful. Here I will dwell on it.
What is unrefined coconut oil:
- cold or hot pressed
- first spin or from already used "cake"
- from old or young coconuts and even from cheap old copra (technical coconut oil)
- and even the quality of the product obtained from it depends on the type of coconut
Information from the journal of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Research University:
“Coconut oil is derived from copra (the oily endosperm of coconuts). There are two methods for this.
Traditional cold pressing is expensive and not efficient enough in modern conditions a method that gives an oil yield of no more than 10%. This method is more gentle, it allows you to preserve all the beneficial properties of the oil.
The second method is hot pressing. It allows you to get more oil at a lower cost at the expense of quality and purity. "
But what they write in Thai blogs ...
Coconut oil quality
High-quality oil is obtained by cold pressing, without heat and chemical treatment. It turns out transparent or translucent, colorless and without sediment, may contain coconut particles and exudes a characteristic odor. The clarity of the oil is not always easy to determine as some brands sell it in colored plastic bottles or in opaque glass bottles.
Unrefined coconut oil is liquid, but it solidifies at temperatures below 22 ° C. To return it to its previous state, it is enough to withstand it in warm water 2-3 minutes.
The smell of the oil should by no means resemble rancid or sour, but some brands have learned to change the smell with synthetic fragrances. In this case, it first exudes a strong aroma, which subsequently quickly disappears and the smell becomes rancid.
It is not sticky, it is easily swallowed and melts in the mouth without leaving a greasy feeling. When applied to the skin, it is quickly absorbed without forming a film.
Also, the high quality of unrefined oil is evidenced by the presence of international certificates such as Halal, USDA organic and Bio Agri Cert.
Only such oil can be drunk and eaten when dressing salads.
Some of the cheaper unrefined and refined coconut oil can be used for cooking (when frying). It is usually written like this: “for cooking” or “coking oil”.
Which coconut oil is healthier?
The answer is unequivocal: cold pressed unrefined coconut oil obtained by pressing. Moreover, this oil is better for both face and body skin care, as well as.
Lower quality types of unrefined coconut oil can also be used for mouthwash and douching.
I will talk about the benefits of coconut oil and describe in detail in an accessible form about its effects on health.
*The information on our website is a Thai translation of resources that work with doctors and professionals to provide accurate information. However, the content on this site is for supplementary, general educational information only.
The materials on the site are not intended to diagnose or self-medicate in any way and will not replace a qualified medical examination and diagnosis.
If you have any illness or discomfort, see your doctor. We are against self-medication, we are for a reasonable approach to health improvement.
Natural oils- an excellent hair care product in every respect. Due to their complex chemical composition, they are striking in efficiency, but at the same time they do not frighten the sky-high price, and it is absolutely not difficult to find the desired bottle on sale. With the help of oils, you can literally transform your hair - make it healthier and stronger, get rid of brittleness and dryness, give it a glossy shine and nourish it with useful substances.
Thick, strong, long and shining curls of Indian women can become an excellent confirmation of the magical effects of oils - women of this country traditionally use natural oils for hair care.
Types of natural oils and the rules for their selection
Natural oils are basic and ethereal... But the latter, due to their high concentration and activity, cannot be used as an independent agent - only in composition with basic oil.
By consistency, all base oils are conventionally divided into liquid, thick and solid (also known as butters). All of them penetrate well into the hair follicle and hair shaft, nourishing and restoring it in all areas.
But choosing the best hair oil among hundreds of bottles is not easy at all - each of them tempts with its valuable properties, promising to show wonderful results. And if your head starts spinning from the assortment in a store or pharmacy, you need to pull yourself together and focus on two criteria: hair type and problem which should be eliminated.
So, for weak hair loss the best oil is burdock. It will also cure dandruff and get rid of the itchy scalp. Damaged, thin, lack of volume hair will be grateful for the oils of avocado, jojoba, argan, cedar. Dry hair will save coconut oil, stimulate their growth will allow castor, mustard and St. John's wort oil, and you can give shine and silk softness with the help of corn and linseed oils.
But in fairness, it should be noted that most oils are universal and quite capable of solving different problems and working well on different types of hair. If only the product is of high quality, we advise you to choose unrefined cold-pressed oils, without extraneous additives in the composition. It is in this oil that all useful substances are stored.
How to use hair base oils
Depending on the end purpose, the oil is rubbed into the hair roots and scalp or spread over the entire length of the strands.
For maximum effect, a portion of the oil can be heated in a steam bath to a pleasant warmth before application, or briefly put a container of oil in a bowl with hot water... But if the mixture contains essential oils, it is not worth warming it up.
After the oil mask is on your hair, it would be nice to wrap your head in a plastic bag and wrap it on top with a terry towel for the duration of its exposure. And the process of spreading the oil itself should be accompanied by light massage movements.
Important! Certain types of oils cannot be used during pregnancy and lactation, so contraindications should be carefully examined before purchasing. If the oil is being used for the first time, it will not be superfluous to test for an allergic reaction first.
And, finally, in order not to overeat your hair and not make it addictive to a particular product, be sure to take breaks, that is, use oil masks in courses.
And to decide on the choice of the best base oil for hair, our rating, based on the opinions of pros and reviews of ordinary users, will help you.
Forgive everyone who expects me to post on Shu, there is such a thing that you simply cannot force yourself to speak on some topic ... But on another - a real stream of consciousness.
So, apparently, until I post everything I think about coconut oil, no uemura will come out)))))
The topic of coconut oil filled my entire mind for the simple reason that quite a lot of information has accumulated based on personal use of this wonderful product, plus I recently had an indicative negative experience with it.
Perhaps all regular readers of Cosmetists know that coconut oil is terribly useful - periodically there are materials on this topic and how to use it.
I will tell you about what I personally do with it, as well as how to distinguish good oil from bad and what is the use of bad.
Coconut oil is sold in almost all tropical countries where coconuts grow - Malaysia, Thailand, India, Bali ... It has become so popular that it can be easily found even in Russia. However, not all yoghurts are equally useful; all coconut oil is suitable for enhancing our unearthly beauty.
Here are two of my applicants, by their example I will show how good oil differs from bad one. 
I personally use coconut for the following purposes
1. The first and most important thing is quality hair masks... It is applied to the entire length of the hair, including the roots, massaged a little and under a towel for an hour. All this is done on dirty hair in order to protect it from damage during washing and to give nourishment to the roots. I am sure that regular use of this oil was one of the reasons why my hair stopped falling out and my hair looked better overall.To quote Aromarty:
“American scientists have investigated the effect of mineral, sunflower and coconut oil on hair condition. Only coconut oil has been found to significantly reduce the loss of protein from hair when shampooing. The oil worked best if applied before and after washing while brushing. The effect of coconut oil is explained by the fact that of all the studied oils, it spread most evenly over the scalp, preventing the penetration of water and shampoo into it. A layer of oil on the hair protected the hair fibers from swelling and damage during toweling and brushing. "
The same Thais (I personally observed this) use coconut oil before swimming in the sea. Well, who, if not them, know the secrets of luxurious hair.
At one time, I have not tried any oils on my hair, the main problem here is that they need to be washed out. And if you wash it badly, then there will be beautiful icicles on your head in places. Burdock had to be washed 3-4 times, which in my humble opinion is more harmful to hair than good. Coconut should be washed off with shampoo easily. For people with short hair, it is enough to wash their hair once, with long hair - two. And here we touch on the first difference in the properties of good coconut oil from bad)) Bad oil won't wash out of your hair!
In one store here recently they gave me coconut oil as a gift for a purchase (in the photo this is the oil on the left). In principle, it was already clear from the packaging that a gift from the series "God forbid that we do not want", but not to throw it away ...))
In general, after it, I washed my hair about 5 times, and it probably did not wash out. Then for another three days I walked with fat icicles on my head and scratched myself like a bum, because this oil clearly did something wrong with my scalp. And such things happen because of poor oil purification.
Coconut oil is very easy to make. And of course, that in Thailand every second person does it who doesn't want to make money on tourists? However, I would not recommend buying it from vendors on beaches, in tents, in markets and at houses. The risk of buying poorly refined oil is very high. Not without pleasant exceptions, of course, but it is still better to buy it in specialized stores selling cosmetics. In pharmacies - rather no than yes, there is another extreme: oil can be with chemical and aromatic additives. You should not take oil without labels if you are not sure of the manufacturer - most likely it is again made by a handicraft method.
I buy oil myself from two places: the store for a brand that specializes in coconut oil products and a shop near my house. In the second case, they just sell oil without a label, but the quality is in no way inferior to the first (but such places are calculated only empirically).
Coconut oil can be applied to the ends of the hair while it is dry, it adds shine and prevents splitting. My curls, always fluffy at the ends, makes beautiful curls.
It is important not to overdo it, because oil is still not silicone and it is easy to make your head oily with it)) So all the tips need only half a drop rubbed in the palms.
2. Good coconut oil is very pleasant to use directly on the skin of the body after shower. First, it has a wonderful scent. The right coconut oil doesn't smell like bounty! but rather a freshly chopped coconut. Therefore, the smell is not strong, not harsh, but sweetish. Delicious and natural in general. Coconut oil is not as greasy as olive oil, it is well absorbed, while four to five drops are needed for the whole body. And about its healing and softening properties, everyone probably knows without me. I will only note that it is also good to use it during tanning - firstly, the skin immediately looks beautiful)) and secondly, the tan will be more even.
As far as I know, you cannot use coconut and any other oil after sunburn. The oils create a film effect on the burned skin, spreading the burn further. So it's better to have aloe vera or just a cold compress)))
For those who have problems with the heels of their feet, dryness or cracks, it is advised to make compresses from coconut oil. I have not tried it because do not suffer.
This oil is an excellent moisturizer and soothing agent after shaving and epilation, reduces irritation, tested.
3. Based on coconut oil, you can make massage mixtures- drip a couple of drops of ethereal into it. The only drawback of coconut is that it is well absorbed into the skin, so a couple of palms of oil will be needed for one massage.
4. Coconut oil can dilute dry masks and body scrubs... In this case, they gain additional moisturizing properties without losing their own. I have already tried to mix dry salt scrubs with coconut oil and cream - the skin is really velvety.
5. All kinds of cosmetic products are made on the basis of coconut oil, but I would like to highlight soaps and lip balms. Coconut remarkably softens the skin of dry lips mixed with beeswax - you can even make such a balm yourself, it's simple)
Let's summarize the differences between good oil and bad
- it is imperative to inspect the oil before buying - a beautiful label almost always guarantees production control of the oil quality. You should not buy souvenir oils - in coconuts, in wooden bottles. Here you will pay for the packaging, and the quality may be below average.- the color of the oil can be from completely transparent to light yellow. The dark yellow oil is clearly poorly refined. We look:
- the smell is pleasant, even gentle, not harsh! Be sure to sniff coconut oil before purchasing)
- consistency. I heard that there are people who, having bought coconut oil in a tropical country, come home, see that it has thickened and throw it away thinking that the oil has deteriorated. This, of course, is utter nonsense. The melting point of coconut oil is approx. 25 degrees, below this temperature it thickens. It then melts directly on the skin or can be melted in a water bath, if it is in a narrow vessel. When passing from one state to another, the oil does not lose its properties. And in general, coconut is stored for a very long time, up to three years.
- by experience, I found out that if it is written in coconut oil that you can eat and drink it, then it is good)))
Here. I hope that my scribbling will help someone in choosing an oil and stop buying a low-quality one.
Thank you for the attention!
For skin and hair care. Perfect product. And yet ... just like not all yoghurts are equally healthy, not every coconut oil has the same characteristics. Let's take a look at the types of coconut oil before savvy producers fool us.
To begin with, a small educational program - oils are obtained in several ways:
Expeller-pressed
Indicates that the oil was obtained by directly pressing seeds, seeds, fruits, legumes, or grains. The oil may have been extracted using high pressure, but in any case, no solvents were used in the process.
Cold-pressed
The oil was obtained in the previously described way, but everything happened at a temperature below 50 degrees.
Heat extraction
Means that the raw material was heated during the production of oil. This method increases the yield of the useful component.
Chemical extraction
It involves the use of chemicals, solvents in the process of obtaining oil. For example, hexane, which simplifies the process of extracting oil from raw materials.
Unrefined virgin coconut oil
An ideal product containing all the benefits of coconut oil. It is obtained from the pulp of coconuts pressed at low temperatures (up to 48 degrees Celsius). This is the oil that is recommended for food and cosmetic purposes. It is ideal for raw use. It can also be fried and used for baking (the smoke point, that is, the temperature above which the oil begins to form carcinogens, is 177 degrees Celsius).
If such oil bears the international “organic” mark (not fake as in the Russian plagiarism of the Nutiva brand, but a real one, provided with a certificate), then this is the best version of coconut oil, better than which can only be a bounty of heavenly delight. Such oil necessarily has a delicately sweet coconut aroma, which means that the dishes cooked on it will also smell a little coconut. LookBio spoke about organic coconut oils available in Russia,.
Pressed Coconut Oil (Expeller Pressed)
Like unrefined virgin coconut oil, this oil is obtained from the pulp of coconuts. However, the technology used is different - screw press machines. With this pressing, the raw material is heated to 90-100 degrees Celsius, which provides a greater oil yield. Therefore, the oil obtained by pressing is cheaper than the first cold pressed oil. Also, this oil contains slightly less useful micronutrients, but it is slightly more resistant to heat (smoke point - 182 degrees). Compressed coconut oil has a more neutral flavor. It already has less sweet coconut aroma, but adds a light nutty flavor. This oil is still a healthy product. It is ideal for cooking: roasting and oven use.
Refined Coconut Oil Pressed (Expeller Pressed)
The same as the previous version, only the oil is refined. It is still a healthy product, ideal for baking and frying, as it has almost no taste. However, you need to be careful with this option. To be sure that the oil is obtained by pressing, it is safer to choose the organic option (there are many such oils on iHerb).
Refined coconut oil of unknown origin
Inexpensive refined coconut oil has already appeared in Russia and, as a rule, in this case, the method of oil production is not indicated on the packaging. On the product under the Delicato brand (150 rubles for 450 g), which we found in HyperGlobus, it is indicated in small print that the oil is “refined bleached deodorized”. The last two words mean that this oil is obtained by the extraction method using hexane (or gasoline - this is also possible). Then the oil is bleached using special clays and distilled for deodorization, which should remove all unpleasant odors.
Typically, cheap refined coconut oil is not obtained from the pulp of the coconut, but from what is left after pressing the coconut using the cold-pressing method. Or from coconut shells, which are usually dried outside, in the sun, and then driven for extraction. Yes, the shells also produce oil, but in this case we are talking about a completely different product, which in its composition is far from unrefined first cold-pressed coconut oil. It is also important that the extraction process takes place at very high temperatures (about 200 degrees), which depletes the initial micronutrient composition of the raw material. This oil really can withstand high temperatures, therefore it is recommended by the manufacturer for frying, however, healthy nutrition specialists (in particular, nutraceut, a specialist in holistic medicine and our
Many people know about the wonderful cosmetic properties of coconut oil, but it can also be used in food preparation. The fact that makes it indispensable in my kitchen is that when heated it does not lose its useful properties and (more importantly!) carcinogenic substances are not released!
The benefits of coconut oil lie in its variety chemical composition which is very intense. It is rich in macro- and microelements: potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, iron, manganese, copper, selenium and zinc. It contains a large amount of vitamins A, C, E, D, and group B, as well as a number of amino acids and fatty acids.
I use coconut oil for frying dessert dishes (pancakes, cheesecakes, pancakes). It is safe to fry them on it, because even with strong heating it retains a number of useful properties and does not form carcinogenic substances that do great harm to the body. And what is most pleasant - it transfers its coconut sweetish aroma and taste to the prepared dish. Children love pancakes, cheesecakes and pancakes fried in coconut oil.
Now let's move on to comparing the two brands of coconut oil.
1. Coconut oil from Nutiva
Nutiva, Nutiva, Nurture Vitality, Coconut Oil, Cold Pressed, 15 fl oz (444 ml)
2. Coconut Oil from Jarrow Formulas
Jarrow Formulas, Organic, Cold Pressed Coconut Oil, 16 oz (473 g)
Both are cold-pressed, trans-fatty acid-free, non-hydrogenated, pesticide-free, GMO-free or hexane-free. That is, we have before us two excellent products of excellent quality. The difference is only in taste.
I liked Nutiva's first coconut oil better, it's not as sugary-sweet as Jarrow Formulas. For example, Jarrow Formulas butter cakes will be sweeter than Nutiva coconut butter cakes.
But this, of course, is a matter of taste.
They also differ in color. True, my camera did not show the difference in color very much.
Jarrow Formulas Butter is crisp white 
Whereas Nutiva Coconut Oil is milky white 
UPD. It turns out that the information that I have always believed to be correct is not. Thanks to zverusha1 I found out that the smoke point of refined coconut oil is higher than that of unrefined extra veggie, 232 versus 177. So take refined coconut oil for frying, the link was given in the comments. Live and learn. Thanks to the community for informing! The same oil from the post is perfect for cosmetic purposes)))
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