5 Ways To Use Coconut Oil For Incredible Hair & Skin All Winter Long

#1 Leave-In Conditioner

coconut oil leave-in conditioner recipe. All you need is:

1 cup of coconut oil

2 tablespoons of aloe vera leaf extract (or pure aloe juice)

2 tablespoons of sunflower seed oil

1 teaspoon of vegetable glycerin

12 drops of lavender essential oil

8 drops of pure vanilla extract

It works wonders on textured and curly hair. If your hair is thin, straight, or wavy, you can use this leave-in conditioner as an overnight mask. If your hair is particularly dry, you might be surprised by how much it has absorbed by morning.

#2 Shaving Cream

I'm not often a fan of over-the-counter shaving creams, because I think they're completely unnecessary when you've probably got loads of other stuff that can do the job in your arsenal. Instead, I concoct this coconut oil shaving cream with ingredients I already have in my bathroom and kitchen. The resulting cream leaves my legs feeling super soft.

1/4 cup aloe vera

1/4 cup coconut oil

4-6 drops essential oil (I like lavender or peppermint for this)

Stir them all together and keep them in an airtight jar or container in the shower, easily accessible any time you want to get your gams looking and feeling smooth.

#3 Night Cream

For those particularly harsh winter days, I like to sleep with a DIY mask made from coconut oil all over my face. It's incredibly hydrating. And like the shave cream above, all it requires are a few simple ingredients:

1 cup solid coconut oil

1/2 teaspoon tea tree oil

1/2 teaspoon Vitamin E oil (optional for an added boost of moisture)

For this cream, whip the coconut oil with a mixer first, until it's light, fluffy, and luxurious. Then stir in your tea tree and optional Vitamin E oils, leaving the final product in a sealed container by your bed. Warning: This will likely stain your pillow, so you might want to have an extra one on hand for the nights you indulge in this skin-quenching cream.

#4 Overnight Pedicure

This particular use of coconut oil is as simple as can be: Simply slather it all over your feet, put on some cotton socks, and go to sleep. When you wake up, your feet will be softer than you ever thought possible. And for once, they'll smell good, too.

#5 Eczema Treatment

During the winter, I get eczema in the strangest places: On the backs of my forearms, my cheekbones, and the bridge of my nose. Needless to say, the last thing I want in these highly visible areas is a stinky, medicinal eczema cream. That's why this article from Bustle's Faz Abdul Gaffa-Marsh was a lifesaver for me. Her recommendation of using coconut oil to relieve eczema has been both effective and keeps me smelling like a tropical island, all winter long.

And at the end of the day, smelling like a tropical island all winter long is just one of the many benefits of this wonder product