Coconut Oil - Our Eco-Friend with Benefits

When we started Cosy Cottage, all those years ago, we took the decision to avoid all palm oil, due to the well documented catastrophic environmental impacts. The coconut oil we use as an alternative, alongside shea butter and other beneficial triglycerides, is created via an extraction process where coconut milk and flesh are heated and a fatty emulsion formed. Nothing is added to the coconut oil and it’s the pure, refined triglycerides which form the basis of our soaps, creams and balms.

We have received numerous instances of positive feedback about the benefits of these coconut oil based products for skin on our customers’ hands, feet, bodies and since the launch of our face cream and other facial products, on facial skin too.

Coconut oil is rich in vitamin E, antioxidants and saturated fats, and in line with the feedback we consistently receive, the benefits to skin are frequently cited by dermatologists:

• Antioxidants help to prevent wrinkles and premature ageing
• Saturated fats prevent moisture loss through the skin
• Some dermatologists suggest benefits in protection from infections
• The vitamin E content prevents cracking and promotes regeneration

Back in 2020, a furious debate emerged with a suite of correspondence challenging the environmental preference for coconut over palm oil production. The underlying data and basis of calculations were found to be fundamentally flawed and a climb-down swiftly followed! So we have stood by coconut oil; our eco-friend with benefits, at Cosy Cottage.

Latterly there have been articles and reports about comodogenic difficulties with coconut oil. We always stress that our coconut oil is refined, a process which reduces the size of the molecules and hence removes the risk of a comodogenic effect. Additionally, coconut oil contains high levels of lauric acid, which is a great counter to excess sebum production, a frequent trigger for blocked pores. On balance, we have found that any perceived drawbacks of this amazing skincare staple, are substantially outweighed by the benefits of coconut oil.  

One final thought! We were very interested to find a Ghanean medical study from 2016 reporting coconut oil to be effective against a range of lipid coated viruses. The oil was shown to disrupt the lipid-based viral membrane and thereby to interfere with the viral lifecycle. This is particularly fascinating in our post COVID world where resilience against viruses is front of mind and the world remains cautious about the possible re-emergence of the lipid coated virus with which we’re sadly all too familiar these days!