Coconut oil has an unbeatable reputation in the skincare and haircare world thanks to its natural moisturizing and nourishing properties. People are naturally curious and ask, “Is coconut oil good for your lips?”.
Coconut oil is generally an effective and safe ingredient to help with dry, chapped, and irritated lips thanks to its natural moisturizing, healing, and anti-inflammatory properties. Given all that, coconut oil is comedogenic and can clog pores. This can lead to acne and breakouts. There is also the worry of allergic and adverse reactions.
Not all skin types react the same way to coconut oil. Naturally, not all will reap the same skin benefits, and not all should be scared to give it a try.
Below, we’ll go over all the reasons why you should try coconut oil for your lip care regimen and a few more why you should think twice about it. At the end of the article, you will be equipped with enough knowledge to decide for yourself whether coconut oil will be good for your lips or not.
What is Coconut Oil?
Many people tend to suffer from dry and chapped lips come wintertime. The cold and dry air can be harsh on the skin but especially on the lips, where the skin is thinner than the rest of the face and body.
The current beauty and cosmetics market doesn’t fall short when it comes to lip balms and lip treatments to help with your concerns.
But with the growing concern over formula safety, chemicals, and toxic ingredients, more and more are making the switch to natural and organic home remedies. And one of these famous natural remedies is coconut oil.
Coconut oil comes from pressing fresh coconut meat. At room temperature, it takes the form of a white solid fat. And in warmer temperatures, it melts to a clear liquid oil.
Coconut oil has a long-withstanding reputation in the beauty world. It has long been used for the hair and the skin thanks to its natural moisturizing and hydrating properties. It doesn’t come as a surprise that many are curious to find out whether they can use it on the lips as well.
Is Coconut Oil Good For Your Lips
Generally, coconut oil is good for your lips all thanks to its moisturizing and nourishing properties.
Though it’s generally considered good for application on the lips, it’s important to keep in mind that like any beauty hack and regimen, there can be a few contraindications to keep in mind.
Why You Should Use Coconut Oil for Your Lips
Here are all the expected benefits of coconut oil for your lips:
Coconut oil moisturizes and hydrates
The number one benefit of coconut oil is its moisturizing, hydrating, and nourishing properties. This is perfect for addressing dry lips.
Coconut oil locks in moisture
Coconut oil is a natural emollient. This means that on top of soothing and softening, this keeps skin and lips moist by trapping and locking in moisture. This prevents further moisture loss on chapped and dry lips.
Coconut oil forms a protective barrier
Coconut oil is also considered an occlusive. It creates a barrier that sits on top of the skin. This does not only prevent moisture loss but also forms a protective barrier on dry skin.
This barrier works to protect the lips the harmful environmental elements that can further cause damage.
Coconut oil offers pain relief
In alternative medicine, coconut oil has long been used as a natural pain relief.
This is great if you have cracked lips or are suffering from cold sores and would like something to soothe the pain.
Coconut oil is a natural antimicrobial and disinfectant
Virgin coconut oil is also a natural source of lauric acid, which proves to be helpful in preventing bacterial infection.
This keeps germs and bacteria away. This is an especially important factor to consider if you have cracked lips and open wounds and would like to prevent them from getting infected.
Coconut oil is an anti-inflammatory
Coconut oil is a natural anti-inflammatory, excellent for reducing swelling. It’s also rich in Vitamin E, which not only nourishes the skin but also protects from inflammatory damage.
Coconut oil is safe to be ingested, even for babies and kids
Coconut oil is organic and natural, making it perfectly safe to use on the lips with the possibility of ingestion. There are no harmful chemicals or toxins, making them safe even for babies and young children.
Why You Should Not Use Coconut Oil for Your Lips
Coconut oil seems like an all-in-one miracle oil but it’s not all rainbows and butterflies. Using it as part of your skincare and lip care regimen presents a few contraindications you need to keep in mind.
Coconut oil is very comedogenic
Coconut oil is highly comedogenic. This means it can clog pores. Clogged pores could lead to acne and breakouts. It can also cause blackheads and whiteheads to appear on your skin.
This can trap acne-causing bacteria and dirt which increases the possibility of breakouts.
This is a contraindication that can easily affect combination skin types to oily skin types. If you don’t fall into any of these categories, you may have more leeway if you want to give coconut oil a try for your lips’ needs.
Coconut oil has potential allergic reactions
Coconut oil is a generally safe natural skincare solution, even for kids and babies.
But of course, as with any cosmetic or skincare product, there is a possibility of allergic and adverse reactions. If you know you are allergic to coconut, there’s no need to even think about it.
If you’re not but would want to make sure there would be no adverse reactions, do a patch test first before applying directly on your face and lips.
Redness, swelling, tingling, and itching are some allergic reactions you might want to look out for.
Coconut oil has no active ingredients
There are no active ingredients in coconut oil. So while it can offer some amazing benefits, more serious skin and lip issues might need a stronger prescription.
How to Use Coconut Oil for Your Chapped Lips
Coconut oil application on the lips is a pretty straightforward process. Simply apply a good amount of it directly to your lips. Gently dab it with your fingers until everything sets.
You can reapply as many times as you need throughout the day to keep your lips hydrated.
If your coconut oil has become solid at room temperature. Scoop some amount and warm it up in your fingers before applying.
If you want to take coconut oil lip application to a whole new level, we suggest doing either of the following:
Make your own coconut oil lip balm
To make your own homemade lip balm with coconut oil, mix equal parts of coconut oil and thickener. This can be beeswax, shea butter, cocoa butter, or mango butter.
Put both ingredients in a mixing bowl. Remember, you’d want to mix and combine your ingredients in their liquid state. Heat them if you need to.
Once melted, mix and stir well. You can even add your favorite essential oils for flavoring and fragrance like the fan-favorite lavender essential oil.
While the mixture is melted, transfer it to a container with a lid. Refrigerate or just let it solidify. Use the finished product as you would normally with a lip balm.
Make your own coconut oil lip scrub
You can also recruit the moisturizing properties of coconut oil to help slough off and remove dead lip skin cells.
Mix equal parts of coconut oil and sugar. A tablespoon of each should be enough.
Then, scoop an amount of the mixture and dab and rub gently on your lips. Do this for about a minute. Rinse off with water and pat your lips dry.
Store the rest of the mixture in a clean and dry container so you have more to use next time.
Conclusion
Coconut oil has cemented itself in the skincare and cosmetics world. Many have long used it as a natural body moisturizer and as a hair-nourishing oil. Since it’s such a popular home skin remedy, many wonder and ask, “Is coconut oil good for your lips?”.
Coconut oil is generally good for the lips. It’s moisturizing and nourishing. It also locks in moisture and forms a protective barrier, protecting the lips from harmful elements. Given all these benefits, there are some contraindications to keep in mind. Coconut oil is highly comedogenic and can clog pores, which can lead to acne. There are also possible allergic reactions for those with highly sensitive skin.
And that has been our detailed guide on the concern of coconut oil for lip care. For any more of your questions, hit us up right below!
