If you shave your head, a coconut oil skin moisturizer can help keep your scalp from drying out while also protecting against inflammation and other side effects.
An Amazon search for “coconut oil skin moisturizer” returns over 4,000 results for you to choose from and potentially buy. Clearly it’s a popular option otherwise it wouldn’t yield so many results.
We already spoke about coconut oil including a description of where it comes from and various benefits for shaving. For a guy who shaves his head, a coconut oil skin moisturizer can offer a number of benefits particularly if you have sensitive or dry skin.
| Coconut is considered to be highly comedogenic. This means it clogs pores so if you have oily skin or acne, using it on your nose and face may make it worse. If you have oily skin, you may reconsider using coconut oil and use a more appropriate moisturizer for your skin type. Oils that are non-comedogenic and thus don’t clog pores include jojoba, neroli, aloe vera and hemp seed oil. |
A Brief History of Coconut Oil
Coconut oil has been mentioned as a skin moisturizer as far back as the early 20th century. Not surprisingly, political decisions helped to prevent coconut oil from flourishing as a popular ingredient for skincare.
In 1934, US congress imposed a tax on imported coconut oils to protect the domestic market for vegetable oils produced in the US. Even in the 1980s, so-called “tropical oils” like coconut oil were smeared by organizations like the National Heart Savers Association. Its founder Phil Sokolof spoke out against many cooking oils and included coconut oil in his sights.
Fast forward to today…coconut oil is widely available both as a cooking aid and in numerous skincare products like lotions, creams, soaps, sunblocks, lubricants and more.
Currently, the 4 largest producers of coconut oil are Asian countries: Philippines, India, Indonesia, Vietnam.
Coconut oil contains a very high percentage (around 49%) of Lauric Acid which is believed to have certain health benefits. But we’re not here to discuss pros and cons of consuming coconut oil, so let’s stick with the skincare benefits and side effects.
Coconut Oil Skin Benefits
There is so much conflicting information on this subject…
If you read 2 different articles you will get two completely different answers. One article talks about anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory benefits. The second article declares these coconut oil benefits are unproven.
Who to believe?
On its own, coconut oil has a sun protection factor (SPF) of around 1. A typical sunblock has 20-50 SPF factor so clearly on its own, coconut oil is not a sunblock.
So let’s stick with one basic question:
Does it moisturize?
Recent research says the following:
Virgin coconut oil (VCO) has been demonstrated to be comparable with mineral oil as an emollient (increasing skin capacitance) in patients with xerosis.
Source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ijd.12339
Xerosis refers to dry skin so the research suggests that coconut is comparable with mineral oil to deal with dry skin.
Further, this same research refers to the anti-inflammation properties many believe Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) offers:
As well as improving barrier function, VCO may also address the chronic inflammation characteristic of AD. Virgin coconut oil has demonstrated anti‐inflammatory activity in animal models of both acute and chronic inflammation.
Source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ijd.12339
Looking for more discussion of coconut oil research? Check out my earlier post on coconut oil that discusses it in the context of whether it helps with an itchy beard.
My Experience With Coconut Oil On My Shaved Head
I decided to give coconut oil skin moisturizer a try after shaving my head. I wanted to experience the feeling and smell, etc to see how it felt. Typically, I don’t use anything on my head after shaving except for sunblock during sunny weather to protect against sunburn.
I used a 100% natural, cold-pressed cooking grade coconut oil. The same one you can bake or cook food with.
After shaving my head, I dried off and rubbed a small amount of coconut oil into my hand. It already was at room temperature so it was fairly soft. If you’ve never seen coconut oil before, most products are sold in a solid form rather than an actual oil. It becomes a traditional oil (ie. a liquid) if you heat it up. It scrapes out of the bottle much like shredded coconut but it dissolves in your hand with a bit of rubbing.
I rubbed the coconut oil on my head and massaged it in. I have oily skin so I have to say I’m not a huge fan of applying something greasy (like coconut oil) on my head right after washing it. But I did exactly that for this test.
Other than the smell of the coconut oil – it’s noticeable but not overpowering – I’m not sure what else there is to say after one try. Something like this needs to be monitored with repeated use so that’s what I’ll do. I’ll keep using the coconut oil everytime I shave my head and see what I notice. I’ll publish updates below.
Conclusion
- Coconut oil is widely found these days in various skincare products including creams, lotions, soaps, sunblocks and more.
- Historically coconut oil was spoken about in negative terms largely because it’s imported, mostly from Asian countries. It was feared that it would take away from domestically grown vegetable oils.
- Coconut oil clogs pores. If you suffer from oily skin or acne, avoid using it around the nose and other areas where pores clog easily.
- If you don’t like the smell of coconut, needless to say you will not like coconut oil. Consider a scalp-specific product in this case with a scent of your choice.
- Some guys use coconut oil for shaving. It may work well for you but again, it’s a comedogenic product.
Do you use coconut oil as a moisturizer or for shaving? Let us know your experience in the comments below!