Known as the tree of life due to its benefits and grinning face due to unique appearance, coconut is an exotic and important part of food and beauty industry. Going as far back as Eocene period, 37 to 55 million years ago, coconut was gracing the pre-historic landscape of in Australia and India, and later Indian Ocean and South America. While all parts of coconut, kernels, meat, juice, milk, and shells can be used, the oil is the most popular.
Coconut oil is produced from copra, dried coconut kernel, by dry or wet processing. Best oil is cold extracted from kernels harvested from coconut palm tree, 2 to 20 months old, where some 170 kilograms (370 lb) of copra yields about 70 liters (15 gal) of coconut oil. Good yield gives coconut oils competitive price making it attractive choice for bath and beauty industry. Due to variety of benefits coconut oil can be used in great many applications, such as:
a) moisturizers
b) anti-wrinkle products
c) body butters
d) lotions
e) creams
f) soaps
g) hair care products
By composition, coconut oil is 92% of saturated fatty acids (caproic, caprylic, capric, lauric, myristic, palmitic, and stearic acid) and 8% of unsaturated fatty acids (mostly linoleic acid), making it ideal skin moisturizer and wrinkle smoothing agent. It is very stable white to pale yellow solid at temperature under 30˚C and transparent clear oil at or above 30˚C. Being stable at room temperature, coconut oil is easy to use and thus often used for natural and organic body butters, creams and lotions. Very easy to saponify, due to high saturated fatty acids content, coconut oil is great for soap production and makes an attractive, nicely scented, if slightly hard, product. Nice balance of fatty content with naturally occurring vitamins A and E, mean coconut oil is a great addition to hair products and makes hair shiny and supple while minimizes hair loss.
In short coconut oil is widely versatile and has many applications in organic and natural bath and beauty care. When looking to add extra dimension to your product for hair, skin or body care, chances are you will want to put your bets on coconut oil. Its bath and beauty benefits are well proven, based on naturally occurring fatty acids and vitamins that give coconut oil significant moisturizing, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-fungal, antibacterial, soothing and rejuvenating properties. No wonder coconut was grinning when met with first humans. It may just be it was a start of wonderful friendship.
For more on coconut oil and products inspired by coconut oil, visit Nina Bella Collection blog and website.
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