So after reading all this hype about Nutiva Extra Virgin Coconut Oil and all the health benefits of coconut oil, I went to my local Whole Foods (it was supposed to be there!) to pick some up on my way home from work. But when I went to the cooking section…no Nutiva! What….come on Whole Foods, why are you failing me! All they had was 365 (obvi), Spectrum (never heard of it, looked like it was for old folks), and what’s this….Jungle Products Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil. Hmmm… Well, the 365 was $6.99, the Spectrum was $10, both of them were labeled “virgin.” The Jungle was EXTRA virgin though and cost $13.99. Did I really want to pay twice as much for some “extra” virginity? I got on my trusty Blackberry Bold and Googled the Nutiva I had planned to get…crap…extra virgin. Now usually, I would have been like eff the man and gotten the $6.99 one, but I planned on cooking with the oil AND use it in my hair and on my skin. I didn’t want to risk it…and the jungle one “had” to have been okay because there were only two left, while they had a bunch of the other ones. I mean yes, I was swayed by marketing, whatever–if I put this stuff on my face and I break out I am writing a LENGTHY letter to the company. I also read online later that there is really no difference between virgin and extra virgin coconut oil, unlike olive oil…but I mean…I wasn’t taking any chances.

Okay, so I buy some cookies (what…I was working out later!) and my coconut oil and go home to cook my dinner (using my new oil!). Obvi, I made stir fry. The oil was solid in the jar (which was totally cute and reminded me of Hawaii and pina coladas), but when I scooped out my 1/2 tbsp (a serving is a full tbsp, but come on, oil? You guys know me…) it was extremely easy to get out and plop into my pan. So far, so good.  It smelled like my Hawaiian Tropic tanning lotion and  felt like…a creamier version of Crisco. I licked off the excess that was on my finger and put the rest on my hair, just for fun haha. I know, right? What a sight to see–some chick cooking and eating oil then putting it in her hair….okay weirdo. It tasted like coconut (duh). Yummy. Long story short–coconut oil in food=win. Spicy teriyaki stir fry, check.

Now that my dinner is done, I had to go work off those cookies. I planned on CO washing my hair in the morning, so before bed I slabbed a bunch of oil in my hair and wrapped it in my satin scarf after dampening it a little (my hair, not the scarf). I smelled tropical, but I couldn’t tell if anything good was happening. But I mean hey, who DOESN’T want to smell tropical?!

Fast forward to the morning…I washed out the oil in the shower and my hair did feel softer. After I washed out my conditioner, my hair felt more “slippery” than it usually does…not sure if that was from the oil or my Pantene Relaxed and Natural was working extra great today. For styling I did my new fave blend of Curling Custard and Arc AnGell. My hair is still drying, but when I touch it, it does feel softer. In conclusion, I’m going to keep using this as an overnight treatment. Could have just been a coincidence this time, but hey, it can’t hurt. Also going to keep eating it nom nom nom. Had it this morning in my egg whites! I know, I know, you wish your egg whites were tropical too.

WildChild gives it two palm trees up (can’t you tell I’ve had coffee?)!

See an interesting article on coconut oil and metabolism here. Afrobella also has a good post about coconut oil and hair.