Coconut Oil and me!

I first discovered coconut oil right after Mario was born when I was doing some Pinterest "research" on dry scalp/hair issues. I go to my easy-mega-sourced Pinterest for my recipes, crafts and how-to's around the house, why not for beauty related issues too? Coconut oil came up almost immediately as a natural remedy for dry scalp and so I tried it out. It was amazing. 1 Tbsp worth smoothed out on my scalp, left it on for about 10 minutes and then shampooed and conditioned as usual. I don't always remember, but doing this once or twice a month really has helped.

In my "research" I found that coconut oil really has a lot of uses. From moisturizing hair, skin and lips, to cooking and now even pulling. Coconut Oil Pulling? What is that you ask? Oh, I'll tell you and point you to a couple sites where I got my information too.

Let me start by saying that I despise going to the dentist. I personally love my dentist, she's a sweetheart and incredibly research-based in her practice which I think is very cool. But honestly, I can not stand going. And I go 3 times a year as opposed to the 2 times the American Dental Association recommends going. I like to torture myself but honestly going more often has led to less anxiety inducing appointments as well as an easier appointment all around. I've been going for 12 years now 3 times a year so the trial period for me to see if it works is over and it works for me. But at these appointments I still have to endure the gross realization that I have a tartar problem and I have to floss 24/7 to see any change in that. And I don't like to floss. In comes a lot of helpful sites that suggested oil pulling to help with dental hygiene. 

So, the verdict? Well, I actually had my first of 3 dentists cleaning appointments this past week so it was a good week to try it out on. I did it for 4 days before my appointment and there was less bleeding during the cleaning. I still had to endure the scraper (technical term for that baking soda force spray on a pick that my dentist uses) but it wasn't nearly as anxiety inducing as normal.

You can oil pull with various types of oils, I chose coconut because I already have it on hand and I don't mind the smell or taste at all. I swish around a teaspoon worth first thing every morning while I'm on my own in the kitchen preparing for the day. No one to have to talk to, so I swish away for 10 minutes. Spit out in a trash can, gargle and brush. Finito. 

My research based dentist did tell me that she doesn't think it will do anything but it's not doing any harm either. So we talked together and I would try it out until my next cleaning appointment in 4 months and we'll see how it goes. We took a picture of my teeth to see if there will be any changes with tartar build up or whitening.

I kind of like doing my very own research project. Bottoms up!