Why we don't use Coconut Oil?

Ingredients you will not find in our formulations as they are either not having nutrient benefits to the skin, explore monocultural farming methods, irritate sensitive skin or ....

Coconut Oil (INCI: Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil)

Coconut Oil is one of those ingredients. Coconut oil is less like a pure plant oil and acts more like a wax on the skin. It’s very comedogenic which means that it can’t penetrate the pore. Because of this, it sits on top of the skin, leading to clogged pores, breakouts and without proper absorption, causes extreme dryness.

An ingredient you can find often as a filler in many products without real benefit to the skin to drive production cost down. Hence you won't find this ingredient in NAYA products. Unfortunately, the natural beauty industry is not all that much better than the traditional one.

And if that wasn't enough to make you reconsider your nutty habit, keep reading:

1 Coconut oil is too alkaline 

Your skin has a natural pH level and is slightly acidic. 

pH is a measure of acid-base strength on a scale from 0-14. Pure natural water is right in the middle with a neutral pH of 7.

On one end are acidic substances (pH from 0-6) and the other end are basic (or alkaline) substances (pH of 8-14).

While the numbers 1-14 seem small, they’re actually powers of 10. Each unit of pH is 10 times stronger than the one next to it. That means that your skin with a pH of 5 is at least 100 times, more acidic than neutral pure water.

We know that washing with soap and detergents can worsen atopic dermatitis because of their high pH values. In fact, using soap and detergents is one of the most common causes of dermatitis.

Studies show that washing with soap increases the skin’s pH by up to 3 pH units.

This increased pH irritates the skin, thinning its protective outer layer known as the stratum corneum. This plays a role in creating a state of “Leaky Skin” that also helps perpetuate an imbalance in your skin’s microbiome.

That all said, coconut oil has a pH of 7-8. If healthy skin’s natural pH is around 5, it means that coconut oil is 100-1,000 times more alkaline than your skin.

And unfortunately, applying something that can alter the pH to such a degree like coconut oil can perpetuate a state of dysbiosis of your skin’s microbiome and Leaky Skin.

2 Coconut oil is comedogenic

Coconut oil is highly comedogenic and it forms a barrier on your skin that can block and suffocate pores. It also doesn’t have a very great nutrient profile with topical benefits - there are many other superior oils like Cacay, Rosehip and Marula Oil that will better nourish the skin.

I know how this will sound as we shift our beliefs about saturated fat in the diet, but…

Saturated fat applied to your skin can worsen some skin conditions.

Coconut oil is 90% saturated fat. This may worsen some of the more sensitive skin issues like perioral dermatitis.

Coconut oil has large molecules and is absorbed slowly. This means it stays on top of the skin and can cause an occlusive barrier.

While it provides protection, it ends up acting more like a plastic bag on the skin.

This is a problem because coconut oil doesn’t allow for your skin cells to breathe or detoxify.  It also interferes with normal lipid production, and can feel physically and emotionally suffocating (remember, the skin is a key part of the nervous system because it contains thousands of nerve endings per square inch.

Another reason why you don’t want an occlusive barrier of saturated fat on your skin is because it can also increase heat in the body. One of the skin’s main functions is body temperature regulation. Many people with chronic rashes and sensitive skin already have trouble releasing heat, so this could exacerbate your situation further.

3 Make-up Remover? 

But what about using coconut oil to remove your makeup? Still not great. It’s always better if you rinse it off, but I still wouldn’t personally recommend as it can leave a film and thus clog the skin.

And if you just can't quit using coconut oil as a makeup remover, there are alternatives. I would just use it around the eyes as there are no oil glands and switch to better oils to remove makeup on the face.