The low point: We have each struggled with our skin over the years for various reasons. Sass struggles with keeping her skin clear. She went to dermatologist after dermatologist, tried product after product and nothing worked. It was miserably frustrating and quite honestly, depressing. She hated looking in the mirror. Sometimes at night she would stand at the sink taking her makeup off and be in full on ugly tears.

Sweetness experienced the same level of frustration when it comes to keep her skin hydrated. Dry patches and irritated skin are not only frustrating but can also be surprisingly painful! Not knowing which products are going to help or heighten the problem brought on long periods of trial and error. We are sharing this with you to let you know that WE GET IT. Our paths on this journey may be different but we get what it feels like to have skin troubles that change you as a person.

The fix: Now we can’t say that we’ve found a miracle product to make it all better because at least for us, we’ve learned that the only true remedy for clear, healthy skin is living a stress free life. LOL, right, but truly the only time Sass gets a severe break out now is when she is experiencing extreme stress, i.e. the entire year she planned her wedding or when she first had a baby. And Sweetness has come to learn how to best treat the dry patches that would previously make it difficult to evenly apply makeup or make it difficult to be in the sun for fear of drying her skin out even more! So how you ask? We cleanse our skin with coconut oil every day.

All natural: When you have sensitive skin the last thing you want to do is throw additional toxins at it. Products are great, don’t get me wrong, we use plenty of them, but when you’re skin is easily reactive or naturally dry, products contain chemicals and chemicals can have very negative effects on your skin. Coconut oil is a completely natural product with no chemicals, just check the ingredients label, legit all it says is “organic coconut oil.”

Healing agent: For Sass, pimples are a build up of oil and dirt under your pores, right, we all know that but if you think of pimples and acne as wounds on your skin it allows you to treat them differently. The same applies to Sweetness and the dry patches. Topicals and luxury products generally want to dry out your skin but when you get a cut or a wound on your skin in any other place, what do you do? You apply a healing ointment of some kind. Take that logic and apply it to your face. In using coconut oil you are healing and moisturizing your skin rather than drying it out. When we were at the height of troubles with our skin we were so angry at it, we wanted to attack it like a problem but really we needed to heal it and show our skin some love.

Versatility: We buy a tin of coconut oil and use it as a facial cleanser, a body lotion, a hair moisturizer, and although it is a different tin, we also use it for cooking! Sass even used it on her baby bump to prevent stretch marks!

Affordability: We can buy coconut oil at just about any grocery or drug store and compared to prescription and high-end cleansers, it is SO AFFORDABLE! We spend no more than $10 on a jar of coconut oil that lasts for MONTHS! Trader Joe’s also makes coconut oil packets that are perfect for traveling or a gym bag and is only $3.99 for a box of 14 packets!

What you need to know: You want to buy organic, unrefined, cold pressed coconut oil. We use Vita Coco Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, which we literally bought at the grocery store for about $9. When it comes to brands, there isn’t much difference but we like this one because of the shape of the jar! Sounds silly now but when you get to the bottom of the jar we can still easily fit our hands in to get the rest out! Anyway, we use it whenever we take our makeup off and anytime we shower we put it on our face and a little bit on the ends of our hair. We take two fingers worth and rub it on our hands and then rub it all over our skin. We then follow it up with witch hazel to remove any excess makeup. (Just be careful not to get it on your eyes if you have eyelash extensions like Sweetness!)

So, if you are in dire need or are just curious about a more natural way to remove makeup and keep your skin and hair healthy give coconut oil a try! And be sure to let us know in the comments below what are some of your favorite skin hacks! We’re always open to new ideas!