Yup, the very same stuff. Not in the least bit kinky, really. Before the saturated fat paranoia began, coconut oil was a "normal" fat/oil, used for baking and as a suntan lotion. It got a mention on "Mad Men" even!!! So it was definitely normal in the 1960s to use it as a body lotion.

I "repotted" some into a little glass jar and use it as a face lotion, body lotion after showering etc etc.

Great for athlete's foot, too. I smear it between my toes in particular, as I have a problem with recurring athlete's foot, unfortunately. That seems to keep it at bay.

My teenage daughter - bless the little angel - uses it, too, and she hardly ever gets spots!!! She uses it every evening, that I know, what she does in the morning for her toilette, I don't know, as I don't get up as early as her - not so vain or stupid...

I buy some fancy FairTrade stuff and it's great. I buy it online here in Germany, so it won't be any good me recommending the brand I use. But any good - maybe organic, if you can afford it??? - kind should be fine for your skin.

And you could try making yourself some coconut bark, or some kind of coconut oil sweetie to get it working on the inside. I made some using silicone muffin moulds:

1) I put a 10g square of 70% cocoa chocolate, 2 dessert spoons of dessicated coconut and 1 dsp of coconut oil into each mould.

2) I popped the whole thing in the oven at about 100°C (i.e. not very hot, for an oven, at least) and let the concoction melt.

3) Then, using a silicone spatula, I scraped down the melted chocolate and mixed it all up.

4) Next I popped the whole mould into the fridge for maybe an hour or so, till they were all set again.

5) Final step was to pop them out of the mould and put them in a plastic bag at the back of the fridge!!!

If I fancy a between-meals something, these can be a life-saver!!! I take them out of the fridge a while beforehand so they're not rock-solid. And I only eat ONE!!!

I haven't worked out the carb count, to be honest, but it can't be that high. The "sweeties" taste great and not at all like pure coconut oil. I love the taste of coconut, though, so they're fine for me.

The other thing you could be low on could be retinol, i.e. vitamin A. But I think these sweeties beat eating cod liver oil off a spoon!!!

I would try them first and see if it helps. You can also use coconut oil as a hand-cream.

amanda