Beauty brains/the manual

Annabel Jones The £3 beauty cure-all hiding away in your kitchen cupboard

Pampering, from the kitchen to the garden

I never thought I would write these words: I am running out of beauty products. So I’ve cleverly repurposed a forgotten treasure hiding away at the back of my pantry. It was during a phone call with my friend and hairdresser Zoë Irwin that I was reminded to dig out the lone jar of Tesco’s Organic Virgin Coconut Oil nestled behind a tin of baked beans.

Trained in Indian head massage, Zoë reminded me that, in India, they use coconut oil in their hair for shine – it’s one of the few oils that penetrates hair and skin, due to its low molecular weight. This is obvious when you rub it together in your hands; it dissipates in seconds into a thin, absorbable fluid, making it easy to sink into limbs and comb through hair (try doing that with olive oil and you’ll end up a sticky oil slick).

According to a study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, coconut oil has been shown to improve skin barrier function, has antiinflammatory and antibacterial properties, fights the signs of skin ageing and makes an effective moisturiser. No wonder it’s the key ingredient in a number of skin lotions and hair-treatment products. A combination of natural fatty acids, including linoleic acid, which fortifies and protects the skin’s acid mantle, helping to fend off UV rays and air pollutants, and lauric acid, which is hydrating and antimicrobial, it has a whopping amount of beauty benefits. You can use it to freshen breath (known as pulling), shave your legs, condition your hair and skin, plus, it’s an effective wound salve.

Which is why I’ve been able to substitute this miracle balm for many of my beauty empties. I smear it over my body (tip: before having a shower), leaving me as smooth as silken tofu for a good 12 hours, mix it with demerara sugar to use as a body scrub (which doubles as a lip exfoliator), and blend it together with a few drops of essential oils for a softening bath soak. It even works well as a deodorant when mixed with arrowroot powder, baking soda and cornstarch. I’ve tried using it to melt off my eye make-up before cleansing, I massage it into dry nails and feet, and have even cleaned my foundation brush with it (oil attracts oil).

If you Google coconut oil, you’ll find many more recipes for this humble plant oil, including edible ones, such as substituting it for milk in coffee (in a blender, mix a tablespoon of coconut oil with your morning cuppa for a creamy latte alternative). The best news is that you can bung it in your shopping trolley with the rest of your groceries (psst... stock up, quick). Look out for traditional beauty products rich in coconut oil too, like this fab five, below.

Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, £3, Tesco (tesco.com)