Coconut oil has been a sleeper hit that’s found its way into almost our entire beauty routine from teeth brushing, to body scrubs, moisturising, hair care and make-up. But the humble coconut has more to offer than just its oil. We have hundreds of products that contain coconut, but here we wanted to look at ways to use the whole coconut sustainably, rather than just taking the oil and discarding the rest.
When thinking about how to use coconut in a truly sustainable way, it’s a great idea to use the whole fruit – from the external fibre or husk, to the shell then the flesh, it’s a ‘nose to tail’, approach so to speak, or as we like to say husk to hydration. Here we highlight some of the brands making the most of this precious natural ingredient.
FOUR WAYS TO USE COCONUT
Coconut Husk. The hairy exterior of a dried coconut is an immensely useful product and can be found in everything from door mats to plant pots. CONTENT stocks EcoCoconut kitchen cleaning products including Scourers, a Dish Brush and Bottle Brush. They scrub up well and look great on the side of your kitchen sink, plus there’s no stress in throwing them out once they’re served their purpose – they coconut fibres are fully biodegradable and no plastic has been used in creating these items. This fibre waste product is also burnt and turned into activated charcoal to use for everything from stomach upsets to whitening and brightening. We rate the activated coconut charcoal in the Sister & Co Activated Charcoal Tooth Whitening Polish.
Coconut Shell: Ground up and used in incense, coconut shell also turns up in skincare products. Evolve Organic Skincare use ground coconut shell in their Radiant Glow Mask, which is also available to try in the Evolve Organic Skincare Best Sellers Kit.
Coconut Flesh: The white, sweet flesh of the coconut yields the coconut oil we know and love.RMS Beauty is one of our hero beauty brands which is well-known for featuring coconut oil and the cult Liha Idan Oil is a tuberose scented Coconut Oil (divine!).
Coconut Milk. Coconut milk is a delicious cooking ingredient and makes a lovely ingredient in skincare too. The Skin Tonic Coco Mask contains Coconut Milk Powder – a tropical treat for your face.
Makes you think before you drink, before you moisturise, before you scrub!
Read more: Teeth Whitening With Activated Charcoal | Charcoal Skincare We Rate
Photo by Jonas Dücker
