By Laura
September 29, 2023
6 minutes
There are various alternatives to shaving creams that can be used when there is no shaving cream available. Among those, coconut oil has been highly trendy for shaving hair as it softens your hair and reduces friction. You can use it alone or along with the shaving cream to get rid of coarse, thick hair smoothly.
The oil makes shaving effortless by providing enough lubrication to the skin. It is also cheap and can work for almost all skin types. Do you also want to try shaving with coconut oil? Let’s discuss it’s suitability for you.
Table of Contents:
Part 1: Benefits of Shaving with Coconut Oil
Smooth and Hydrate Skin
Coconut oil has medium-chain fatty acids such as lauric, palmitic, and linoleic acids. These acids act as a sealant and retain moisture in your skin. As your skin stays hydrated throughout the day, it stays smooth and soft as well.
Natural Lubrication
You need lubrication between the shaving razor and the skin to prevent the blades from cutting the skin. It also minimizes the chances of hair breakage and ingrown hair. So, coconut oil due to it’s slippery nature can be the perfect lubricant.
Anti-inflammatory and Soothing
The virgin coconut oil has anti-inflammatory properties. It is useful against inflammation and also acts as a soothing agent for your skin during shaving. In this way, using coconut oil while shaving can make your experience comfortable and easy.
Reduces Ingrown Hair and Irritation
Dry shaving can be one of the reasons for the frequent occurrence of ingrown hair. It also irritates your skin making it red, dry, and inflamed. To minimize ingrown hair, you can use coconut oil for shaving. The oil softens skin, reduces resistance, and thus prevents irritation and ingrown hairs.
Part 2: Will Shaving with Coconut Oil Darken Hair? Any Side Effects?
Coconut oil does not have any ingredients that can darken your hair color. They may appear darker sometimes because coconut oil provides shine to your skin. This shine creates an optical illusion that results in a dark hair appearance. So, coconut oil can never actually change your hair color.
However, there are some side effects of coconut oil you need to be aware of.
Skin Irritation
Coconut oil can cause skin irritation in 3-7.2% of people who use it. The skin irritation causes redness, mild inflammation, and continuous itching on your skin. Additionally, coconut is a tree nut so if you are allergic to nuts, the coconut oil will also cause allergic reactions on your skin.
Acne and Breakouts
The nature of coconut oil is comedogenic which means it can clog pores and trap dirt, bacteria, and other impurities in your skin pores. This clogging leads to infections, breakouts, and even acne on your skin.
Milia
Although coconut oil is good for the skin, its frequent usage can lead to a skin condition called milia. It is the formation of yellow or white dome-shaped bumps on your skin and usually occurs in those areas with thin skin like your under eyes, eyelids, or cheeks.
Part 3: How to Use Coconut Oil for Shaving
Following are the easy steps to use coconut oil for shaving:
- First, you need to cleanse your skin with a gentle exfoliator or cleanser
- Now take some coconut in your hands and rub them together to melt down the oil
- Apply it on the area to be shaved and wait for some time to let it seep well into the skin
- You can directly use a razor if you are removing thin or short hair and if you are shaving on an area with coarse hair, you can apply a shaving cream after the oil
- Remember to rinse your razor after every stroke otherwise, the oil can clog your razor
- Then, clean the area with a warm towel or warm water and apply some oil again to moisturize the skin
Part 4: Tips and Considerations for Shaving with Coconut Oil
Recommended Usage for Different Body Parts
Coconut oil can be used on all areas of your body including your legs, pubic area, arms, back, chest, and face. The bigger areas like legs, chest, or arms require more amount but you should not exceed more than 2 tablespoons while applying the oil on any area.
To know your skin type, click How to Know Your Skin Type
Personal Preferences and Skin Type
Another thing to consider before using coconut oil for shaving is your personal preferences and skin type. Coconut oil does not suit everybody. It is not suitable for those with an allergy to nuts or those having a comedones-prone body.
Additionally, some people have more oily skin specifically facial skin so applying coconut oil on oily skin can worsen your breakouts and acne.
Overcoming Potential Challenges
Coconut oil is great for shaving but there are some potential challenges you might face during. So, knowing them and having a solution is essential to minimize cuts and nicks.
- Allergy: The coconut oil can cause an allergy so do a patch test on a small area before directly applying the oil to the area to be shaved
- Clogging of Razor: Similar to other oils, there can be residues of coconut oil build up on your razor. This increases friction and can abrade your skin. So, you need to keep on cleaning the razor with every stroke.
After you are done shaving, clean and dry the razor properly before storing and changing your blades regularly. To learn how to remove a blade, click How to Remove a Blade from Razor.
- Clogging of Pores: Coconut oil can clog and is bad for oily skin. So, do not use it more than the recommended amount.
Part 5: Other Uses of Coconut Oil in Shaving Routine
Pre-shave Oil
You can use coconut oil as a pre-shave product to soften your hair and skin so that the blade glides smoothly over your skin. The oil moisturizes and lubricates your dry skin. This serves as an alternative to shaving cream making the blade glide smoothly.
Moreover, if you have coarse hair you can use coconut oil before applying the shaving cream to remove the hair easily and avoid bumps, and nicks.
Post-shave Moisturizer
Shaving scrapes the outer protective barrier of your skin. This makes your skin more prone to dryness, invasion of bacteria, and irritation from small particles and dust.
To avoid this, you can use coconut oil as a post-shave moisturizer. This will retain the hydration of your skin and prevent redness, itching, and inflammation when you are done shaving.
Conclusion
Coconut oil, plus coconut-based moisturizers, and coconut oil shaving creams can be a good alternative for shaving your skin. It is easily available, economical, and provides good lubrication to shaving razors, making it safer to glide your blade across your skin and avoid nicks, and cuts.
Moreover, coconut oil can also be used to minimize skin dryness, redness, and inflammation that usually occur after shaving, leading to healthier, glowing skin after shaving.
As it can be applied in all areas, you can try it as an effective alternative for shaving when an actual shaving cream is unavailable or you run out of it.
It not only helps with shaving safely but it is also a beneficial addition to your skincare as a moisturizer, making it a must-have for your skincare regimen.
Thus, you can get both skincare and hair removal benefits from a single product, that is coconut oil. Besides this, you can also try out other shaving cream alternatives that we have elaborated on in this article.
