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Summers can be especially harsh for your skin since it remain directly exposed to the scorching heat, dusty winds, and excessive solar radiation that characterize this season. This hot and humid weather is ripe for a lot of sweating, sunburns, and bug bites.

There is nothing you can do to stop the advent of summer, but there are things you can do to protect and replenish your skin during this time of the year. It may be wise to tweak your skincare regimen as the weather changes.
While the basics remain the same, you can try new products or remedies that specifically address summer-related cosmetic concerns. There are countless such products and remedies doing the rounds, but the trick is to find the ones that are suitable for your particular skin type or problem.
Bear in mind that many of the synthetically produced cosmetics are riddled with irritants such as sulfates and formaldehyde that can do more harm than good. So, always go through their ingredient list to avoid chemicals or toxic elements that can damage your hair or skin quality in the long run.
By contrast, there are several natural ingredients that can do wonders for your skin at a much lesser risk and cost.
Coconut oil is one such healing potion that is replete with a variety of nutrients and bioactive compounds, which accord it significant antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties. All these properties can go a long way in treating your skin issues during the summer.
Caution: Before using coconut oil on your skin, ensure that you are not allergic to it by doing a patch test first. If severe irritation occurs, it’s best to seek medical advice.
Benefits of Coconut Oil on Skin
Here’s how coconut oil can help in banishing your skin problems during the hot season.
1. Heals sunburnt skin
Sunburn, as the name suggests, occurs when your skin is burnt due to excessive or prolonged exposure to the UV rays of the sun or other artificial sources such as tanning beds. UV radiation can penetrate deep into the skin to cause a lot of oxidative damage down to the cellular level.
Your skin has a mechanism to block out these harmful rays in the form of melanin, which is a pigment compound that gives your skin its color. Melanin absorbs the UV rays to prevent them from reaching deep into the skin. This pigment is produced by specialized cells called melanocytes found in the skin.
When the UV rays fall on the skin, these melanocytes are stimulated to produce extra melanin to trap the incoming UV rays. But when you stay in the sun for too long or the sun is too strong, this natural protective response may fall short in countering the overwhelming UV exposure.
Fair-skinned people are naturally deficient in melanin and are therefore more vulnerable to this kind of UV damage.
How coconut oil helps:
Some of the common symptoms of sunburn include dry skin, peeling or flaking skin, itching (pruritus), and local reddening (erythema).
Coconut oil can help soothe all these symptoms to a certain degree. It is rich in fatty acids that are readily absorbed and trap moisture into the skin to keep it hydrated for prolonged periods. This moisturizing effect can alleviate the dry and peeling skin associated with sunburn. (1)
Coconut oil works as a strong anti-inflammatory agent to bring down the redness, swelling, and irritation in and around your sunburnt skin. (2) It can also help heal the burnt skin, especially when used in combination with an OTC topical ointment.
Coconut oil is known to stimulate local blood circulation and promote fibroblast cell synthesis. Fibroblast cells come together to form collagen, the main structural protein found in the skin. More collagen leads to faster skin repair.
Plus, coconut oil can help disinfect sunburnt skin due to its inherent antiseptic activity and thereby prevent secondary infections. (3)
How to use:
Never use coconut oil directly on sunburnt skin as it can trap the heat and prolong the skin damage. Instead, use a cold compress to calm down the burnt skin first, and then apply a little bit of coconut oil over it.
It’s best to keep the oil in the fridge for a while before applying it so that it imparts a cooling effect. Another strategy to make it safe for your sunburnt skin is to mix it with cool aloe vera gel.
Note: Coconut oil is not the first line of treatment for sunburnt skin. It is only to be used as an adjunct therapy to assist in the overall healing and cellular recovery. It is best to seek medical advice for sunburns and then use coconut oil as a soothing agent.
2. Fights skin infections
Skin infections such as athlete’s foot are particularly prevalent during summer. As the heat rises, your sweat glands become overactive, causing excessive perspiration. This sweat mixes with the dirt, dead cells, sebum, and other airborne pollutants on your skin, eventually accumulating inside your pores or hair follicles.
The clogged pores and follicles then become breeding grounds for microbes that feed on the sebum and dead skin. Since microbes proliferate faster in warm, humid, and closed environments, your clogged pores and follicles usually become infected.
Excessive sweat can also disrupt the natural pH balance of your skin, making it more alkaline, which is also conducive to microbial overgrowth and resulting infections.
Note: Coconut oil cannot be used on folliculitis or any condition that clogs pores as it will definitely aggravate the problem.
How coconut oil helps:
The high amount of lauric acid in coconut oil exhibits antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antiprotozoal properties that can protect you from a variety of skin infections. Coconut oil has also been found effective against bacterial strains that are resistant to normal antibiotics. (4)
Moreover, coconut oil has shown significant antiseptic activity against acne-causing bacteria in much lower quantities than topical OTC benzoyl peroxide. (5) Coconut oil can also be used for the treatment of fungal infections such as athlete’s foot. (6)
How to use:
- Dab some extra-virgin coconut oil on the infected skin overnight and rinse it off in the morning.
- Alternatively, mix few drops of coconut oil in turmeric, garlic, or neem powder to make a paste. Smear this paste all over the infected skin and let it sit for about 15 minutes before washing it off.
- If you are suffering from a fungal skin infection, consider using a blend of tea tree oil and coconut oil as a topical remedy.
Note: Coconut oil treatment for skin blemishes is most effective for people with dry or normal skin. If you have oily skin, wash your skin properly and use this oil for spot treatment only to avoid more clogging.
3. Treats xerotic skin
The hot arid summer winds can strip the moisture from your skin, leaving it dry and irritated. Plus, excessive sweating can further dehydrate your body, especially if you don’t drink enough water to compensate for the fluid loss.
People find respite inside their air-conditioned homes, but indoor cooling systems also suck the humidity from the environment and add to the dryness. It is because of all these reasons that people with eczema often suffer flare-ups during summer.
How coconut oil helps:
The rich fatty acid content of coconut oil is responsible for its moisturizing properties. It contains a variety of them, including lauric acid, palmitic acid, caprylic acid, myristic acid, and stearic acid.
These fatty acids are lightweight and highly absorbent, allowing coconut oil to penetrate deep into the skin without making it too sticky. Once applied, the fat molecules in this oil hydrate the dry, flaky skin while also trapping moisture from the air to seal it into your skin.
Thus, coconut oil can serve as a safe, effective, and cost-effective lubricant for treating mild to moderate xerosis (dry skin). Moreover, this topical remedy has been shown useful in reducing the severity of atopic dermatitis and limiting UV-induced skin damage. (9)
How to use:
- Wash your skin and then pat it dry. Massage a small amount of coconut oil all over your skin while it’s still damp until it gets properly absorbed.
- You can also add a few drops of coconut oil to your regular moisturizer.
4. Helps treat poison ivy, oak, or sumac sting
Sightseeing, hitting pools and beaches, and strolling in gardens or parks are common pastimes during this season. These outdoor activities put you at an increased risk of coming in contact with toxic plants such as poison ivy, oak, or sumac, which can trigger an allergic skin reaction.
Touching the leaves, stems, and roots of these plants leads to tissue inflammation, which presents itself as a nasty skin rash that may be accompanied by small fluid-filled blisters and severe itching.
How coconut oil helps:
Research investigating the pharmacological benefits of virgin coconut oil has revealed that it possesses compounds that can inhibit chronic inflammation via several mechanisms, such as by reducing granuloma formation and serum alkaline phosphatase activity that is associated with organ damage. This anti-inflammatory activity can help reduce the swelling, skin irritation, and itching associated with an allergic rash.
Plus, coconut oil is credited with moderate analgesic and antipyretic effects that can further relieve the pain and associated fever, respectively. (10) This simple remedy can also help promote skin healing while reducing the risk of infection.
How to use:
Wash the affected skin with medicated soap and warm water. Let it dry, and then gently massage a few drops of coconut oil on the affected area several times a day.
Note: No matter how severe the itch, you must resist the urge to scratch as it can further damage your skin and even cause infections. If you must, gently pat it with clean hands to get temporary relief. Consult a doctor if the itch becomes unbearable despite using home remedies.
5. Helps with hives
Hives are skin rashes characterized by swollen bumps or welts that tend to be red, itchy, and even painful. This rash usually occurs as an allergic response to a variety of factors, including a bug bite, certain foods, and medication, stress, environmental irritants such as pollen, extreme heat, and excessive perspiration.
This allergic reaction triggers skin inflammation, which eventually takes the shape of a rash. It can appear anywhere on the body and usually subsides on its own, but it can be quite discomforting while it lasts.
How coconut oil helps:
Hives are marked by underlying skin inflammation which can be alleviated through a potent anti-inflammatory agent such as coconut oil. When used topically, the oil seeps deep into the affected skin to block the release of cytokines, proteins that are responsible for causing inflammation.
Coconut oil may also help prevent secondary infections on account of its antimicrobial properties.
How to use:
Smear a thin layer of coconut oil on the affected skin.
Note: Stay away from water bodies at night as they are usually swarmed with bugs and insects such as mosquitoes. Also, don’t scratch or pick at your rash to avoid further tissue damage or infection.
Normally hives disappear on their own. To treat hives, you can take cold showers, apply a cold compress, and wear loose clothing that doesn’t rub against your skin and keeps it properly ventilated to minimize sweating. Also, seek medical advice if needed.
6. Helps prevent infection from spa foot treatments
People pamper themselves with spa treatments to get some respite from the unforgiving summer heat. But the closed and humid confines of a salon are perfect breeding grounds for a range of bacteria, fungi, and parasites that can cause infections.
Frequenting these spaces can expose you to these germs, especially if you are going for foot therapy such as a pedicure. You can pick up the infection from the contaminated floor, water, or equipment.
How coconut oil helps:
You must do your due diligence and inquire about the safety and hygiene precautions of the spa before making an appointment. Plus, you can employ the antimicrobial properties of coconut oil to help prevent such infections.
How to use:
Simply apply some coconut oil to your feet after you are done with your foot and nail treatment. Besides disinfecting your skin, coconut oil will also make it soft and supple by adding some much-needed moisture.
7. Helps reduce heat rashes
The heat and humidity during summer induce the production of excessive sweat, which mixes with cellular debris, sebum, and dirt to clog your hair follicles. These follicles are connected to underlying sweat glands and serve as passages through which sweat is released onto the skin surface.
The warm, humid insides of the clogged follicle offer the perfect conditions for the growth of infection-causing microbes.
Even as this passage becomes blocked, the sweat glands continue producing more sweat, which keeps accumulating under the skin and seeps into the surrounding tissue. The sweat that is pushed back into the skin carries with it the germs flourishing inside the follicle, triggering inflammation in the affected tissues that may later turn into an infection.
The tissue inflammation can make your skin red, irritated, and itchy, often leading to the development of a bumpy rash known as the heat rash or prickly heat. If infected, the bumps usually turn pustular and may form an abscess.
How coconut oil helps:
Topical use of coconut oil can soothe heat rash on account of its anti-inflammatory properties. This oil can also prevent the rash from being infected due to its antimicrobial nature.
Coconut oil is a lightweight oil that quickly seeps into the skin to bring down the underlying inflammation and relieve the irritation, redness, and itching associated with it.
How to use:
In a clean bowl, put 2 tablespoons of warm coconut oil and a camphor tablet, and set it aside for a couple of hours. Once the tablet dissolves into the oil, apply the mixture over the heat rash. Reapply a few times daily for best results.
General Queries
Can coconut oil help reduce foul body odor common during the summer season?
Coconut oil is a potent antimicrobial agent that has been found effective against a range of bacterial and fungal strains, including Staphylococcus epidermidis, which is a gram-positive bacterium responsible for body odor. (11) But this effect has mostly been observed in controlled clinical settings and is limited to theory.
For practical purposes, applying coconut oil in sweaty areas such as your armpits during summers may not be the best idea. It can add to the sweating by making your skin greasy.
Plus, coconut oil turns runny at high temperatures, which can ruin your clothes. The oil may also clog your pores and cause acne. So, all things considered, it is better to stick to an OTC antiperspirant to manage the sweating.
Can coconut oil be used to treat swimmer’s ears and itch?
Lakes, ponds, and oceans are often contaminated with worm-like parasites that are released by infected snails. If you go swimming or wading in these contaminated waters, chances are these parasites can penetrate their way into your uncovered skin to cause an infestation.
This infestation triggers an allergic skin reaction characterized by the development of tiny, red, itchy spots in the form of a rash. This is known as swimmer’s itch or cercarial dermatitis, which only lasts for a brief period but can be quite irritating. If severe, it can even lead to the appearance of intensely itchy welts and blisters.
Another common ailment that plagues swimmers is an ear infection called the swimmer’s ear, which occurs when water is trapped inside their ear canal. The warm closed, and damp cavity breeds bacteria or fungi that lead to a painful infection.
Both these conditions can give rise to complications if not addressed properly, so it’s best to consult a doctor regarding the best course of treatment instead of trying unverified home remedies such as coconut oil.
Final Word
Itchy and dry skin, sunburns, bug bites, and, to top it all, skin infections can make your life miserable during summer.
This season is the time when everyone is overflowing with vigor and activity, but the common skin problems that come in its wake can certainly put a damper on all the fun. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Sometimes, all you need is a little self-care with simple home remedies such as coconut oil to treat or prevent these summer woes.
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