Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsBenefitsDoes It Work?Possible RisksHow to Use ItOther Options
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Benefits
Does It Work?
Possible Risks
How to Use It
Other Options
Whilecoconut oilis generally safe for use, it can cause allergies in some people, including those with allergies to tree nuts like walnuts and almonds.
Anna Efetova / Getty Images
Benefits for People With Eczema
Eczema, also known as dermatitis, refers to different types of skininflammationthat cause localized itchiness, redness, and rash. Differenttypes of eczemaaffect different parts of the body, often in episodic flares.
Coconut oil applied to the skin is thought to help in several ways:
In naturopathic medicine, coconut is thought to offer other health benefits when used externally, including:
Studies have also shown that coconut oil is non-irritating and non-phototoxic (meaning that it won’t irritate or inflame the skin when exposed to the sun).
Claims that coconut oil can help prevent or treattype 2 diabetes,Alzheimer’s disease,bone mineral loss, orobesityare yet to be proven.
What Is Coconut Oil?
Coconut oil remains solid at temperatures below 77° F (25° C) and turns into a clear, yellowish oil at higher temperatures. Frequently used for cooking and baking, coconut oil is also used in the production of soaps and skincare products due to its moisturizing properties.
Despite the evidence of the individual benefits of coconut oil, it remains unclear what effect coconut oil has on eczema in its totality.
Experts from the National Eczema Association generally endorse coconut oil for the prevention of eczema flares but state that its “utility in treating eczema flares is more limited.” At best, its anti-inflammatory effects are considered “mild.”
The researchers also confirmed that, when used for four weeks, coconut oil caused a “relative reduction” inStaphylococcus aureus(a common skin bacteria that can trigger eczema flares). However, they did not suggest that the reduction in any way reduces the risk of flares.
Risks of Topical Coconut Oil
Using refined coconut oil as a topical agent is not right for everyone. Among other things, it can clog your pores, so it’s not good to use in areas where you get pimples.
In rare cases, some people have experienced allergic reactions when coconut oil is applied to the skin. Referred to asallergic contact dermatitis, the condition can cause an outbreak of symptoms within 48 to 72 hours of exposure, including:
Coconut allergy affects only around 0.39% of the U.S. population, typically adults more than children. Even so, two out of every five cases results in severe symptoms requiring medical treatment.
People with an allergy to walnuts, almonds, macadamias, hazelnuts, lentils, or latex are also more likely to experience a coconut allergy, whether it be a"true" allergyor a mildercross-reactive allergy.
How to Use Coconut Oil
You should only use refined virgin coconut oil on the skin. Unrefined oil may contain contaminants or other ingredients that cause irritation or allergy.
Coconut oil is easier when it is in liquid form. You can gently heat the oil in the microwave if it is solid but let it cool to room temperature before use. Never apply heated oil to the skin.
If you have no reaction, you can apply the oil daily, ideally after a bath or shower when your skin is moist. Rub it in thoroughly in circular motions, avoiding hairy parts of the body as well as the face, chest, back, and other areas prone to acne.
How Eczema Is Treated
Summary
Coconut oil is a popular natural treatment for eczema that helps moisturize and soften the skin, reducing the risk of flares. It is also thought to have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects that may help ease eczema symptoms, although this has not been definitively proven in research.
Coconut oil is generally regarded as safe for use on the skin, although allergy has been known to occur in rare instances.
14 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public HealthCoconut oil.ThermoFisher Scientific.Allergy & autoimmune disease: f36 coconut.National Eczema Association.What is eczema?van Zuuren EJ, Fedorowicz Z, Christensen R, Lavrijsen A, Arents BW.Emollients and moisturisers for eczema.Cochrane Database Systematic Rev. 2017;2(8):CD012119. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD012119.pub2National Eczema Association.Get the facts: coconut oil.Varma SR, Sivaprakasam TO, Arumugam I.In vitro anti-inflammatory and skin protective properties of virgin coconut oil.J Tradit Complement Med. 2019 Jan;9(1):9–14. doi:10.1016/j.jtcme.2017.06.012Matsue N, Mori Y, Nagase S, et al.Measuring the antimicrobial activity of lauric acid against various bacteria in human gut microbiota using a new method.Cell Transplant. 2019 Dec;28(12):1528–1541. doi:10.1177/0963689719881366Wallace TC.Health effects of coconut oil-a narrative review of current evidence.J Am Coll Nutr.2019 Feb;38(2):97-107. doi:10.1080/07315724.2018.1497562National Eczema Association.Coconut oil and eczema.Nadora D, Burney W, Chaudhuri RK, et al.Prospective randomized double-blind vehicle-controlled study of topical coconut and sunflower seed oil-derived isosorbide diesters on atopic dermatitis.Dermatitis.2024 Jan-Feb;35(S1):S62-S69. doi:10.1089/derm.2023.0329Francis A, Shojan A.Comedogenicity of oils.Int J Contemp Med Res.2019;6(8):H5-H7. doi:10.21276/ijcmr.2019.6.8.21Mowad CM, Anderson B, Scheinman P, Pootongkam S, Nedorost S, Brod B.Allergic contact dermatitis: patient diagnosis and evaluation.J Am Acad Dermatol.2016 Jun;74(6):1029-40. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2015.02.1139Warren CM, Sehgai S, Nimmagadda SR, Gupta R.Prevalence and burden of coconut allergy in the United States.Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol.2023 Nov;131(5):645-654.e2. doi:10.1016/j.anai.2023.08.017Anagnostou K.Coconut allergy revisited.Children (Basel). 2017;4(10):85. doi:10.3390/children4100085
14 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public HealthCoconut oil.ThermoFisher Scientific.Allergy & autoimmune disease: f36 coconut.National Eczema Association.What is eczema?van Zuuren EJ, Fedorowicz Z, Christensen R, Lavrijsen A, Arents BW.Emollients and moisturisers for eczema.Cochrane Database Systematic Rev. 2017;2(8):CD012119. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD012119.pub2National Eczema Association.Get the facts: coconut oil.Varma SR, Sivaprakasam TO, Arumugam I.In vitro anti-inflammatory and skin protective properties of virgin coconut oil.J Tradit Complement Med. 2019 Jan;9(1):9–14. doi:10.1016/j.jtcme.2017.06.012Matsue N, Mori Y, Nagase S, et al.Measuring the antimicrobial activity of lauric acid against various bacteria in human gut microbiota using a new method.Cell Transplant. 2019 Dec;28(12):1528–1541. doi:10.1177/0963689719881366Wallace TC.Health effects of coconut oil-a narrative review of current evidence.J Am Coll Nutr.2019 Feb;38(2):97-107. doi:10.1080/07315724.2018.1497562National Eczema Association.Coconut oil and eczema.Nadora D, Burney W, Chaudhuri RK, et al.Prospective randomized double-blind vehicle-controlled study of topical coconut and sunflower seed oil-derived isosorbide diesters on atopic dermatitis.Dermatitis.2024 Jan-Feb;35(S1):S62-S69. doi:10.1089/derm.2023.0329Francis A, Shojan A.Comedogenicity of oils.Int J Contemp Med Res.2019;6(8):H5-H7. doi:10.21276/ijcmr.2019.6.8.21Mowad CM, Anderson B, Scheinman P, Pootongkam S, Nedorost S, Brod B.Allergic contact dermatitis: patient diagnosis and evaluation.J Am Acad Dermatol.2016 Jun;74(6):1029-40. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2015.02.1139Warren CM, Sehgai S, Nimmagadda SR, Gupta R.Prevalence and burden of coconut allergy in the United States.Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol.2023 Nov;131(5):645-654.e2. doi:10.1016/j.anai.2023.08.017Anagnostou K.Coconut allergy revisited.Children (Basel). 2017;4(10):85. doi:10.3390/children4100085
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public HealthCoconut oil.ThermoFisher Scientific.Allergy & autoimmune disease: f36 coconut.National Eczema Association.What is eczema?van Zuuren EJ, Fedorowicz Z, Christensen R, Lavrijsen A, Arents BW.Emollients and moisturisers for eczema.Cochrane Database Systematic Rev. 2017;2(8):CD012119. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD012119.pub2National Eczema Association.Get the facts: coconut oil.Varma SR, Sivaprakasam TO, Arumugam I.In vitro anti-inflammatory and skin protective properties of virgin coconut oil.J Tradit Complement Med. 2019 Jan;9(1):9–14. doi:10.1016/j.jtcme.2017.06.012Matsue N, Mori Y, Nagase S, et al.Measuring the antimicrobial activity of lauric acid against various bacteria in human gut microbiota using a new method.Cell Transplant. 2019 Dec;28(12):1528–1541. doi:10.1177/0963689719881366Wallace TC.Health effects of coconut oil-a narrative review of current evidence.J Am Coll Nutr.2019 Feb;38(2):97-107. doi:10.1080/07315724.2018.1497562National Eczema Association.Coconut oil and eczema.Nadora D, Burney W, Chaudhuri RK, et al.Prospective randomized double-blind vehicle-controlled study of topical coconut and sunflower seed oil-derived isosorbide diesters on atopic dermatitis.Dermatitis.2024 Jan-Feb;35(S1):S62-S69. doi:10.1089/derm.2023.0329Francis A, Shojan A.Comedogenicity of oils.Int J Contemp Med Res.2019;6(8):H5-H7. doi:10.21276/ijcmr.2019.6.8.21Mowad CM, Anderson B, Scheinman P, Pootongkam S, Nedorost S, Brod B.Allergic contact dermatitis: patient diagnosis and evaluation.J Am Acad Dermatol.2016 Jun;74(6):1029-40. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2015.02.1139Warren CM, Sehgai S, Nimmagadda SR, Gupta R.Prevalence and burden of coconut allergy in the United States.Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol.2023 Nov;131(5):645-654.e2. doi:10.1016/j.anai.2023.08.017Anagnostou K.Coconut allergy revisited.Children (Basel). 2017;4(10):85. doi:10.3390/children4100085
Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public HealthCoconut oil.
ThermoFisher Scientific.Allergy & autoimmune disease: f36 coconut.
National Eczema Association.What is eczema?
van Zuuren EJ, Fedorowicz Z, Christensen R, Lavrijsen A, Arents BW.Emollients and moisturisers for eczema.Cochrane Database Systematic Rev. 2017;2(8):CD012119. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD012119.pub2
National Eczema Association.Get the facts: coconut oil.
Varma SR, Sivaprakasam TO, Arumugam I.In vitro anti-inflammatory and skin protective properties of virgin coconut oil.J Tradit Complement Med. 2019 Jan;9(1):9–14. doi:10.1016/j.jtcme.2017.06.012
Matsue N, Mori Y, Nagase S, et al.Measuring the antimicrobial activity of lauric acid against various bacteria in human gut microbiota using a new method.Cell Transplant. 2019 Dec;28(12):1528–1541. doi:10.1177/0963689719881366
Wallace TC.Health effects of coconut oil-a narrative review of current evidence.J Am Coll Nutr.2019 Feb;38(2):97-107. doi:10.1080/07315724.2018.1497562
National Eczema Association.Coconut oil and eczema.
Nadora D, Burney W, Chaudhuri RK, et al.Prospective randomized double-blind vehicle-controlled study of topical coconut and sunflower seed oil-derived isosorbide diesters on atopic dermatitis.Dermatitis.2024 Jan-Feb;35(S1):S62-S69. doi:10.1089/derm.2023.0329
Francis A, Shojan A.Comedogenicity of oils.Int J Contemp Med Res.2019;6(8):H5-H7. doi:10.21276/ijcmr.2019.6.8.21
Mowad CM, Anderson B, Scheinman P, Pootongkam S, Nedorost S, Brod B.Allergic contact dermatitis: patient diagnosis and evaluation.J Am Acad Dermatol.2016 Jun;74(6):1029-40. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2015.02.1139
Warren CM, Sehgai S, Nimmagadda SR, Gupta R.Prevalence and burden of coconut allergy in the United States.Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol.2023 Nov;131(5):645-654.e2. doi:10.1016/j.anai.2023.08.017
Anagnostou K.Coconut allergy revisited.Children (Basel). 2017;4(10):85. doi:10.3390/children4100085
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