I have mentioned before that we live in a forest. I wouldn’t have it any other way but with the trees comes the ticks. Ticks don’t mess around. One tiny baby tick can leave a huge, itchy whelp for months. My girls and I have several tick bites each and I’ve found the best remedy to calm the itch, accelerate healing and reduce the swelling is unrefined straight coconut oil. The relief and quick healing is like no other. Even with my healing salve, I found that the olive oil and beeswax aren’t helpful with the tick bites. These bites seem to need undiluted healing benefits. Of course this DIY isn’t limited to tick bites. This coconut stick would be so helpful with any open wounds, especially bug bites.
So last night as I lay in bed putting coconut oil on my hips and stomach (they like to get in the hem of underwear or pants on me, ew.) I started thinking there is probably a better way then bringing the jar of coconut oil to bed with me. I also started thinking of all the essential oils that would further facilitate the coconut oil but applying it from the jar makes it tough to get it all on without a mess. Plus, I don’t want to deposit essential oils into my jar since I also use the coconut oil for my smoothies!
I’ve come up with an easier way to administer this potent healing ingredients without the inconvenience and messiness!
First off you must find a clean deodorant container. I have THESE but you can also just use plastic lip balm tubes. Your containers don’t have to be big, you just need some sort of push up tube. This DIY could not be easier because the main and possibly only ingredient is just coconut oil! I added a couple of essential oils to mine but it’s not totally necessary.
Let’s get into the why behind coconut oil for a minute-Did you know that coconut oil is anti fungal, antiviral, antimicrobial and antibacterial? Yeah….CRAZY! Coconut oil is also super rich in antioxidants which help repair and protect the skin. According to Greenmedinfo.com, “coconut oil has the ability to accelerate re-epithelialization, improve antioxidant enzyme activity, and stimulate higher collagen cross-linking within the tissue being repaired.” Yeah, I had to quote that because there was no way to simplify it, it’s just too good!
Almost 50% of the fatty acids in coconut oil contain lauric acid which is very effective in killing bacteria, viruses and fungi. Breast milk is the only other source of lauric acid! I know I’m not the only nursing mother who has applied breast milk to a wound-this is why breast milk is so incredibly healing. Coconut oil also contains a good amount of vitamin E which is great for speeding up healing of the skin.
The great thing about applying coconut oil topically is that it deeply penetrates. You might be annoyed at the fact that it seems to sit on top of the skin and not soak in quick enough but this only means that you have used too much. It doesn’t take a lot to benefit from it’s healing properties and using too much is just uncomfortable and a waste.
I would highly suggest using coconut oil from Healthy Traditions. Yes, I’m an affiliate but I seriously could make more commission selling a brand on Amazon. I choose Tropical Traditions for my smoothies, skin care and blog because they are simply the best. Period.
Coconut Stick Recipe:
- 4 TBSP. Unrefined Coconut Oil (find the BEST HERE)
- 2 tsp. Beeswax (find it HERE) Optional
- 15 drops essential oil (optional)
Directions:
- Fill a medium pan with water and add a glass pyrex bowl in the water.
- Turn stove top below medium.
- Add coconut oil and allow to melt.
- Remove from heat and add essential oils.
- Transfer to your deodorant container.
**STORE IN FRIDGE** You might need to store in fridge since we are using very little beeswax in order to keep the potency of the coconut oil high.
IMPORTANT: DO NOT HEAT YOUR COCONUT OIL ANY MORE THEN YOU HAVE TOO. IN FACT, IF YOU CAN GET IT TO IT”S MELTING POINT BY SITTING OUTSIDE OR IN A WARM WINDOW, THIS IS BEST. HEAT CAN KILL IT’S HEALING ABILITY.
We love our coconut stick and are seeing such great healing by using it daily. I keep it in the fridge to keep the consistency hard, plus the cold helps alleviate the itch and inflammation.
Possible Essential Oils Suggestions:
7 drops Myrrh and 7 drops of Frankincense-Per Gary Young of Young Living
5 drops Frankincense, 5 drops Lavender, 5 drops Lemon & 2 drops Melaleuca (my healing salve recipe)
4 drops Chamomile and 11 drops Lavender
Of course, if you don’t want to add essential oils, you will still reap massive benefits. I was only using coconut oil for the last few days and the improvements are amazing. If you do want to use essential oils I suggest using oils from Plant Therapy. They provide HIGH QUALITY oils that are organic and affordable! Plus they offer free shipping on all orders! I also like getting my oils from Mountain Rose Herbs.
Hope you’ve enjoyed this super easy DIY. It’s going to be stocked in my fridge all summer guaranteed! Oh, and I’m super lazy with body care (I shouldn’t admit that) so I just rub this stick all over. It’s a great moisturizer and is very healing for the heels too!
xx, Jenni
P.S. Gotta have a cute label and by the way, you might swipe some clear packing tape over this label since this can get a bit oily. I used Avery labels 22806.
PIN IT!!!
