How do you 'keep' coconut oil?

[DancingQueen]

So, I just bought some extra virgin coconut oil - the jar even says it can be used as a conditioner and moisturizer for hair and skin, as well as cooking. Looking forward to start using it tomorrow. :)

But, I have one question that I can't seem to find an answer to: How do you 'keep' it? Should I just put it in my closet, or should I keep it in the refrigerator? It was in not in the cold section of the store, but when I got home and opened it, it was still kinda solid, but starting to get liquid. Does it matter if it becomes liquid, or will it 'go bad' faster?

Also, just for fun, what is your favorite way to apply it? Thank you for reading, hope someone can help me :)

[Tristania]

I store my coconut oil in my bathroom closet, and it's been fine like that for over a year now. Mine is solid at room temperature.

I apply mine to damp hair after I've washed it shampoo and conditioner: I just scrape out a little bit, rub it between my hands until my hands are lightly coated with oil, and then "squeeze" the oil into my hair, focusing on the ends.

If I want to do a heavy oiling I'll melt the oil in the microwave first to make it easier to properly saturate all my hair.

[Chimom79]

Hmm, I need to see what people say to that also. I baight some recently and Ive just been keeping it on my table. I wonder if I should put it in fridge? Its still solid, we keep it cool enough where there has been to melting in the jar.

[RedheadMistress]

- If I had access to a fridge, I would put mine in that .

But with that said, I've used coconut oil for years, without keeping it in the fridge, just because I like having all my hair related products with each other and it doesn't go bad . . and I live in England, maybe if I lived in a super hot climate, I'd keep it in the fridge :P


Fave way to applying it nowadays is in SMT's or a little bit in my mister bottle mix, or when I do braids and dip the ends in my palm with melted coconut oil in it . . for years I used to just shower my hair in coconut oil and keep it oily and soft . . it looked stringy but felt amazing and I didn't care, just happy that I found something my hair loves: oil.
And it felt like it protected my hair (:

[Suze2012]

I usually just keep mine in the bathroom as mostly it's not that hot in the UK.

It keeps OK whether it's cool and a hard texture or warm and liquid from what I can gather (and I haven't had a problem with it going off if it's liquid).

If it does get warm and begins to turn liquid I stick mine in the fridge purely because I fing it easier to gauge how much I use if it's solid.

I slather it on dry hair very heavily for a deep treat once a week and also add it to my conditioner (about a thumbnail or a bit less) which I put on the lengths after a co wash and then have a final rinse a few mins later.

[Henrietta]

I keep mine in my bathroom in a bottle. Since it's not convenient to use it like this I put some in an empty face cream jar and I keep it in my room in a closet. It's never solid. It's not liquid to the point of transparency, but it's more like a yoghurt. Liquid but somewhat dense.

[LadyTheta]

DancingQueen (love that name, btw) - If stored in a dark, cool place, e.g. perhaps your cupboard in kitchen or bathroom, it should keep well in your northern climate. I live in a warm subtropical climate, and my coconut oil keeps quite well unrefrigerated.

We seem to share similar hairtype. I experimented at first with applying just-a-bit of coconut oil to my clean, damp hair. Dry as my hair is of late, I then next time tried applying a couple of palmfuls to my clean, wet hair. (I have a very thick mane, a lot of hair, and very long --- more works better for me than the few drops that I first tried.) There was in my experience no residual oiliness to my hair whatsoever --- it seems to 'soak it up', as it were.

I wish you well in your experience with coconut oil!
Sincerely,
Theta

[Suze2012]

What I do find..is the plastic cap I use for overnight treatments...can't be used again as it smells rancid and off..tis the only problem I have had.

I should probably buy a decent washable one but I get throwaways and attempt to re-use them but I can't face it!

[auburntressed]

I just keep mine on a shelf, and it has been in pure liquid form for the majority of the summer. I have AC, but my house doesn't cool down very easily. And I can't run it too much cause of money.

I have noticed it getting solid a few times, and sometimes just solid enough to be semi-liquid.

I haven't noticed any difference in quality, though, whatever state it is in. I have had my current jar for several months, but I'm not sure exactly when I got it.

[TheMechaGinger]

I live in AZ so coconut oil is liquid here all but maybe two months of the year, I just leave it on a shelf in my bathroom though and I've never had any go bad on me.

[DancingQueen]

Ok, I guess I will just keep it in my bathroom closet. It will probably be easier to apply if it is liquid anyways.

Thanks for the quick answers, but keep the answers coming if you want :)

[henné]

I keep in in a container in a fridge ... even though it's past its due date, it still smells lovely and looks fine. I'm sure that if I kept it outside of the fridge, it'd be absolutely unusable by now ... But mine is truly natural with absolutely no additives. I've cooked with it too and it's YUMMY! I love my coconut oil. :o

[Kyla]

I keep mine at my vanity table, it's always been fine. I never even thought about putting it in the fridge.

[neko_kawaii]

I keep my bottle in the kitchen cupboard and for hair use fill a small medicine dropper from there. It is only solid 2-3 months out of the year and for then I have a tiny jam jar I can scrape a little out of. I started buying coconut oil a few years ago for cooking and haven't had a problem with it going bad, but then I use it for cooking a bit faster than I use it for my hair. I find the virgin coconut oil from the pantry smells very sweet and that the smell dissipates quickly. I also have a bottle of Surabhi coconut oil which has a sort of pungent toasted smell I don't like as much.

[JaneinMarch]

Now I make sure to use a clean spoon to get it out of the jar. After months of using my fingers to scoop some out, it stopped working like normal.

[spidermom]

I have a small glass jar that used to hold scented body butter. I melt down enough to fill the jar and keep it on my bedside table. The rest I put in the refrigerator.

[Sophiatrist]

Since I also cook with mine I keep the jar in my pantry. It stays semi-solid, it will probably be harder come next winter. I scoop out a tablespoon full into a small canning jar and microwave it until it is liquidy.

[TheWhiteRabbit]

I assume since it is stored in the stores on the shelf that it is just fine for me to do the same. Havent had a problem doing so.

[millyaulait]

I just keep in in my kitchen cupboard, no refrigerating or anything of the sort. :)

[Vanilla]

I have a soft squirt bottle with a small amount in my bathroom. When it gets solid, I can just heat it up under the warm tap to liquefy it. The large jar I keep in the fridge.

[Diamond.Eyes]

I store it on the top shelf on the inside door of my fridge. :flower:

[sharonluvscats]

I put mine in the bathroom but it gets too hot in there sometimes and I put it in the fridge. It tends to harden in the fridge but melts right up again.

[bigred199]

I store mine on a shelf in the bathroom. I got out of the practice of using it for a couple months, and when I went back and opened it, I noticed it's gone rancid. (Rancid coconut oil is foul!) I've owned that bottle for two years, so I have to say I'm pretty impressed that it stayed good for so long. I just have to use it faster next time! Now to go get a new bottle.

[BrightEyes]

I keep mine in my fridge. I do mainly use it as a treatment before highlighting, so it will take me a long time to use it.

[Long_hair_bear]

I use mine as a prewash on dry hair. I store mine in the fridge... otherwise it melts.

[shutterpillar]

Mine sits next to the bathroom sink. My husband and I use it frequently, so it resides there most of the time. No refrigerating or anything - my house stays pretty cool anyway, and the oil never melts unless I melt it myself under hot water.

[MinderMutsig]

I store my big tub in the fridge and have a small jar that used to hold one serving of jam that I have in the bathroom. When it's empty I pull the big tub from the fridge and let it melt a little so I can poor it into the little jar and then I put the big one in the fridge again.

That way only a small amount of oil is exposed to room temperatures where it goes bad faster and I don't have to have that huge tub filling the limited space I have in the bathroom. That little jar lasts me a couple of weeks depending on how much I oil but I don't use coconut oil exclusively.

[MinderMutsig]

I assume since it is stored in the stores on the shelf that it is just fine for me to do the same. Havent had a problem doing so.Interesting. Every store I've bought virgin coconut oil from so far had it stored in the fridge so it never even occurred to me to keep the entire tub out of the fridge.

[dwell_in_safety]

I just keep mine in the bathroom cabinet under the sink. That's where I keep my oils and all the conditioners that my girlfriend and I use (she CO-washes too, using different conditioner than I do, and we always have back-ups for when we run out).

[blondie9912]

I keep mine in my medicine cabinet. I think you can basically keep it anywhere, so long as the jar is well sealed. Also, since coconut oil has such a distinctive smell, you'd definitely be able to tell if it ever went off.

[beautifulending]

I keep my big 16oz jar in the fridge.I get out what I need for the week and put it in a little jar that I keep in the bathroom.

[Juanita]

Mines always liquid and just kept in a cupboard. I live in a tropical climate so it's normal for it to be liquid. When I went on holiday to New Zealand a few years ago I was surprised when it went solid as it was in a small bottle which was really hard to get it out of.

[ratgirldjh]

I had several jars go rancid sitting in my cupboard. Rancid coconut oil will put you off coconut oil for quite a while. The next jar I finally got went in the fridge and I take some out and melt it if I need it. However my hair hates coconut oil right now so I mostly eat it :D

[teela1978]

I use mine for popping corn so it lives in the kitchen cupboard. You can tell its summer because its melted :) I usually use it up in a year or two and it stays fine for that whole time. I actually prefer dealing with it when its more solid, but I think its too solid in the fridge.

[Ginbill]

I keep mine in the cabinet in the bathroom. It doesn't stay solid in the summer months but every other time of the year it's pretty much at least semi solid. Just depends on your climate / temp of your house.

[ARG]

I have mine in a mason jar, in a drawer in the bathroom. Stays pretty solid, not hard though. After hot showers and with the heat light on it gets much softer.

[Natalia]

I would say it depends on the enviornment. ivehad coconut oil last forever int he kitchen and even the bathroom but the one time i left it in my bedroom where its warmest it went moldy in a month. I was even extra careful with it no fingers in the jar ect and it still went bad i wasnt as careful with the others tht stayed solid and they lasted.