What should coconut oil smell like?

[Automne]

I have bought two different coconut oils and they both smell different! Both are supposed to be 100% virgin coconut oil.

The first one is organic and smells very strong and not really like coconut. The second one I bought it at the Indian store and it is almost odorless.

My sister just brought back one that she bought in India it smells sooo good, you can recognize it's coconut and it smells delicious..

Are the oils that I bought bad quality?

[jillosity]

If unrefined, it ought to smell like delicious coconut, unless it's rancid. Unrefined oil will smell like nothing. If it smells bad or off, then return it, it should never smell unpleasant.

[Ebrox]

I use this (http://www.google.com/imgres?start=103&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1440&bih=759&addh=36&tbm=isch&tbnid=0yUctrLKmtXmjM:&imgrefurl=http://meechymonroe.com/my-current-faves/&docid=LuUN49nDvo9FSM&imgurl=http://meechymonroe.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/000Coconut-oil1.jpg&w=550&h=550&ei=UGROUMjXOKbY0QGv5YDQAg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=298&sig=108553814397100666646&page=4&tbnh=136&tbnw=137&ndsp=40&ved=1t:429,r:22,s:103,i:200&tx=59&ty=78) and it smells just like coconuts, but before I had a cheap one, it had more like a yellowy colour (good quality coconut oil is pure white) and no smell, that was probably refined.

[Chimom79]

Mine is refined expeller pressed organic coconut oil and has no smell at all. I wish it did, I soooo love the smell of coconut! I guess I need to find me some unrefined.

[Automne]

Thanks! The one that my sister brought is called meera coconut oil. My hair smells so nice (and hands too lol)!!

I always hear about Vatika oil, does it smell good?

[Iolanthe13]

Mine is white, so I guess it's the good stuff. There's a subtle coconut scent to it - very buttery, if that makes sense. When it's on my hair the sweetness goes away, though there is still a slight scent I can't quite describe.

[TheMechaGinger]

I've heard vatika smells amazing! I'd love to get my hands on some, but I've also heard there's too kinds and that one is better than the other. I'm sorry I don't know much about it but I'm sure there's a thread here with way more detail on the vatika.

Also I use organic unrefined expeller pressed coconut oil (what a mouth full!) and mine smells like fresh coconut every time I buy it. I wouldn't use oil that smelled funny, there's probably something up with it

[Anje]

Refined coconut oil typically is about odorless. Might smell a little oily, but that's all.

Virgin coconut oil smells awesomely coconutty and delicious.

Copra coconut oils (such as Parachute) tend to have a smoky smell to them. They're made by pressing coconut after it's been dried/smoked. I tend to think they can smell a bit like bacon, which is weird.

[Ginbill]

Mine is white, so I guess it's the good stuff. There's a subtle coconut scent to it - very buttery, if that makes sense. When it's on my hair the sweetness goes away, though there is still a slight scent I can't quite describe.

It smells buttery to me too. Good for when I use it on my popcorn which is also delicious I might add. Not so great for my hair or skin. I think I'm just more sensitive to it. My mom thinks it has no smell at all.

[Henrietta]

Refined coconut oil typically is about odorless. Might smell a little oily, but that's all.

Virgin coconut oil smells awesomely coconutty and delicious.

Copra coconut oils (such as Parachute) tend to have a smoky smell to them. They're made by pressing coconut after it's been dried/smoked. I tend to think they can smell a bit like bacon, which is weird.

My Parachute smells like... Oh... My fiance always says "Mmm, bacon?? :D" when I use it, so there you go.
I'll never buy it again.

[Drestic]

I often bought a certain brand of coconut oil from the health food store, but one time I went there to buy it and when I got back to my apartment (right next door to the health food store!) the coconut oil was yellow and smelled rancid. The container was black so I couldn't tell before I opened it. I brought it back to the cashier and he told me I could trade it in and get another one which I opened in front of him and that one was also rancid. He said he had no idea what coconut oil was like and he didn't know if he could trust my judgement or not...as it turns out I just ended up getting a different brand with a clear jar and I showed him the difference. Ever since that day, the health food store only stocks the brand that had the rancid containers with clear jars so that they don't have that problem again. I guess they lost a lot of money with rancid coconut oil!

[jojo]

It smells of coconuts :D I love the smell!

[Oubli]

I buy my refined coconut oil from the baking aisle at WalMart, it has no odor.

[legendya]

Refined coconut oil typically is about odorless. Might smell a little oily, but that's all.

Virgin coconut oil smells awesomely coconutty and delicious.

Copra coconut oils (such as Parachute) tend to have a smoky smell to them. They're made by pressing coconut after it's been dried/smoked. I tend to think they can smell a bit like bacon, which is weird.

Yeah I agree. Parachute coconut oil smells like burnt bacon :P Now I use unrefined coconut oil from whole foods market. It smells very much like coconuts.

[cmg]

I don't like the vatika smell. It smells like "grandpa's old shaving tonic" or something. I don't like it in my hair but it is really good besides the smell.

/ CMG

[SlingMomEsq]

I use Tropical Traditions which is supposed to be virgin high quality. And it smells very much like coconut to me!

[sakuraemily]

Well meera and parachute are the ones that have always been used for hair for centuries now. So, if you can get your hands on them you need not look further

[CaityBear]

You should check to see if they're all just pure coconut oil. They may have fragrance added to them. I've bought both unrefined and refined. I like using it for baking as well (like making quick chocolate truffles and stuff like that) and I really like coconut so I bought some unrefined to use for that however I also have refined for when I don't want a coconut flavour. The refined smelled like nothing to me but unrefined smelled deliciously coconutty. :P

[cmg]

This has never happened before: I just opened a new jar with coconut oil that i have had around the house for about one month. It has not been stored warm or been opened by me before. As soon as I opened it i felt a faint, but distinctive smell of mold! I could se nothing visually. I scraped off about two inches from the top layer and it was still somewhat smelly. This bothered me abit so I even took it under the microscope to check it out. I couldn't find anything suspicious. Am I imagining things? I don't think I have had this before, this particular brand always smelled faintly like coconut (deliciously!). I think I will throw this one away and buy a new one. It is too late to take it back to the store though. Weird.

/ CMG

[Ravenwind]

I use refined expeller pressed organic coconut oil by Spectrum. It doesn't smell like anything and it works really good :) I use it on my hair while my mom also uses it for cooking, lol. I wish it did smell like coconuts though :)

[MissMoppet]

I don't have many options where I am working right now. There were two types of coconut oil in the stores when I went shopping. While I love what coconut oil does for my hair (best deep conditioner I've tried) I don't like how it starts to smell in my hair a day or so after. The aroma is really nutty, maybe slightly earthy, which I find off putting. I don't remember coconut oil smelling like this in the past, but I figured it was organic and this was why. Could what I have be off? It does not smell rancid in the bottle. Maybe I need to forget about the store and order stuff online. :(

[JustPam]

I use KTC coconut oil which is refined and has no scent. This is the description on Amazon,

"KTC Coconut Oil is 100% pure, refined, coconut oil. There are no other ingredients, additives or process aids in this oil. KTC Coconut Oil is refined in exactly the same way as other, more familiar, vegetable cooking oils. Refining removes any impurities which could be present to produce an oil of the highest quality. Refining also destroys much of the vitamin content of an oil, but as coconut oil contains virtually no vitamins when freshly extracted, this does not affect the nutritional quality of the oil. The chemistry of coconut oil is unique in that it contains medium chain triglycerides which are the building blocks of the body's immune defence and hormones produced by the thyroid gland. These fatty acids are not affected by the refining process. Nutritionally, refined coconut oil is as good for you as the cold pressed oil. Our oil is not hydrogenated at any point in its production and naturally contains less trans- fatty acids than any other vegetable, animal or marine oils."

[hennalonghair]

I use KTC coconut oil which is refined and has no scent. This is the description on Amazon,

"KTC Coconut Oil is 100% pure, refined, coconut oil. There are no other ingredients, additives or process aids in this oil. KTC Coconut Oil is refined in exactly the same way as other, more familiar, vegetable cooking oils. Refining removes any impurities which could be present to produce an oil of the highest quality. Refining also destroys much of the vitamin content of an oil, but as coconut oil contains virtually no vitamins when freshly extracted, this does not affect the nutritional quality of the oil. The chemistry of coconut oil is unique in that it contains medium chain triglycerides which are the building blocks of the body's immune defence and hormones produced by the thyroid gland. These fatty acids are not affected by the refining process. Nutritionally, refined coconut oil is as good for you as the cold pressed oil. Our oil is not hydrogenated at any point in its production and naturally contains less trans- fatty acids than any other vegetable, animal or marine oils."
I use ONLY pure virgin organic coconut oil which is completely different than refined coconut oil. The statements off Amazon in the above post are false. Coconut oil most certainly has vitamins and minerals as well of other nutritional value. When any oil is refined it is processed oil and in order for it to be processed it often goes through heating, stripping and bleaching just to take that nutty small out and to add preservatives. Natural unprocessed coconut oil has vitamin A, vitamin C , calcium and iron , just not a significant source. Refining breaks down the oils compositional structure so although you might reap the benefits as a lubricant oil when using refined oil, you are losing the value that unrefined coconut oil has to offer .
If you don't like the smell or the fact that unrefined coconut solidifies at room temperature then just add something to it. I often mix mine with an all natural leave in conditioner that has a great scent or an all natural curl enhancer like Be Curly by AVeda. Yes it's a bit pricey but it lasts me all year. Pure coconut oil does have a nutty earthy scent that can be off putting but it should NEVER go mouldy. Carrington Farms virgin, cold pressed organic coconut oil is sold at Costco for less than $20 and its a 54 ounce jar that doesn't go rancid. I get this all the time and leave it in my kitchen and bathroom cupboards and use it on my skin and hair as well as cook with it. Its one of the few oils where its beneficial to get plenty of it to lose weight because it has so many medium chain fatty acids that aid in weight loss.
https://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html
http://paleohacks.com/coconut/coconut-oil-mold-in-refined-vs-un-refined-25929
http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/faq.htm#12

[JustPam]

I use ONLY pure virgin organic coconut oil which is completely different than refined coconut oil. The statements off Amazon in the above post are false. Coconut oil most certainly has vitamins and minerals as well of other nutritional value. When any oil is refined it is processed oil and in order for it to be processed it often goes through heating, stripping and bleaching just to take that nutty small out and to add preservatives. Natural unprocessed coconut oil has vitamin A, vitamin C , calcium and iron , just not a significant source. Refining breaks down the oils compositional structure so although you might reap the benefits as a lubricant oil when using refined oil, you are losing the value that unrefined coconut oil has to offer .
If you don't like the smell or the fact that unrefined coconut solidifies at room temperature then just add something to it. I often mix mine with an all natural leave in conditioner that has a great scent or an all natural curl enhancer like Be Curly by AVeda. Yes it's a bit pricey but it lasts me all year. Pure coconut oil does have a nutty earthy scent that can be off putting but it should NEVER go mouldy. Carrington Farms virgin, cold pressed organic coconut oil is sold at Costco for less than $20 and its a 54 ounce jar that doesn't go rancid. I get this all the time and leave it in my kitchen and bathroom cupboards and use it on my skin and hair as well as cook with it. Its one of the few oils where its beneficial to get plenty of it to lose weight because it has so many medium chain fatty acids that aid in weight loss.
https://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html
http://paleohacks.com/coconut/coconut-oil-mold-in-refined-vs-un-refined-25929
http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/faq.htm#12

I just use this one because its the one that the little Indian grocery shop on my street has, and its £2.49 for a 500g tub, I'm a bargain hunter, I never buy top grade stuff when the cheaper stuff does what I need it to. I pasted the Amazon description there just in case anyone wanted further details on the product, not to try and big it up or anything.

[hennalonghair]

I just use this one because its the one that the little Indian grocery shop on my street has, and its £2.49 for a 500g tub, I'm a bargain hunter, I never buy top grade stuff when the cheaper stuff does what I need it to. I pasted the Amazon description there just in case anyone wanted further details on the product, not to try and big it up or anything.

Wow! $2.49 is a good deal . Lol. I hope you didn't feel attacked or anything its just Im a nutritionist and I see companies putting out these false facts all the time about refined oils so of course I've just gotta jump all over that. Lol.
I can be intense. I know.;)

[JustPam]

Haha, no worries hennalonghair, I'm still relatively new to the whole hair oiling business and am not too knowledgeable about the chemistry behind it all. I just found this one in the local shop when I went in to buy coconut flour for my paleo recipes and picked it up because it was so reasonably priced, and I'm still on that first tub, never really occurred to me to do any further research because to me it was just oil. Also, living in the UK everything is smaller, less varied and more expensive than it is in US/Canada, I would never find such a huge tub for so cheap here. I had a quick google there for organic cold pressed coconut oil out of interest and the only 54oz I saw was an online store selling it at £16.62 +£7.00 shipping, so £23.62 total which is $37.14 USD or $42.85 Canadian, bit out of my budget for oil unfortunately, lol!

[heidi w.]

I recommend Coconut Oil by Spectrum Naturals. It's the best coconut oil for really inexpensive, around $5 or $6 for a 15 fluid oz. It is available on line at Spectrumnaturals.com. I can also find it at Whole Foods. I take a small amount of coconut oil under my fingernail, rub it on my palms, then rub my hands together. This has no odor whatsoever, and you only need a very little bit.
heidi w.

[Anje]

I use ONLY pure virgin organic coconut oil which is completely different than refined coconut oil. The statements off Amazon in the above post are false. Coconut oil most certainly has vitamins and minerals as well of other nutritional value. When any oil is refined it is processed oil and in order for it to be processed it often goes through heating, stripping and bleaching just to take that nutty small out and to add preservatives. Natural unprocessed coconut oil has vitamin A, vitamin C , calcium and iron , just not a significant source. Refining breaks down the oils compositional structure so although you might reap the benefits as a lubricant oil when using refined oil, you are losing the value that unrefined coconut oil has to offer .
If you don't like the smell or the fact that unrefined coconut solidifies at room temperature then just add something to it. I often mix mine with an all natural leave in conditioner that has a great scent or an all natural curl enhancer like Be Curly by AVeda. Yes it's a bit pricey but it lasts me all year. Pure coconut oil does have a nutty earthy scent that can be off putting but it should NEVER go mouldy. Carrington Farms virgin, cold pressed organic coconut oil is sold at Costco for less than $20 and its a 54 ounce jar that doesn't go rancid. I get this all the time and leave it in my kitchen and bathroom cupboards and use it on my skin and hair as well as cook with it. Its one of the few oils where its beneficial to get plenty of it to lose weight because it has so many medium chain fatty acids that aid in weight loss.
https://www.organicfacts.net/organic-oils/organic-coconut-oil/health-benefits-of-coconut-oil.html
http://paleohacks.com/coconut/coconut-oil-mold-in-refined-vs-un-refined-25929
http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/faq.htm#12
Makes sense.... However, when you're oiling your hair, I don't think the non-fatty-acid nutrients really make much impact. It's usually the lauric acid that you're after, and I believe that comes through the refining process OK. If you were eating it, that would be a different matter.