Over the summer, I developed a case of eczema (contact dermatitis?) on my hands. It was not improving, no matter what I did. Instead, I was getting a taste—a small taste, but a bitter taste nonetheless—of what the Saxophone Player has lived with his entire of life. My hands were always in pain. Water made them sting. Lotions did not help. It kept getting worse every day.

By Tuesday night, I was actually starting to despair. It had been the worst day yet, and I imagined it spreading up my arms by October. I was kinda freaking out, but it was disturbing enough that it compelled me to finally try something new: coconut oil. I have heard people tell me how great it is for our skin, but it just seemed so weird to me.

Misery won over my brain, though. I had an unopened jar, so I scooped some into a clean container and decided to give it a shot. Well, immediately I noticed it did not sting when it touched my skin. It also DID NOT make my hands itch. That was amazing all by itself. The next thing I noticed was that the moisturizing effect lasted. I have always had very dry hands, so not being able to use lotion (because it made the eczema itchy) was pretty bad. By the next morning, I definitely felt an improvement. Doug has talked about how he can feel his skin is better or worse on the inside, and I never understood what he meant. That morning, I totally got it. Seriously, night and day. There was a difference!

As of right now, it has been less than 48 hours. It seems a little premature to be calling coconut oil a miracle cure, but I am just so impressed! The skin is changing. I am pretty shocked. It may take a month for my skin to recover, but I have hope it will now.

This is the oil I am using:

I know that it is important that it be expeller-pressed or cold pressed. I don’t know if it’s important that it be unrefined. (If you know, please let me know, too.) I liked that this was organic and non-GMO. Also, FYI, this does not smell like coconuts, which is great. (I do not like that smell—ugh!) If I suddenly have a terrible side effect, I will let you know. However, I expect my hands will be back to normal soon.

Has coconut oil been beneficial to you somehow? I’d love to know! I have started using it for my face, too. How do you use it?