Organic virgin coconut oil is a widely loved staple in so many consumers’ skincare routines. Sure, it’s trendy now, but people like me have been using it for years and years. So why is it that cocokind was one of the first companies, if not the first, to use this ingredient across a line of face and body products (for the masses)? We know exactly why, and that is because of coconut oil’s solid to liquid melting point.
Virgin Coconut Oil has a natural melting point at 76 degrees: this means that over this temperature, the coconut oil becomes a liquid, and under it, it stays a solid. This is an operational challenge for skincare companies. Products that contain any significant amount of unprocessed coconut oil can have texture consistency variances depending on the surrounding temperature.
As such, most skincare companies are intimidated by this ingredient. They do not believe use of this ingredient (in virgin state) can be scaled commercially or widely accepted by consumers. These companies either abandon the ingredient completely, or use a processed (fractionated) alternative. Fractionated coconut oil is processed to always remain a liquid. The long-chain fatty acids in the coconut oil are removed, extending the products shelf life and removing the melting point issue. This process loses the penetrating hydration, antibacterial, and antiviral properties of lauric acid.
A 2009 study published in International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition compared the antioxidant capacity of virgin coconut oil with oil that had been refined, bleached and deodorized. Not surprisingly, virgin oil was found to have a significantly higher antioxidant capacity than processed oil.
Even worse than using processed coconut oil, some companies create an entirely artificial coconut flavoring, marketing their product as having similar benefits. Yikes!
But if you use virgin oil, your products may change form, especially while being transported in varying temperatures. Temperature sensitivity issues are common for products like chocolate and other perishable goods. Skincare, however, is commonly transported around in uncontrolled temperatures, and most products are designed (through chemicals and preservatives) to maintain consistency through whatever they are exposed to.
For cocokind, though, our products DO change with extreme weather. This proves that we are not processing our ingredients or manipulating our products. However, when it is extremely hot or extremely cold, right after being transported, cocokind products could become more solid/liquid than expected.
We knew this when we were developing our line, and we took a risk. We placed a bet that our consumers are extremely knowledgeable, and with our help educating, they would know to want the real thing. We believed they would care enough to understand what form of coconut oil they should be using, and they would choose us. Not some coconut-flavored moisturizer…not extremely processed liquid coconut oil that has most of its benefits stripped away. So far, our quick and wide acceptance from both industry buyers and consumers has proved that we made the right bet.
We still have a great deal of educating to do, however. When cocokind products are impacted by cold or hot weather, returning our products to room temperature is the reliable fix, as our products are always quick to adjust. Here are other methods to quickly return our products back to “normal”.
Our customers have proved to us that with this knowledge about virgin coconut oil’s melting point and benefits, they readily understand and support our products (and what we stand for).
Ultimately, we believe in succeeding off of people’s knowledge or pursuit of knowledge about what they are consuming. We encourage our shoppers to dig deep; as our loyal followers and users know, our products have nothing to hide, and everything to show and educate. As the owner, I’m very proud of this. Too many brands capitalize off of people’s lack of knowledge on ingredients, pricing, natural claims, etc. I believe this is unsustainable, thankfully, given how smart consumers are/are becoming.
If you have any questions about our organic, virgin, and fair trade coconut oil (where it’s from, how we use it, what to do when it is colder or hotter), shoot us an email at info@cocokind.com.
As always, thanks for reading and for your support.
-Priscilla Tsai
CEO/Founder
