Best Coconut Beauty Products

Aside from smelling great and making you think of summer, coconut beauty products offer a wide array of help to dry skin or damaged hair. Coconut oil is rich in fatty acides and can often help moisturize parched skin or hair.

Additionally, coconut oil products can often be soothing for those with irritated skin or skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis.

But for the purposes of this write-up here is a general list of the many products on the market that have the great benefits of coconut as well as the great scent (without making you smell too much like candy).

Suave Coconut Conditioner ($3, drugstores): This is the bargain of this list. It does condition hair, but I mainly put it on the list because of the light scent of coconut it leaves on your hair and the fact that it is so cheap. If you have severely damaged hair from styling tools or it's overly processed, don't expect a deep-conditioning treatment with this.

Organix Coconut Milk Conditioner ($6, drugstores): I only use this on split ends. While Organix does carry a product specifically for split ends, I find using the conditionr works all the same for overly damaged hair. Additionally, every time I go to the drugstore, they only have the basics - Organix's coconut milk shampoo and conditioner - and nothing else in their product line.

I just take a a very small amount and rub it into the ends of my hair. It makes drying it a lot easier and keeps flyaways at bay.

Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Cream ($9, burtsbees.com): Tired of the same old peppermint or other minty-derivation foot creams out there, this coconut cream by Burt's Bees offers a nice alternative. Use this every day after a shower and your feet will stay moisturized. (If you've got really dry hands, this doubles as a thick moisturizer for hands.)

Alba Coconut Milk Facial Wash ($12, drugstores): Incorporate this sweet smelling face wash into your daily routine, and you'll be left with smooth, refreshed skin. I would recommend this for people with normal combination skin.

Incidentally, Alba also makes a great chapstick for lips, which is good for everyday use.

Bath & Body Works Coconut Lime Verbena Body Scrub ($15, at stores or bathandbodyworks.com): I love the scent of this because it's mixed with coconut and lime - a great combination. If I could describe the consistency of the scrub, think of sugar in a gel. That's how fine this exfoliater is, and the beads just melt away as you scrub this into your skin. This is great as a once a week treat.

Philosophy Coconut Frosting ($16, philosophy.com/sephora.com): Despite the cutesy, food names of most Philosophy products, this coconut-scented three-in-one is great for travel. It has a very subtle scent and does triple duty as a shampoo, conditioner and body wash. Even for people with dry/damaged hair or dry skin, this is effective in doing the job of cleaning and moisturizing you. It leaves your hair soft and skin smooth.

As mentioned, it makes sense for travel or when visiting someone overnight. It also makes a great gift!

Body Shop Coconut Body Butter ($20 for 7 oz., $8 for 1.7 oz.; thebodyshop-usa.com): The formula for this lotion is so thick and creamy, you know just by opening the lid that it's going to deliver moisture to parched hands and skin. I mainly use this for my hands and elbows - mainly the areas that tend to be more dry than other areas. Otherwise, you could use up the jar pretty quickly (and for $20 a pop, it could get pricey).

And even though it's thick, it doesn't leave behind a greasy residue.

The Body Shop Coconut Body Scrub ($20, thebodyshop-usa.com): This is not harsh at all like most exfoliaters with the huge scrubbers that tend to tear sensitive skin. This has tiny granules that buff skin and the coconut shell ingredients used help moisturize. Ultimately, you're left with smooth, supple skin - and it smells great!

I would use this once a week if you have sensitive skin to avoid overdrying.

Kiehl's Amino Acid Shampoo ($28 for 16.9 oz., kiehls.com): While the name doesn't seem to indicate it, this shampoo contains coconut oil to moisturize and proteins to add volume - a nice combo for anyone with limp, dry hair.

What's nice is that this shampoo really has the faintest hint of coconut - not too overpowering for someone who isn't completely sold on the idea of coconut products.

While this is a bit on the pricier side, you do get what you pay for. Your hair is more manageable and requires less product when drying and styling it.