Difference between coconut oils?

[Guest PassionSunKiss]

Hey all, I've been reading like crazy to get educated about coconut oil, and as I understand it its a light oil, but what I dont understand is what the difference between all of them and what do you use them in? 76 degree, 92 degree, FCO, virgin, plain ol' coconut cooking oil.

I make body butters and I've seen recipes that just say "coconut oil". Does this mean I could grab plain ol' coconut cooking oil? I've seen threads on here say its okay to use that kind, then I've seen people say not to...I don't know what to believe <sigh>. I wasn't sure if they mean FCO when coconut oil is mentioned....what are your thoughts?

TIA for your knowledge!

[xxxtennillexxx]

Hey all, I've been reading like crazy to get educated about coconut oil, and as I understand it its a light oil, but what I dont understand is what the difference between all of them and what do you use them in? 76 degree, 92 degree, FCO, virgin, plain ol' coconut cooking oil.

I am in no way an expert but I can give you some general information. The big difference between FCO and the others is that FCO is in a liquid form like an actual oil. You could use it for an oil perfume in a spray bottle or roller bottle. The others are solid. I believe the numbers represent the melt point of the oil. 76 degree means that it starts to melt at that temp, etc. I would assume that a recipe would be pretty specific if it called for FCO. I think it would say FCO not just coconut oil. Even the regular coconut oil from the grocery store should have a number on it, mine says 76. The only thing I put it in is my sugar scrub so I'm not sure which you need. Hope this helps a little...Hopefully someone else will chime in with more specific information.

[fairylite]

Fractionated coconut oil (FCO) is produced by heat rather than cold pressing, and it's a liquid at room temperature. Many like using FCO because it's light, and sinks in quickly.

Coconut 76 and 92 just refer to the melting temperature. Obviously coconut 76 melts at 76 degrees Fahrenheit, and 92 melts at 92 degrees Fahrenheit. Depending on your recipe, you can use either one (for example, I use Coconut 92 in my summer scrub because I want to have a higher melting point). Virgin coconut oil is also coconut oil (smells delicious!), but it tends to be more expensive so if you're on a budget, 76 or 92 can be substituted.

If a recipe calls for coconut oil in a recipe, you can use either 76, 92 or VCO. FCO will generally be referred to specifically in a recipe.

Hope that helps!