What Are the Different Types of Coconut Oil and How to Choose One?

At a Glance

• There are many different types of coconut oil, including refined, cold-pressed, centrifuge-extracted, MCT oil, and craft oil.
• All of these coconut oil varieties can be used for cooking, baking, skin and hair care, and eating raw, except for craft oil (external use only).
• If you’re interested in preserving the most nutrients in your coconut oil, consider cold-pressed and virgin options.
• MCT (Medium Chain Triglycerides) oil is best for those who want to manage weight and metabolism, but it shouldn't be used for high-heat cooking.
• Craft oil is ideal for soap making, candle making, and other handcrafted products, making it a versatile choice for DIY enthusiasts.

Learn About Coconut Oil Varieties

There are several different types of coconut oil, each made with unique processing methods that give the final product a distinct range of characteristics and flavors. Understanding how each type is extracted can help you decide what coconut oil is best for you. Let’s look at five of the most popular types of coconut oil, including:

1. Refined Coconut Oil: This flavorless, neutral version of coconut oil has a long shelf life. It is made from dried coconut meat (copra), which is pressed to extract the oil and then refined to remove impurities, flavor, and aroma. Its high smoke point makes it a popular choice for cooking and baking. 
2. Centrifuge-Extracted Coconut Oil: This is a type of virgin coconut oil that’s made from coconut cream/milk at low temperatures. The coconut milk or cream goes through a series of centrifuges to separate other liquids and particles, isolating pure coconut oil. Its purity and mild aroma make it a popular choice for cooking, baking, eating raw, and skin and hair care. We think this is the best skin and hair care coconut oil for the reasons stated above.
3. Cold-Pressed Coconut Oil: Also known as virgin coconut oil, cold-pressed coconut oil is extracted from fresh coconut meat using mechanical pressure rather than extensive refining. This process helps preserve its natural aroma, flavor, and many of its naturally occurring compounds. This type of coconut oil is dehydrated, cold-pressed, and never exposed to heat or filtering. It has the richest coconut taste and aroma.
4. Organic MCT Oil: This is a fractionated coconut oil that contains concentrated medium-chain fatty acids. Known for its rapid absorption and metabolism, MCT oil is commonly used by athletes for energy and by individuals looking to support their weight management efforts. MCT oil uses raw coconut oil as a base. Manufacturers remove all unwanted compounds, leaving only C-8 and C-10. It’s also worth noting that this version of coconut oil is always liquid.
5. Craft Oil: If you’re interested in using coconut oil for soap, HBA products, or candle making, craft oil is a good, economical choice. Craft oil should never be used for cooking or baking. Use it only as an ingredient in lip balm, lotion, soap, or crafts.

For a deeper dive into these different types of coconut oil and what coconut oil is best for your needs, keep reading below.

Find Better Coconut Oil

Coconut oil has taken over the world in the last several years. This plant-based fat has been used for centuries by Southeast Asian countries, but now people from around the globe have access to it. Many replace their regular cooking oils with coconut oil for its amazing health benefits and incorporate it into their beauty routines.

With its various types and potential uses, you may wonder what coconut oil is best for your needs. Here, we will look at each type and discuss the differences between refined and unrefined coconut oils to help you decide which is best for you.

1. Refined Coconut Oil

Refined coconut oil is a flavorless oil that is perfect for those who don’t like the taste and aroma of coconuts. The main difference between refined and unrefined coconut oils is in the process that removes the coconut scent and flavor from the final product. This oil can be used for sautéing, stir-frying, and as a substitute for butter in baking.

How Is Refined Coconut Oil Made?

• Small growers will pick the coconuts and take the husk off them. The white meat is then placed to dry on patios, often in the sun. When dried, this "copra" is collected by processors to use in their oil-producing process.
• They use large mechanical expeller presses to extract crude coconut oil from dried coconut meat under heat and pressure, producing brown oil. 
• They remove any free fatty acids or breakdown products from the oil.
• Any remaining moisture and flavor are removed with filtering and refining processes. 
• The oil is steam-distilled, yielding a pure, clear final product that is the best coconut oil for people who dislike the taste and scent of coconuts.

Refined coconut oil is usually the least expensive option of the different types of coconut oil. It has a long shelf-life and a high smoke point. Wildly Organic never uses chemicals or solvents to produce its Refined Coconut Oil.

2. Cold-Pressed Coconut Oil

What sets cold-pressed coconut oil apart isn't just the flavor. It's the gentle, low-temperature method used to extract it. Because no high heat or chemicals touch the oil at any stage, the finished product keeps more of the natural aroma, taste, and nutrients found in the fresh coconut. Here's how it goes from whole coconut to the jar:

How Is Cold-Pressed Coconut Oil Made?

• Opening and grating the coconut: Fresh, mature coconuts are cracked open and the white inner flesh is grated into fine shreds, increasing the surface area so the oil can be released cleanly later on.
• Low-temperature drying: The grated coconut is dehydrated at low temperatures rather than roasted. This "cold" drying step is what protects the delicate flavor compounds and prevents the toasted or scorched taste that high-heat methods often produce.
• Pressing the oil: The dried coconut meat is mechanically pressed to squeeze out the oil. Because the process relies on pressure instead of heat or solvents, the oil carries through many of the nutrients and the signature coconut flavor of the original fruit.
• Clarifying and filtering: Finally, the oil is clarified and filtered to remove any residual particles, then checked for quality before it's packaged. No chemicals or added heat are involved in any part of the extraction.

Why the method matters: Cold pressing has the highest yield of any extraction method, but it's also easy to get wrong. Too much heat leaves a toasted flavor, and leftover proteins in the oil can oxidize and turn the taste rancid. The technique Wildly Organic uses is designed to avoid both, producing an oil that stays unrefined, virgin, and raw while delivering the rich, true coconut flavor and aroma this product is known for.

3. Centrifuge-Extracted Coconut Oil

Centrifuge-extracted coconut oil is a type of Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil made from fresh coconut cream or milk at low temperatures. It has a light flavor and a smooth texture. It can be used for sautéing, stir-frying, baking, and eating raw. Plus, it’s the perfect coconut oil to add to your skin and hair.

How is Centrifuge-Extracted Coconut Oil Made?

• Manufacturers press the coconut flesh to produce fresh coconut cream or milk, which is about 40% oil.
• The pressing is performed on special equipment cooled with cold water to ensure the cream's temperature doesn’t exceed 110° F.
• Using a series of centrifuges, they separate the oil and water components of the coconut cream.
• After a few passes through various centrifuges, the coconut cream is concentrated to produce pure coconut oil and separate the water-soluble contents.
• Using a vacuum, any remaining moisture is removed from the oil.
• The final coconut product is now packaged and ready to go.

The centrifuge-extracted product has a mild, creamy finish. Of all the different types of coconut oil, this is one of the highest-quality, and it comes with a higher price tag. However, the extreme purity and delicious taste of centrifuge-extracted coconut oil varieties make it absolutely worth it!

4. MCT Oil

MCT Oil or liquid coconut oil contains medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). These MCTs can be easily absorbed by your body and quickly turned into energy.Studies show that the MCTs in organic coconut oil may boost metabolism and help with weight loss. MCT oil is an excellent coconut oil for smoothies, coffee, and salad dressings and can also be eaten on its own.

How Is MCT Oil Made?

1. It starts with raw coconut oil. The base for our MCT oil is pure bulk coconut oil, with no palm oil or other sources blended in. Because the starting material is 100% coconut, the finished oil carries a higher concentration of beneficial coconut-derived fatty acids than blends made from mixed sources.
2. The MCTs are separated through fractionation. Fractionation isolates the medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) from the other fats naturally present in coconut oil. MCTs are defined by the length of their carbon chains, which run 6 to 12 carbons long. That's shorter than the long-chain fats (13 to 21 carbons) that make up most dietary fats, and it's the reason MCTs are metabolized more quickly and efficiently by the body.
3. Unwanted compounds are removed. What remains after fractionation is a clear, concentrated oil made up primarily of the C-8 (caprylic) and C-10 (capric) medium-chain triglycerides, the two MCTs most prized for quick, usable energy.

A note on cooking: MCT oil is a flavorful, versatile addition to coffee, smoothies, soups, sauces, dressings, and no-bake recipes. It is not, however, a high-heat cooking oil. Its smoke point is around 320°F, so for frying, roasting, or sautéing, reach for a cold-pressed or refined coconut oil instead.

What's in the Bottle, and What It Means

Because MCT oil is concentrated, it delivers a more direct dose of medium-chain triglycerides than coconut oil does on its own. It's worth noting that coconut oil is roughly 50% lauric acid, a longer-chain fatty acid associated with feeling fuller for longer. Some of that lauric acid is reduced during fractionation, which is the trade-off for a faster-acting, more concentrated MCT product. MCT oil made from pure coconut oil, like ours, still retains more coconut-derived value than versions cut with palm oil.

5. Craft Oil

Craft oil is a type of coconut oil with a story. After we've pressed and refined our food-grade oils to their strict standards for consumption, what's left behind still has plenty of character: a richer, fuller-bodied oil carrying the sediments, proteins, and natural impurities that the consumable oils leave out. It doesn't meet our quality requirements for eating, but those same qualities make it a maker's dream. This is the oil that pours into handmade soaps, candles, lip balms, lotion bars, and all manner of DIY projects.

To be clear, craft oil is not recommended for internal consumption. But for crafting, that's beside the point. It delivers a deep, conditioning richness to balms and creams and a thick, stable lather to handmade soap, which is exactly why soapmakers and chandlers reach for it. Rich in lauric acid and naturally antibacterial, it's the dependable, budget-friendly workhorse of the coconut oil family.

How is Craft Oil Made?

1. Craft oil can come from any of the extraction methods we've already covered, whether cold-pressing or heat extraction.
2. Rather than being produced as its own dedicated batch, it's the oil that remains after our consumable oils are made: the portion that carries leftover sediments, proteins, and natural impurities.
3. It's filtered to clean it up for crafting use, but nothing is added to it, unlike fractionated coconut oil.

Craft oil shines anywhere the finished product isn't meant to be eaten. Melt it into cold-process or melt-and-pour soaps, candles, lip balms, salves, and body butters, or keep a jar on hand for whatever project comes next. For products you want to apply directly to skin or hair, our centrifuge-extracted coconut oil is the cleaner, more refined choice.

FAQs for Coconut Oil Varieties

Still have questions about the different types of coconut oil? Check out the answers to the most common questions below:

Which coconut oil is best for cooking?

With so many different types of coconut oil at your disposal, you can customize your pantry for each application or use the most versatile option for everything. This is a simplified list of what type of coconut oil is best for each application:

• Refined coconut oil is best for cooking for those who don’t like the flavor and aroma of coconut. It can be used to replace less desirable cooking oils in your pantry, like canola oil.
• Centrifuge-extracted coconut oil is excellent for personal care and beauty, and for making flaky pastries. It is also excellent for baking, roasting, and sauteeing.
• Cold-pressed coconut oil is an excellent choice for sauteeing, roasting, baking, and for those who enjoy its rich coconut flavor. 

What type of coconut oil is best for skin?

Among the different types of coconut oil, we think centrifuge extracted coconut oil is best for skin due to its purity, being virgin, light aroma, and low temperature process.

Can you use coconut oil directly on your skin and hair?

Yes! You can use coconut oil externally nearly anywhere, including chapped lips, scabby feet, and itchy skin. However, some people are a bit more sensitive to the comedogenic aspect of coconut oil and may experience breakouts. Track your skin’s progress and modify use as needed.

What is coconut sap?

Coconut sap comes from the stem of the coconut. This nutrient-rich liquid is typically white and milky with a naturally sweet flavor. You can use coconut sap in coconut sugar, coconut vinegar, and aminos.

Please note that this ingredient is completely different from coconut water, which comes from the inside of a mature coconut.

So Which Coconut Oil Is Best?

As you can see, each of the different types of coconut oil has advantages and can be used for different purposes. While you can use most of them for all your cooking and beauty goals, sometimes you want a targeted solution that delivers the best possible results.

Now that you know about the different types of coconut oil and what coconut oil is best for every occasion, you can head to our shop to make your decision. Choose your preferred product from our versatile collection at Wildly Organic and get free shipping on orders of $49+.

No matter which coconut oil varieties you choose, you can rest assured knowing you’re getting the purest, most natural product every time. Shop with us today!