THIS NATURAL BEAUTY EXPERT USES COCONUT OIL AT LEAST 4 WAYS EVERY A.M.

Welcome to My Morning Routine, where Meredith Baird and other good-life gurus share their personal (frequently surprising, often healthy) morning rituals—to help you make your a.m.’s more awesome.

Meredith Baird Los Angeles-based author of Coconut Kitchen and founder of Nucifera

I usually wake up between 6:30 and 7 a.m., often without an alarm. I’m fortunate that my morning routine isn’t hectic at all. I try not to schedule anything super early.

The first thing I do after getting out of bed is oil pull with coconut oil. The process is profoundly beneficial to your overall health. I also find it meditative because you can’t talk while you do it. Then I brush my teeth using a coconut oil toothpaste that I make with neem and other essential oils.

Next up, a massive glass of room temperature lemon water. I also take a probiotic and vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 supplements. Three to four days a week I walk to Gold’s Gym in Venice. My workout usually consists of time on the elliptical and weight lifting or stretching. There is nothing hardcore about my workouts. Other days of the week I take walks on the beach or go to Bikram or Kundalini yoga (but often later in the day).

Most days I don’t have to put makeup on or get dressed up, so my beauty routine is simple: I take a quick cold shower to wake up and apply liberal amounts of my Nucifera balm on my face and body. It’s a product that I make out of kokum butter, mango butter, coconut oil, and avocado oil. It smells amazing too, so it’s kind of my all-in-one trick. My beauty philosophy is bare, minimal and well moisturized.

Around 8:30 or 9 a.m. I will have either an americano or pour-over coffee that I blend with coconut oil, collagen, and astragalus. Then I’ll have a piece of fruit with raw granola (Organic Gemini Tigernut Granola is my new favorite) and either nut milk or coconut yogurt.

If I work out, I’ll make a room temperature smoothie instead (no frozen fruit!) with things like pears, coconut (of course), ginger, avocado, greens, and Mattole Valley Naturals Goat Protein powder or Philosophie Cacao Magic Protein, and a bit of Sun Potion Anandamide.

The rituals of the morning are my meditation. All of it is super important for setting the tone of the day. And then around 9:30 or 10 a.m., I sit down to start working.