. . . beauty secrets from Polynesia Traditional Polynesian women are known for flawless, smooth skin and thick, shiny hair, which persist into old age. What's their secret? Apart from healthy diet and relative freedom from toxicity, it's coconut oil. Home treatment with coconut oil is likely to produce better results than any skin or hair treatment in an expensive salon.    A balance of various healthy oils in the diet is needed to keep the complexion soft and dewy -- in fact dry skin is often a symptom of an oil deficiency. But the primary factor that ages skin is free radical damage. It is free radical damage that causes liver spots. Free radicals are also to blame for connective tissue breakdown, turning healthy, youthful skin that's smooth, elastic and supple into aging skin that sags and wrinkles. In addition to including antioxidants in your diet, coconut oil, applied topically, prevents free-radical formation. This enables you to defy aging and maintain the complexion of y…