Hello. I just read an article that said that oil is "hydrophobic" and doesn't moisturize hair. It just keeps moisture in or out. It is like a wall. So, basically, oil is only good for keeping moisture in hair, right? With that said, what is a good, organic product or substance that I can use to moisturize my hair.

It's really hard to pick through all the information out there, isn't it? If I knew how to post links, I could show you articles where it says that oil DOES moisturize. Some oils (coconut, olive, avocado) are absorbed by the hair and add to hair's strength and integrity. I have used both coconut and olive oil, and my hair is much better with them than without. A little of one of those oils over freshly washed, damp hair is marvelous for keeping hair moisturized. Try it!

Thanks! So, basically some oils DO moisturize and keep it in, where other only keep it in? And I will try it today! :)

As Spidermom said it will vary depending on the oil used. Mineral oil forms that kind of barrier you mentioned, whereas coconut oil will form more of a diffuser allowing moisture (water) in....here's a study explaining....
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/ics/2008/00000030/00000001/art00010

Water :D

You can't have moisture without water because that's what moisture is. Aloe gel, hyrdosols, rosewater, herbal teas, etc are all mostly water and are good for moisturizing hair. They all evaporate though, which is why you want something like an oil to keep the moisture in.

Oils don't have water in them so they can't technically moisturize, but as you said they can help keep moisture in. They also have other benefits like adding shine (coconut oil!), helping with fly aways, smoothing, making it more flexible/stronger, and other good things.

p.s. there are also humectants but that's a whole nother can of worms.

So how to humectants work? :D

Humectants attract moisture.

Aha, thanks. So if you put a humectant (like honey, right?) on your hair, does it penetrate the hair and make it "suck up" more moisture, or does it surround the hair and gets it coated with a moisture rich film/gel? Or something completely different?

For me honey works best with something that moisturizes - like conditioner. The honey attracts the moisture to the hair and helps the conditioner work better. A lot of people here like to mix honey with aloe and conditioner. There's a recipe for this treatment in many threads here. It's named after Snowymoon and called SMT. There is probably a proportion for this that works best, but I usually just eyeball it. I squirt a bunch of cone-free conditioner in a bowl and then squirt in a little glob of honey and aloe gel. The ratio is approximately two parts conditioner, one part honey, and one part aloe. Some people like to nuke it for a few seconds, but I find that this makes it hard to apply. I just mix it together and slather it on dry hair. I leave it on as long as I can and then rinse it off. I usually don't shampoo afterwards. Hope this helps. I'm sure someone will come along with the exact recipe. :)

Coconut oil, grapeseed oil, jojoba, etc....these oils are wonderful on damp hair! They act like silicone, sealing in the water moisture, but are so easily removed when you wash your hair.

Aha, thanks. So if you put a humectant (like honey, right?) on your hair, does it penetrate the hair and make it "suck up" more moisture, or does it surround the hair and gets it coated with a moisture rich film/gel? Or something completely different?

A humectant will pull moisture towards itself, and by virtue of proximity, it will typically moisturize your hair. Usually it will pull this moisture from the air around you. Unfortunately, it can also pull moisture from your hair if the air around you is too dry, so it can dry out your hair too.

Kazazi... gurl, you trippin! :p This is Sunday, why are you making me think???

Humectants are hygroscopic (water attracting). AFAIK they aren't absorbed by hair and skin. Some people think they are bad for this reason and act like desiccants (which are also hygroscopic, obviously).

That has never been my experience. I make my own lotions (oil in water emulsion) and humectants make a huge difference in the appearance and feel of my skin. My favorite humectant right now is a product called Honeyquat. I replaced 3% of the water in my standard lotion recipe with it and made my skin look much more dewy and fresh. It also felt more moist, both the skin itself and to the touch. Like glycerin, you only use a small amount.

Honey is also a humectant but I don't like to use it because of preservation issues.

A humectant will pull moisture towards itself, and by virtue of proximity, it will typically moisturize your hair. Usually it will pull this moisture from the air around you. Unfortunately, it can also pull moisture from your hair if the air around you is too dry, so it can dry out your hair too.


This is good, because I usually wet/oil my hair before bed, and then sleep in my room which has a humidifier. In the morning I rinse it all out, as I like clean hair for the day.

Thanks for all the replies. I love learning all this stuff about ingredients! I have seen glycerin mentioned around here - is it a humectant, too, then? Might pick some up from the drugstore next time, have seen it in the cough syrup section, lol!

Yes, glycerine is a humectant.

Glycerin is also great for the skin, a little off topic, I know, but it really does wonders for my skin. :)

In general, you want to mix your humectants (glycerin/glycerol, honey, etc) with water or another aqueous substance (tea, conditioner, etc) when you use them. Partially, that keeps you from using gobs of it, but most of it is to make sure that there is water readily available for them to keep next to your hair or skin. Helps ensure that they provide moisture rather than remove it.

It really depends on what you mean by moisture.

The people who get all stressed that oils don't "moisturize" hair are only thinking about water moisture.

But when you talk about well-moisturized hair, you're thinking about something more complex than just if the hair is wet. You're thinking about if the hair is soft, if the hairs slide past each other smoothly rather than catching on each other, whether it tangles easily, whether it is shiny.

And oil can often help with all of these things. (Often, not always. Each head of hair is different, and if anyone says any one hair product or routine "always" works, don't believe them.)

Oil can give shine. Oil can help hold water-moisture in. Oil can give slip, helping to smooth the hair and reduce tangles. Oil can "fill in" the rough or worn spots on a shaft of hair, making it smoother. Oil can lubricate the hair, making it more flexible and less prone to tangles.

Water helps with all these things, as well. The key is to know the balance of products and ingredients that work well for your hair, whether it is sebum, water, commercial conditioners, oils, silicones or other stuff.

Be careful when using glycerine. It only takes a few drops. You shouldn't use it like honey. If you are using it in an SMT treatment, only use 2-3 drops in what you mix up for one use. It can make a sticky mess if you use too much.

I think of oil as something that adds 'suppleness', not moisture (as in water). I agree with all the points Ursula made on the many benefits of oil. Around the cuticle of a healthy strand of hair is what's called the F-layer- composed of lipids (fats) that help reduce moisture loss and keep the cuticle a tad more protected. Oiling hair with a damaged F-layer can mimic it's effect and give more supple hair. Most people think of hair as only containing and needing protein and water, but lipids do play an important role, too.

As far as the humectants are concerned, according to this (http://www.archchemicals.com/Fed/PC/Docs/Honeyquat_50_v1.0.pdf) study on honeyquat, it does penetrate the hair to some degree. But I don't know if other humectants do or not, I always thought of them more as film-formers. It seems like we are finding out that more and more things do penetrate the hair strand than used to be believed.