If I left hair oil on my hair for a week, what will happen?

[Dreamkitty]

At the longest, hair oil has been in my hair for nearly one week without being washed. Thats purely due to my laziness to wash my hair but I was wondering is it bad to leave oil on hair for that long, will the oil dry up and make the roots more weaker?:confused:

Because most people leave oil on their hair for a few hours and then shampoo it out or at the most leave it overnight and wash the next day. I feel like the odd one out, leaving oil for so long but if its safe, I won't worry however if it is going to damage my hair, I will have to wash it off like everyone else.

I told my mum this question too, her theory is that the hair will become greasy trapping sebum, dirt more easily if hair oil is left for too long.

[aenflex]

I think your mom is right, you hair will attract particles, or rather retain them fairly well when covered in oil. I've left oil on my hair for at least 2-3 days on end, and never found any detriment, other than the aesthetic part, but I don't care about having greasy hair over the weekend :)

[Dreamkitty]

I think your mom is right, you hair will attract particles, or rather retain them fairly well when covered in oil. I've left oil on my hair for at least 2-3 days on end, and never found any detriment, other than the aesthetic part, but I don't care about having greasy hair over the weekend :)

Thank you. I don't care about having greasy hair at all since Im at home right now most of the time, its just that im lazy to wash my hair the day after, I want to wash the oil of but then can't be bothered lol. :) But Im going to try from now on to wash my hair more often or put less oil on my hair.

:( I sure hope my hair is not going to shed more, Im a little worried because I put Dabur Amla oil on my hair which contains mineral oil, and leaving it on for 6 days might make the oil even more difficult to wash out. And also Ive been going to the gym so right now my hair is pretty gross so Im going to have a wash today.

[Amraann]

I left oil in my hair for several days.
It did not harm it.

[Dreamkitty]

I left oil in my hair for several days.
It did not harm it.

Good to hear! :) I thought I was the only person on this forum who has left oil on hair for so long, thats why I was a bit worried because I never really hear of people leaving oil on their hair for more then 3 days. So im glad to know that im not the only one. I leave it on for more then 3 days every week.

[jojo]

Well i lightly oil my hair daily so oil in effect is in my hair 24/7 my hair has only benefited from this!

[lajsa]

I oil my hair after I've washed it, and then that pretty much sits there until my next wash, occasionally with a bit more oil the next day and so on. I haven't managed to stretch my washes to a week yet, though. But I don't think it could do any damage. As people have said, it'll attract more 'dust' and that kind of thing when it's oily, but otherwise, no problem as far as I know.

[Dreamkitty]

Oh I oil for my hair after shampooing too and leave it untill the next wash!, I was trying to put those into words. I don't oil my hair everyday because the day that I do oil, I oil alot so my hair stays greasy everyday!.

As long as my hair doesn't shed and no damage is done, I hope I can continue with my routine!:)

[spidermom]

It could become over-conditioned. I left oil on my hair for 2 days during a heat wave, and it was limp and dull after washing it twice. Plus oil does attract dust and lint.

[Henrietta]

You're not the only one. I keep my ends under a coat of coconut oil most of the time and now I've been having coconut oil on my hair from the ears down for... almost 4 days;) It;s not the first time. I haven't noticed any harm. I planned to have little braids for a few days, hence the heavy oiling, but I ended up without braids. Oil has stayed:D

[Dreamkitty]

spidermom- My hair is definetly overconditioned as I put alot of oil in it, but the reason for putting more oil is to make my hair less fluffy, more manageable and comfortable otherwise I would have used much less oil if I had fine, straight hair. I have realised a a few times in the past that after washing my hair with shampoo, the oil was still left in and it felt greasy so there is a bad side to it!.:D

Henrietta- I use coconut oil too and its quite light, Amla feels a bit heavier though. I always braid my hair oiled or not!

[Vermelha]

I've done it. In fact, I've gone two weeks with oil in my hair. It's not all that bothersome, especially if you're stretching washes. Also, yeah, lint and dust do get in the hair, but brushing it out does help.

BTW, i've never really had dust and lint get in my hair...am I weird? I only get dust when I don't tie my hair down at night and when I wear my hair down, which I do neither of.

[Lianna]

Well i lightly oil my hair daily so oil in effect is in my hair 24/7 my hair has only benefited from this!

Me too. Keyword: lightly. I say you lightly oil one day, and if you see it has drank all the oil, you can put more. I believe a heavy oiling all week would make hair mushy, as I have done heavy oilings everyday for a while, and this occurs with me.

ETA: If you hair is slightly over-conditioned but not stretchy enough to brake, I think you're fine. Sometimes this happens to me too.

[littlestarface]

I do this all the time do to laziness I have left a deep oil treatment in my hair for over a week once nothing happened but shinier hair :lol:

[spidermom]

Diluted shampooing gets excess oil out for me at least 98% of the time. I don't understand why others have such trouble, although I had a hint of it when I went the 2 days heavily oiled during a heat wave.

[Anje]

Like a lot of others, I lightly oil mine immediately after washing, so it's usually got oil in it. If you oiled heavily and left it in that long, I think your hair would mostly benefit and would absorb what oil it could. Some hair might get a little dry for lack of water-based moisture, but that's something that varies a lot from person to person.

The only real downside (other than looking like you have oily hair for a week) that I can see is that hair would probably collect a good amount of lint. How much depends on things like clothes, towels, carpets, and pets.... FWIW, I've found that slowly brushing with a BBB, starting at the ends, is an excellent way to remove and dust from hair.

The only other downside might be that you could get buildup, depending on what you used. Based on how unsaturated an oil is, it can oxidize and cross-link over time, which might make it harder to get off. I'm sure washing would still take care of it, though.

[aenflex]

Mineral oil after a few days might start drying the hair out? I dont use it, but I know it coats and sort of keeps moisture out...I leave EVOO in my hair over the weekend most weekends, and by Mondays it's mostly gone?

[Embrace1913]

I've left tons of coconut oil & olive oil in my hair for up to 4 to 5 days before co-washing it out. Now that I think about it, I pretty much do this every week lol I haven't noticed any lint or dust particles in my hair. I brush it while its oiled so that probably helps. My hair feels silky so I'm not complaining lol:disco:

[Vermelha]

I've left tons of coconut oil & olive oil in my hair for up to 4 to 5 days before co-washing it out. Now that I think about it, I pretty much do this every week lol I haven't noticed any lint or dust particles in my hair. I brush it while its oiled so that probably helps. My hair feels silky so I'm not complaining lol:disco:

I know that's right! :cheese:I can't get mad as long as the hair is growing and looks and feels good :)

[Henrietta]

Ok, so yesterday I washed the oil off, after 4 days of heaving it on my hair. Nothing bad happened, but I also don't see any stunning effect. My hair is the same as it would be after sitting under a cover of oil overnight.
The only weird feeling thing was that I left home to go for a walk with my dog and my hair became a little stiff, as it was cold outside:D

[Dreamkitty]

Mineral oil after a few days might start drying the hair out? I dont use it, but I know it coats and sort of keeps moisture out...I leave EVOO in my hair over the weekend most weekends, and by Mondays it's mostly gone?

Im experiencing ths with Amla oil. With pure coconut oil, my hair is still moist even after 5 days. But with Amla, my hair felt a bit dry as the days passed.:confused:

[jojo]

maybe try a scraping of oil, the object is to protect and condition my hair never looks greasy using just a teeny bit and on the ends only or last few inches,save the heavy oils once a week hope this helps xx

[Dreamkitty]

maybe try a scraping of oil, the object is to protect and condition my hair never looks greasy using just a teeny bit and on the ends only or last few inches,save the heavy oils once a week hope this helps xx

Thanks :) I think small amount is best. I used a little less today then I usually would, my hair felt manegable. When I don't put oil on my hair it feels dry and fluffy so thats the main reason its a must for me to put oil in my hair. But I did notice, a small amount on the ends and just lightly applied made my hair look silkier rather then greasy. I think this will help when I wash it out too.

[tanya222]

I've gone up to about a week and a half to two weeks (I don't keep accurate track like on a calandar or anything!) without harm. But then again I don't put it on my scalp, which sounds like what you're referring to? I put it only on the length, from nape of neck down.

I think I do get lint attracted because I find lint in my hair brush. And it cannot all be from my towel. Try a really good brushing every so often and that should remove lint.

[Pixna]

I oil my hair (with grapeseed oil) after I wash it -- which is once a week. However, the amount of oil I use is very, very small, and I only oil from the ears down to the ends (never the scalp). The oil seems to get absorbed into my hair. Since my hair isn't any different than when I used to use conditioner (instead of oil), it doesn't attract dust or lint. My hair isn't sticky or oily to the touch. It works well for me.

[jeanniet]

I wash about once a week, and oil my ends nearly every day without any problem. I can't use leave-in conditioner, though. That attracts dust like crazy.

[Jezerellica]

Since I first used coconut oil abut a year ago, I have done tons of oiling experiments. Schedules can be tough for me due to health issues, but I will share. One night I heavily oiled, planning on washing the next day. Got a migraine overnight and did not wash for almost 5 days. I was so surprised. My hair was hardly oily at all. It washed right out and was fine! Actually really nice and soft. During the summer I have been using jojoba, as it is a bit lighter and I highly recommend for after fresh washing on ends. How did I have long hair without oil all those years...I have no idea!!!

[Dreamkitty]

I oil my scalp and my hair, ive been doing this most recently, since joining LHC. :p By the way can someone explain to me what "Lint" is?

[CaityBear]

Sometimes when I do a deep oiling (which I always leave overnight at the very least) I tend to leave the oil in my hair for a couple days due to laziness and not having to leave the house for a while.

Otherwise, I usually do have a tiny bit of oil in my hair. I usually use coconut oil right after my showers. Then between washes if it started to get dry or too many flyaways I would use my hair cream (which does have oil) but I ... misplaced it...and I can't find it! :'( I <3 that stuff. But anyway! Which means I'm currently using the coconut oil for that.

[JulietCapulet]

I think it would be fine.

[chotee]

I use a lot of oil all the time but then my hair is soft, straight and oiled so i have no other option other than to braid or an updo. I have a small face and this means my face looks dull at times with oiled updos. So i started recently with shea butter from L'Occitane ultra rich hair cream which really gives the goodness but also not weigh my hair down limp. and this really suits me. So i keep the extra oil for the day before wash :) but oiling by itself has never hurt or bothered my hair....

[Flossy]

I oil my scalp and my hair, ive been doing this most recently, since joining LHC. :p By the way can someone explain to me what "Lint" is?

:laugh:

Lint is the fluff that comes off fabric, the stuff that collects in the clothes dryer.

[Igor]

I tried leaving several kinds of oil on for extended periods of time, up to over a week. The oils I have tried have been coconut oil, grape seed oil, olive oil and camellia oil. The last 3 I have applied to scalp too (Coconut oil makes my skin and scalp super itchy and causes breakouts)

The only bad things have been the lint trap that people have mentioned and a strange smell. The added lint did make me freak out a bit though, it clings to the ends and makes me think its splits and not just dust. With all 4 kinds of oil, the oil-scent seemed to develop into this wooden scent after a few days. It doesn’t smell bad, it just smells… Wooden :lol:

I can’t see how extended oiling could make the roots weaker though. I could understand it if it was wet-wet like submerging your scalp in water for days, but that’s not what happens with oil, is it? The scalp should absorb the oil it can, and after that the excess will be rubbed off in bed linen and clothes (By the way, that “wooden” scent is hard to wash out of clothes)

[lhangel9]

Good to hear! :) I thought I was the only person on this forum who has left oil on hair for so long, thats why I was a bit worried because I never really hear of people leaving oil on their hair for more then 3 days. So im glad to know that im not the only one. I leave it on for more then 3 days every week.

The same here:)

[tinti]

I've done that a lot since I bought my coconut oil. I wash my hair once a week and once it's dry I put a tiny scrape in my hair. Nowadays I can oil like that daily if my hair feels dry and knotty. I have'nt experienced anything other than shinyer hair (not greasy because I distribuate it evenly and take just enough :)) I've tried deep treatments as well but only overnight.