How long do you leave hair oil on your hair for?

[Dreamkitty]

:) I regularly put oil in my hair, once every week and leave it on my hair for 5 days.

Im just wondering what is a good length of time to leave the oil in the hair for?

Are better results achieved by applying oil to the hair 1 hour before shampooing so that it keeps hair more moisturized?

[Othala]

Except for whilst I am shampooing and an hour afterward, my hair always has oil in it. I wash every 3 days.

Personally, I think oil can be left in as long as (a) it has not attracted a load of dust and fluff that is building up in your hair i,e, it has become dirty (b) your hair, scalp and facial skin are not reacting badly to the presence of the oil, and (c) the oil has not become rancid and smelly.

Applying oil, especially coconut oil, an hour or even overnight before you wash it off is a good thing to prevent protein loss and generally protect the hair.

[spidermom]

Oil is generally on my hair for at least one hour to as long as 36-48 hours before washing. I don't like oil in my hair for too long because it sucks up all the lint and dust and dog hairs in the house.

[oktobergoud]

I always apply a bit of oil to my ends after I have washed it! And sometimes between washes as well. I use oil as an anti frizz serum so I use it as a leave in! Works fine for my hair, as long as I only do the ends, otherwise it gets really greasy.

[Red_Wednesday]

I apply a bit of oil to my hair after every wash. Sometimes I will do a heavy oiling an hour to 24 hours before I shampoo. I don't like lots of oil in my hair, because just like some of the others, I don't want it to collect dust, dog hair, etc. or even get all over DH hands if he happens to touch my hair.

[Rocket22]

I apply mine at night and wash out in the morning!

[morecowbell]

My hair is incredibly porous, and one of the only things that helps it feel silky and soft is a light application of oil daily. The only time I don't have oil on my length is during my shower haha ;)

[brunetka]

my hair gets weighed down easily, so I only oil before bed and wash out in the morning

[Panth]

However long I feel like, depending on how lazy I'm being and if I have to be anywhere super-smart (e.g. I've recently been to a lot of interviews - turning up there with oiled hair, seeing as I'm blonde and so it looks really just like greasy, dirty hair, would be a no-no).

I only use coconut oil, except in one instance when I had really dry hair, couldn't wash it and it was so cold that my coconut oil was re-solidifying in my hair...

Sometimes I just use it as an oil shampoo. Sometimes I heavily oil the last 4-ish inches (they hide in my bun). Sometimes I heavily oil from about halfway between chin and shoulders down (i.e. everything that goes in the bun, nothing that sweeps back along my head - again with the blonde and not wanting to look dirty).

I'll leave the heavy oiling in until I next wash - it could be that evening, it could be 3, 4 or even more days. It really depends how long until I get fed up with having to be careful combing (because it stickies my hair together slightly) and worrying about leaning my bun on other people's clothes/furniture...

I generally only oil my scalp because I've got my bf to give me a head massage, which is pretty rare unless I'm uber-stressed.

[McFearless]

I leave it on as long as possible. So at least overnight before I CO wash it out.

[gman4354]

I use extra virgin olive oil and apply it every night at the scalp and roots of my hair, I also apply a bit on the ends of my hair and let it stay in my hair while I sleep. Then in the morning I wash it out with shampoo and use a conditioner which I leave in for about 5 mins then wash out using room temperature water.

[MissCoco]

My hair is practically always oiled, kind of like Othala. Sometimes I give myself a break of 2-3 "dry days", but that's it. Gives me great hair growth. I just have to wash my face consistently so that I don't get too many pimples. :p

[Mesmerise]

The night before I wash my hair, I usually slather it in coconut oil (well it's not dripping but it's greasy looking), and after my hair's washed, I usually add just a touch of argan oil (my argan oil smells better than coconut oil and it doesn't look too greasy). I just put a small amount on the palms of my hands and then spread it through my hair. That way it doesn't look too slick and greasy!

I plan to start treating my scalp with castor oil (when I manage to get my hands on some) and I'll probably do that the night before I wash too.

[ibleedlipstick]

I oil before bed the day before I wash my hair, and I use a coconut oil leave-in product by Organix.

[Malibu Barbie]

I spray my hair with oil lightly everyday and wash it once a week.

[heynormy]

I always have a little bit of oil in my hair to tame the frizzies! :)

[abbatabba1137]

After playing around with different methods, I found that my hair does better with oil in it all the time. After I shower, I towel dry my hair till its just mostly damp. Then I apply Jojoba and coconut oil to my hands and spread through half of my hair at a time, starting at chin length. It REALLY helps to keep my hair tangle free and my colored ends healthy. I probably do this 2 times a week.

[rosek]

I apply either 1 day before washing or the day of washing. My hair seems very happy with this routine.

[Henrietta]

I prefer to put it 3-12 hours before washing (sometimes if I am lazy and it's Saturday so I don't have to wash it goes up to 24 hours) and to use much of oil than have my hair lightly oiled all the time. I don't think I could go even for 48 hours. Comb would be oily, my hands too and probably my shirt at the back... Ugh, no. That's not for me. And my hair LOOKS oily even with smallest amount of oil, so lightly oiling is already too heavy for me and I couldn't wear my hair down if I, somehow, wanted to do this one day. Special occasions happen:D

[teela1978]

Usually 30-60 minutes for a heavy oiling before its washed out. Sometimes I'll do overnight, but I don't really see much of a difference between half and hour and 8 hours so usually I'll do a heavy coconut oiling before exercising and then wash it all out. I figure any heat put off my my head while moving around should help with penetration.

[Pierre]

I use jojoba and wash with WO, so it's on my hair for weeks, until the next time I henna. Then the henna adsorbs it and I rinse it out.

[jaine]

The only time my hair doesn't have oil in it is right after I shampoo and before I style it. :p I have a very oily conditioner that I like to leave in my hair all the time, adding a little bit more the next day if it looks dry again. (Aubrey Organics white camellia is the one I'm thinking of...it's loaded up with camellia oil.)
Summer might be different though...I think in the summer I only need gel and I can skip the leave-in conditioner.

[bunzfan]

I have found recently that my hair is so much softer if i oil my hair 2 days before i plan on washing it and just leave it in.

[jaine]

I use jojoba and wash with WO, so it's on my hair for weeks, until the next time I henna. Then the henna adsorbs it and I rinse it out.

Sorry to go off-topic but what does "adsorb" mean? google is not helping me at all today - "adsorption - The process by which a liquid or gas adsorbate is adsorbed by an adsorbent, forming a film on the adsorbent's surface." WOW - that's the most unhelpful definition I've seen in a long time! :)

eta: never mind, I found a better explanation: http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2004-02/1077064138.Ch.r.html

[tinti]

I both use it as a leave in and as a deep treatment. When I use it as a leave in I just take a tiny bit and apply it to my lenght/ends and I leave it in there untill the next wash (a week max), and when I use it as an overnight deep treatment I apply a lot to both my scalp and lenght and focusing on the ends, go to bed and wash it out the next morning.

[Anywhere]

I oil my hair after it dries and it stays in until I wash it out 2-4 days later. When I heavy oil I leave it in up to three days.

[Fufu]

I leave in for 20 to 30 minutes and wash off.

[AspenSong]

I think there's ALWAYS some form of oil in my hair.
I heavy oil with Coconut oil or EVOO - and I'll leave that in overnight or for a day or two if I'm not going out a lot and I can just toss it in a bun or put a scarf over it.
After I CO wash, I always put a bit of Jojoba or Grapeseed oil on my ends and at the nape of my neck. And as those soak in a bit, I'll add a bit more at nights before I put my hair in my satin cap to sleep in.

So I'm just a very oily person. lol.
The oil helps with my fine, flyaway hair (I'd rather have my hair look "flatter" but healthier and know it's being taken care of, than have "fluffy" dry hair) and at this point I feel my hair is naked without some sort of oil, etc in it to help it.

[vanity_acefake]

I put coconut oil on my ends after washing and do a big overnight oiling once a week with it. Sometimes I will leave it longer if I'm feeling particularly lazy over a weekend.
I tried evoo but I hate the smell of it. Managed to have it in my hair once for about 10 minutes until the smell made me feel so ill I had to wash it out!