Possible way to protect hair from conventional peroxide damage

[ktani]

ktani (or anyone who can answer): I'm getting ready to do another light peroxide treatment, and was wondering if you know if the quality of coconut oil matters in terms of effectiveness? I've got a giant jar of cheap supermarket cooking-grade coconut oil here (brand name LuAna), and it looks like it's pretty refined and not virgin. Will this make a difference in terms of how much it protects the hair?

TIA!

ETA: Okay, I haven't read this thread in a month or so, and now see that a whole conversation about refined-vs.unrefined coconut oil has gone on right above this! Sorry about that.... But I would still be interested in your final opinion on this question, ktani!

I think that you would be better to try a less refined version of the coconut oil you have. FrannyG uses Spectrum Expeller-Pressed Refined Organic Coconut Oil. It is a good one to try in my opinion. It is the kind of processing used that affects the oil's properties, not so much that any refining has been done. I do not know what kind of processing would be done to the oil you have.

[dorothea-brooke]

Thanks so much, ktani!

Off to the health-food store....

[ktani]

Thanks so much, ktani!

Off to the health-food store....

My pleasure and please update as to how things go.

[ktani]

I just added this to my blog but I also update here.

Thinning hair through hormonal changes and types of damage

I always appreciate the research Proctor and Gamble does on hair. It is cutting edge and very informative. Some of their research contributed to what I wrote about here, http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.com/2009/11/part-1-of-3-part-series-on-innovative.html and that research is in this thead.

The article quoted from below is about thinning hair through homones and damage and the information on dandruff is most fascinating.
"... When P&G Beauty & Grooming, sequenced the genome of the microorganism that causes dandruff in 2007, they found that it secretes a variety of proteins onto the scalp and into the hair follicle (even below the skin surface!). Several of those proteins actually generates hydrogen peroxide within the hair follicle. The hydrogen peroxide softens the lipids and proteins on the hair shaft, resulting in oxidative damage to hair while still inside the follicle. With this chemical change, the hair loses its natural lubricant, the f-layer, resulting in hair that feels drier and rougher and is more susceptible to physical damage. ..." Note: There was an error in transcribing the original P&G dandruff article information into this one. It should read "... One of those proteins ..."

That means to me that treating dandruff effectively would be important as soon as possible. It also means to me that using coconut oil as a treatment while having dandruff can help prevent some of the peroxide damage. In this case, the cause of the damage is on going while the microorganism that secretes the proteins is present. Coconut oil can be applied to the scalp, where the peroxide damage is starting, inside the hair folicle.

Coconut oil has been found to be helpful for at least one type of fungal infection.
"... Coconut oil should be used in the treatment of fungal infections in view of emerging drug-resistant Candida species."

Argan oil is high in oleic acid and would not be suitable for this purpose. See links below.

Other oils do not have the chelating abilities of coconut or argan oils but are high in oleic acid and should be avoided for use on the scalp by those prone to dandruff. These include: camellia oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil, olive oil, sesame oil and sunflower oil.

I am not suggesting however, that coconut oil alone be used to treat dandruff. Dandruff is best diagnosed and treated properly, through a doctor like a general practitioner or a dermatologist, to identify if it is truly dandruff or another condition.

More on the true cause of dandruff from P&G: sebum feeds the fungi, a genetic inflammatory response to oleic acid
"... As the Malassezia globosa microorganisms consume sebum, they leave behind oleic acid. Oleic acid is a component of human sebum that is intensely irritating when it is isolated, and oleic acid has been shown to induce dandruff-like flaking when scalp conditions are right. ... Researchers applied oleic acid to the scalps of dandruff-prone individuals, and the skin developed abnormally shaped corneocytes and excess lipid similar to the morphology that occurs in dandruff. ..."

What works and what is in the future for the treatment of dandruff

[Pandora.]

If I'm only dying my virgin roots, will I still need to prepare with all these oils? I don't have enough time to go and find some coconut oil before I go to the salon. Also, I live in a town that's very limited for fancy supplies like specific oils and whatnot. Please help.

[ktani]

If I'm only dying my virgin roots, will I still need to prepare with all these oils? I don't have enough time to go and find some coconut oil before I go to the salon. Also, I live in a town that's very limited for fancy supplies like specific oils and whatnot. Please help.

Read this report from the Report's Post. I think that it would be worth your time to find coconut oil and argan oil and apply them, even just doing your roots.

44. FrannyG, an update after using coconut oil as a pre-treatment for 17 months on previously coloured hair, dyed with permanent hair colour. Result is an increase of 1 inch in ponytail circumference due to lack of breakage, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1236, - details and more, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1244

[Pandora.]

Woah! If only I'd known about coconut oil a long time ago.

I did happen to go into town today, and I found a huge jar of coconut oil in the local health food store, but it was quite expensive. I also found a super cheap pure coconut oil body cream, but I don't think that's what I'm looking for lol. You'd be hard-pressed to find most things where I live.

[jackie75]

Unfortunately, I'm stuck buying my coconut oil on line. I recently ordered some organic fractionated coconut oil, for the longer shelf life & constant liquid consistency.

I'm in the process of getting my hair closer to my virgin color, so the next time I color, I plan on doing a heavy oiling. Will let you know how it turns out. Hopefully it will help the color to grab better, as my last results the color didn't take very well & it came out much lighter than I expected.

[ktani]

Good luck to both of you in finding and using a good coconut oil that works well for you.

[bigred199]

Just wanted to thank you all for your advice in this thread! I read a lot of it (not all, I'll admit; there's a lot of info here to digest). I hennaed my hair for the first time recently and took it way too dark on the very first try. Most of the info I could find about lightening henna wasn't real encouraging. The general consensus seemed to be henna is permanent, and that's that. Grow it out and cut it off. But since I'm not patient enough to do that, and honey lightening was too gradual for my impatient self, I decided to try and lighten with peroxide, following the advice in this thread. With success! I went from dark auburn to more of a copper color (my original goal) over the course of three applications of peroxide. I heavily oiled my hair with coconut and argan oils before each peroxide application, and there is no visible damage to my hair. Thank you, thank you, thank you!