Darkening from coconut oil?

**Loviatar** · January 15th, 2009, 04:11 PM

I've done a search and can't find any yes or no responses, so I'll ask: has anyone here ever experienced significant or noticeable darkening of their hair through using coconut oil?

I keep seeing how coconut is meant to help with darkening hair, and I am worried, as I use it a lot. The old semi-perm black dye on my length doesnt seem to be fading at all; I wondered if the coconut was anything to do with it.

If you have experienced noticeable effects could you please post before and after comparison pics?

Many thanks,
Lovi

**Flaxen** · January 15th, 2009, 07:44 PM

Nope, no darkening here, and my hair darkens with so many products it's not even funny.

Lovi, have you read that in connection with Indian hair care? I think they mean that coconut oil (and other Indian products) are healthy for hair and help keep naturally dark hair dark. Amla is another example. It is said to help darken hair. It does have a slight tan staining effect, but I believe the high vitamin C content is meant to act as an antioxidant so that greying will stop, and hair that was already dark will darken up again. Does that make sense?

**sibilum** · January 15th, 2009, 07:48 PM

Nope, not at all, and I've been using it heavily for more than a year. My ends go lighter and lighter as my hair grows, and they just continued so for the past year.

**jojo** · January 15th, 2009, 10:48 PM

I have not noticed any darkening from coconut oil, from CO washes in the past I noticed my hair went redder but never darker from coconut or any other oil.

**chrissy-b** · January 15th, 2009, 11:14 PM

No darkening here either and I've been using it for over a year for scalp massages, leave-in and heavy oilings. And I think Flaxen is right, the combination of coconut oil and other herbs can *potentially* help hair maintain its color and not turn grey. I've heard that coconut oil works this way by itself also, but I've still got my greys and they're multiplying.

**venividibxtchy** · January 16th, 2009, 02:42 AM

I've been using it extensively, and I don't notice any darkening; however, like any oil, if you're doing a heavier oiling, or even a moderate one, it can temporarily make your hair look darker.

**Finoriel** · January 16th, 2009, 05:03 AM

In my experience it is not really_in_fact darkening, in the meaning of adding pigment to the hair,

but I have some thoughts why it can appear like it darkens hair sometimes and sometimes not.

Most oiled hair indeed looks a shade darker than very clean and freshly washed hair does. Not as obvious as wet hair compared with dry hair, but the effect is similar and based on the same physics.
Virgin hair appears darker when wet, than it does when it has dried. Oiling hair (preferably damp hair) helps the shaft to keep moisture longer. Especially coconut oil is known to do this extremely well

after all that´s why it´s one of the all time favourite hair oils on here when battling dry ends. When you have included it into your routine, it´s likely that after some time you hair will be better moisturizes than when you would not use oil at all.
So if the hair appears darker than before it just means it´s moisture content is higher than before. Those who do not notice this effect, possibly had well moisturized hair to begin with. On light hair this darkening effect is more noticeable than on hair which is dark to begin with and bleached or chemically dyed hair does not darken as much as virgin hair when it´s wet, so I assume that it´s not affected by oiling either.

**Samikha** · January 16th, 2009, 05:41 AM

What the others said

My hair is a lot darker before I wash, when it's pretty saturated with oil, and lighter after. It seems near-blonde (to my eyes) when I've calrified. I have not found coconut oil to be permanently darkening - not that I have noticed, anyway. Your length not fading is probably related to the fact that the coconut oil protects it.