Is all coconut oil the same?

[SprngGrnGoddess]

I went into a haircare shop and asked to be pointed towards the oils. There I bought a big blue bottle of coconut oil that does not seem to have any hair or body related information on it, instead just nutritional info, as if it's meant to be used only for cooking.

I have to warm it up before I use it because it's sort of in a big shampoo type bottle and it's solid until warmed and I can;t get at it unless I squeeze it out.

I used a bit on my son's slightly fuzzy baby blond hair and it seemed to make it a little less fuzzy. (I saturated the hair and left it to soak in and then washed it out and conditioned)

Would you LHCer think that it's pretty much going to be ok for my hair?

[enfys]

Mine is a food one. Unrefined coconut oil seems to be more prefered, if only because it still smells of coconut. It tends to be more expensive than refined, which has no smell. I don't know about the science behind it, the refining process (read it, forgot it).

Most pure coconut oil is likely to take a food use angle on it's labelling, since that seems to be the most popular use for it.

ETA: As for the awkward bottle, I'd warm it up and put it in a wide mouth tub/jar. Then when it resets (as it will in the UK!) it will be easy to scrape out. I've done that before; it's much easier.

[CarpeDM]

Hmmm I've only used two in my life. The first one was coarser than the second one. The second one is a general organic one (Spectrum) that you can find at a food market and I ended up liking that one much better because it was smoother and easier to apply.

[Yozhik]

Sounds like you got a food grade one. So do I, and it works great.

I can't remember the difference between refined and unrefined either, at the moment, but the most important thing is you want to make sure it's 100% coconut oil and nothing else. Sometimes the hair-specific ones will actually be coconut oil with mineral oil, which is not the same thing, although it's not necessarily bad for your hair.

[Mesmerise]

Mine is just regular food coconut oil. It goes hard (even in summer lol although it is softer in summer) and I need to dig it out of the jar and warm it up!

[NouvelleNymphe2]

Mine is just regular food coconut oil. It goes hard (even in summer lol although it is softer in summer) and I need to dig it out of the jar and warm it up!

mine too, before i use it i stick it on the heater and then i kind of spoon it out with my fingers. smells lovely, adds lots of shine (i only really notice the benefits of oils/butters after a CWC when i fully comb my hair). other days i'm always a bit of an oily mess cuz i love oils so much

[ktani]

No, here is a link that explains the differences:
http://www.live-the-organic-life.com...conut-oil.html

While you may still have good results with the refined stuff on your hair...it may clog your pores. IMO, the best way to go is to get the organic cold-processed virgin coconut oil. It's a little bit more, but not outrageous--and a superior product that can be used for MANY MANY things! Mine is NUTIVA, which I purchased at GNC for $8. Make sure you get it from a reputable company...since the article states that many companies are selling fake "organic virgin coconut oil". Also, note that VCO will work to detoxify when taken internally or externally and may cause your skin to break out initially after using it (because of the toxins coming to the surface). This should go away by the time you have used it for about 2-3 weeks (or sooner). Not everyone experiences this--in fact it caused the opposite in me and cleared my skin up on my whole body within a few days! Do your research and you'll see. It doesn't work for everyone, but for those it does work for you will be beyond amazed. I am telling everyone I know about this stuff!!

I agree! There can be variations in the quality of coconut oils, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...postcount=1245.

And there is peer reviewed research on virgin coconut oil and skin.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20645831

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum

[scorpio_rising]

bottle of coconut oil that does not seem to have any hair or body related information on it, instead just nutritional info, as if it's meant to be used only for cooking.

That's the stuff!

[Sooze]

I use food grade coconut oil (extra virgin) and it's fine. Cheap too. Forgive me, but I giggled a little to read you'd used it on your son's hair first, and then wondered if it'd be okay for yours.....

[BrightEyes7]

All coconut oil will have nutritional information on it.

If it is meant for hair use specifically, it'll usually have some other ingredients. That is what you don't want. I get mine from the grocery store, on the cooking oil aisle.

Read the ingredients, what is in it? It should be just coconut oil.

Other than that the only difference is refined and unrefined. Basically unrefined is more expensive and smells like coconuts and refined doesn't smell like anything really, when it comes to hair.