Benefits of coconut oil for hair ? Is it okay to leave it in for a day or two? :)

[stephy190]

I'm not going anywhere for a couple days so put some coconut oil into my scalp and ends.. Is this okay to stay in for that long ?
Also what are the benefits of coconut oil for hair :) Thanks guys xxx :)

[melusine963]

Technically speaking, I leave some coconut oil in all week (I use itboth as a pre-wash treatment and as a leave-in detangler after I wash). That said I never put in more at a time than my hair will absorb. I've never tried putting in copious amounts and then letting it sit for more than a day. I always worried that it would start festering in the heat.

[sarahthegemini]

Coconut oil works best after about 12 hours *I think* so leaving it for a couple days might not give you any more benefit than if you'd just left it in for one night, but I don't think it'll cause issues. I'd be wary putting it on your scalp though.

[melusine963]

Coconut oil works best after about 12 hours *I think* so leaving it for a couple days might not give you any more benefit than if you'd just left it in for one night, but I don't think it'll cause issues. I'd be wary putting it on your scalp though.

Good point. Your hair can only absorb so much oil at a time, so there's no point in soaking it beyond what it can hold (plus you'll end up with a horribly greasy pillow).

Also, be aware that oiling your scalp can cause a lot of shedding in some people. For others it works great though, so you won't really know until you try. Still, unless you actually have a dry scalp that you feel would benefit from moisturising I wouldn't risk it.

[Firefox7275]

I'm not going anywhere for a couple days so put some coconut oil into my scalp and ends.. Is this okay to stay in for that long ?
Also what are the benefits of coconut oil for hair :) Thanks guys xxx :)

You can leave it on your hair for as long as you like: coconut oil is proven to penetrate hair, reducing porosity, increasing elasticity, reducing protein loss when washing (damage). The fatty acids diffuse in slowly, studies have looked at twelve hours and twenty four hours and still shown greater penetration with a little heat - no reason to suspect the diffusion will not continue indefinitely providing your hair remains porous.
http://journal.scconline.org//pdf/cc1999/cc050n06/p00327-p00339.pdf
http://journal.scconline.org//pdf/cc2001/cc052n03/p00169-p00184.pdf
http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc2003/cc054n02/p00175-p00192.pdf
http://journal.scconline.org//pdf/cc2005/cc056n05/p00283-p00295.pdf

No proven benefits on scalp oiling with coconut oil AFAIK. Not sure I'd want to leave oil on my scalp for long, the skin doesn't need lauric acid, it might disrupt the function of the barrier and can be comedogenic for some.