What oil do you use? How often?

[Aingeal]

I use olive And coconut oil once a week and leave it in for an hour. What do you use? When? Do you use oil as a leave in during the day?

[alexis917]

Coconut oil, just enough to make my palms a little shiny, a leave-in everyday.
Sometimes I get heavy handed with it like a deep treatment when I'm just sitting around!

[HintOfMint]

Coconut oil as a heavy pre-wash oiling. Occasionally if I'm pressed for time and my jar isn't opening, I use olive oil instead, but I prefer coconut because it jives better with my scalp. That's the limit of my "natural" hair care though. I follow it with sulfate Herbal Essences shampoo, coney Herbal Essences conditioner, and a coney Aveda leave-in conditioner.

[Liz_park]

I use coconut oil as well. I completely coat the hair, braid it, and leave it in overnight once a week. I wash it out in the morning with a sulfate free shampoo or a co wash.

I also use argan oil, mixed with a few drops of spearmint oil, as a leave in every day after showering. I concentrate it on the ends, and a dab or so near the roots. My hair smells like heaven all day. Two other great oils to use in place of spearmint oil, are peppermint and lavender. Use the peppermint sparingly and always mix it well with the argan, otherwise you'll end up with burning skin/scalp. Lavender just smells so nice, I love it!

[Coolcombination]

I use an olive/argan mix as a deep treatment the day of my wash and use a little on the ends after a wash

[sharonluvscats]

It varies. I was using a jojoba/almond oil mix as a leave-in for a while. I recently discovered argan oil and I've been using that instead. I mix two drops in with my regular leave in conditioner. I now use a mix of jojoba, almond, and lavender oil as a pre-shampoo treatment every other night. I probably put way too much oil in my hair half the time, but it helps with braiding my layered hair.

[sagremus]

Coconut oil once a week mix jojoba oil (my hair and skin love this), and shea butter/argan oil/kelpy stuff on my ends every day or so.

[sharonluvscats]

oh, and I also mixed some tea tree oil in with my Clear Shampoo. I use this once or twice a week.

[Firefox7275]

Heavy coconut oiling as a pre-wash on dry hair, overnight to twenty four hours as per the published research.

[Aingeal]

I use coconut oil as well. I completely coat the hair, braid it, and leave it in overnight once a week. I wash it out in the morning with a sulfate free shampoo or a co wash.

I also use argan oil, mixed with a few drops of spearmint oil, as a leave in every day after showering. I concentrate it on the ends, and a dab or so near the roots. My hair smells like heaven all day. Two other great oils to use in place of spearmint oil, are peppermint and lavender. Use the peppermint sparingly and always mix it well with the argan, otherwise you'll end up with burning skin/scalp. Lavender just smells so nice, I love it!
That's an awesome idea. I was using argan oil every morning for a while...I wonder if I could mix the argan oil with a drop of lavender. Me likey.

[Aingeal]

Heavy coconut oiling as a pre-wash on dry hair, overnight to twenty four hours as per the published research.

How often are your wash days?

[Liz_park]

That's an awesome idea. I was using argan oil every morning for a while...I wonder if I could mix the argan oil with a drop of lavender. Me likey.

It smells lovely! You can't really smell it from far away (ie, my co-workers don't notice) but I always get compliments from close to me, like when someone hugs me, or when I'm on dates! This one guy I dated just loved the peppermint oil.

[deja]

I use coconut oil to seal my ends every week after I co-wash. And in between, I use argan oil in the roots every day. I have started using my sister's Jamaican black castor oil the day before washes because I've been hearing good things about it. I occasionally randomly throughout the week use other oils that I've picked up over the months like jojoba and rosemary, just when I feel like massaging my scalp, I don't know if those have any effect of my growth or anything like that, though.

[MsSunshine]

I use sweet almond oil with a few drops of Rosemary oil once a week for 24 hours. I also do grapeseed oil once a week for a hot oil treatment. I like to add lavender oil into my conditioning rinse too to make it smell nice and add shine.

[Emanuelle]

I use grapeseed oil on my ends everytime after washing - to prevent my ends from splitting. :)

Tonight I will soak my hair in avocado oil, will wash my hair tomorrow morning.

[irishlady]

I use coconut oil, on dry hair, twice a week before a wash :)

[Leeloo]

So what I read here on LHC is that it takes 14 hours for coconut oil to get absorbed into the hair, so coconut oil or in combination with olive or avocado oil the night before wash.

[Buddaphlyy]

I use a mix of toasted sesame, walnut, and peppermint oil everyday. I use it to seal after I moisturize. I use quite a bit. Like 2 tablespoons worth.

[BrendaLoan]

Coconut oil twice a month, as a pre wash treatment (I leave it overnight and wash it in the morning) and sometimes I put a little on my dry ends and leave it, just to smooth :-)

[samanthaj08]

I use 1:3 jojoba:coconut with a few drops of peppermint and few drops of rosemary.. leave it 3 days usually and wash. I do it once a week.

[rose313]

The only oil I have ever used is Miracle 7 Buriti Oil. It worked well, but I hate the feeling of oil on my hands.

[Northerner]

Sesame oil or coconut oil infused with ayurvedic herbs from Vadik Herbs, 2-3 times a week.

[PamelaViktoria]

I use coconut oil. Sometimes I shampoo just right and it looks lovely. Other times it all gets stripped out

[jacqueline101]

I made a mix of oils and I did my length daily. I dropped oiling for a while.

[GrowingGlory]

Sebum, primarily. I wash my hair weekly. Secondly, NightBlooming Custom Blend Oils, one prior to washing and one afterward.

[MultiCultiCurly]

I have very dry hair, so I seal after moisturizing with oil a LOT. I make a hair butter whip with equal parts shea butter, coconut oil, and grapeseed oil. One day I'll get fancy and add an essential oil of some sort for fragrance. It's the consistency of cool whip, and absorbs into my hair pretty well, so it doesn't leave such a greasy feel (unless I overdo it).

[Aingeal]

Ok, those who leave oil in overnight, what do you do with your hair? Sleep cap?

[deja]

Ok, those who leave oil in overnight, what do you do with your hair? Sleep cap?

I don't know if real long hairs can do it but I wrap my hair all the way around my head and then put a stocking cap on over it. And then I put a loose sleep cap on over that so I don't look like a guy :p

[which.chick]

I oil 2x per week, jojoba oil, just on the bottom eight inches or so, and I use a tiny amount of oil. I stick my finger into the bottle to the first joint and then whatever oil sticks to my finger, I spread on both palms and glide it through my hair until hands are mostly oil free. Then I brush it a couple of strokes and put it into a sleep braid until the next morning. What does it do for my hair? It makes it a lot more manageable and neater to bun. It may help protect it from damage. (I'm only a month in to the experiment. Ask me again in a year.)

[Naiadryade]

Olive oil mixed with rice bran oil and essential oils of lavender, geranium, thyme, cedar and I think clary sage - a few drops on the length and ends whenever it feels like it needs it, generally once every couple of days.

Castor oil with similar EO's massaged into my scalp every couple of days or so, at night before bed.

If I am able to plan ahead enough, I'll do some kind of heavy oiling a day or so before I wash (which is about once a week)--with EVOO, or coconut oil, or sweet almond, sometimes adding a little avocado, hazelnut or jojoba--generally I also add a few drops of vitamin E oil and some EO's. I also love mixing oils with other things for deep treatments!

[sandigrl117]

Coconut oil, sometimes with peppermint, tea tree, and rosemary essential oils. I use it daily to help protect my hair while in the pool teaching. So far, it's been GREAT!

[caromarpie]

I started using coconut oil this and I am amaze at the result. I put it on my lenght and braid it and keep it like that overnight. The results is stunning

[Stray_mind]

I use olive oil everytime before washing. I'm thinking of trying coconut oil soon.

[earthnut]

I use coconut oil as a pre-wash. I only use conditioner. I also use it as a deep treatment, covering my hair with it and then doing one of the following:
Sitting in a hot bath for an hour
Bun, and then later that day, wash
Wrap in a cloth and sleep on it, wash in the morning

Sometimes I'll use olive oil after washing and drying to tame frizzies. Otherwise I only use olive oil to clean my face/skin.

[cathair]

Soak it in as much coconut oil as it will take overnight before washing it, which is about every 4 - 5 days. Sometimes I sleep with it in a turbie towel, sometimes I don't bother. Trying to remember to put a little bit on the ends on about day 3, cause it starts getting tangly then and it is so much less tangly after.

[Misschilly]

I don't know if my hair likes coconut oil, how do you know? Maybe I should let it be for more then couple of hours? Argan oil works better..and mineral oil works! Do you think if the hair likes MO then it won't like coconut?

[Skade]

It varies. I use coconut oil, argan oil, almond oil, jojoba oil, olive oil and avocado oil. Sometimes before washing and sometimes as leave in after wash.

[Firefox7275]

I don't know if my hair likes coconut oil, how do you know? Maybe I should let it be for more then couple of hours? Argan oil works better..and mineral oil works! Do you think if the hair likes MO then it won't like coconut?

Is your hair high or low porosity? There is little point in using penetrating oils if you are low porosity. If you are high coconut oil is useful, but as noted earlier in the thread the published research is overnight to twenty four hour soaks on dry hair. Mineral oil cannot penetrate it coats in a similar way to silicone, so may be useful in leave in products but likely pointless as a deep treatment.
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curl-products/mineral-oil-versus-coconut-oil-which-is-better

[Liz_park]

Castor oil with similar EO's massaged into my scalp every couple of days or so, at night before bed.



For castor oil, does massaging it into your scalp help with growth? I've heard castor oil mentioned a few times now, and I'm very curious about it!

[xpaeanx]

Argan oil daily on the ends and coconut oil overnight the day before a wash(biweekly-weekly right now). I also add essential oils to ACV and do a rinse a day or 2 before washing. I have castor oil but haven't really used it yet. I dislike the consistency... But I might try mixing it with EVOO and do that as an overnight before wash day and see what I think.

[Squiggy]

Ok, those who leave oil in overnight, what do you do with your hair? Sleep cap?

I do coconut oil overnight - I just throw my hair in a braid and sleep on it! It doesn't make a big mess or bother my skin.

[Naiadryade]

For castor oil, does massaging it into your scalp help with growth? I've heard castor oil mentioned a few times now, and I'm very curious about it!

Yup! There's a huge thread on it here. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=18265) I also find it helps massively with itchies and dandruff for me, both my moisturizing my scalp and by killing fungus.


I have castor oil but haven't really used it yet. I dislike the consistency... But I might try mixing it with EVOO and do that as an overnight before wash day and see what I think.

It is thick, but it absorbs surprisingly well. I find that if I massage it into my scalp at night, it's all absorbed and not noticeable by the morning. I just use one drop at a time spread over my fingers, massaged in until my fingers are dry, another drop massaged into a different spot, repeat until my whole scalp has been done. Good luck!

[Nerine]

I've used coconut oil and olive oil in the past before. I bought some Moroccan Argan oil that I'm going to use mostly at night before bed. :)

[Misschilly]

Is your hair high or low porosity? There is little point in using penetrating oils if you are low porosity. If you are high coconut oil is useful, but as noted earlier in the thread the published research is overnight to twenty four hour soaks on dry hair. Mineral oil cannot penetrate it coats in a similar way to silicone, so may be useful in leave in products but likely pointless as a deep treatment.
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curl-products/mineral-oil-versus-coconut-oil-which-is-better

I don't know for sure yet, I think I shall try the float test (or are there any better way to decide?) when I've washed my hair tomorrow..so if it floats maybe mineral oil is best for me and otherwise coconut?

MO do give me a amazing slip, and should wash out easily so I can do a DT after washing? Thank you for your help, I really like to learn things from you who knows soo much!=)

[ExpectoPatronum]

I go between two oils. One is coconut oil, which I've been using as a pre-wash treatment and on my scalp since I've been experiencing dandruff (it's been helping a ton with that). I also use this Africa's Best Oil which is a blend of a lot of different things. I usually slather whichever oil I use all over, put it in a shower cap and top it with a beanie to trap the heat in. I'll leave it in anywhere between an hour or all day. After I wash, I use baby oil to seal in moisture and to battle my frizz and velcro-y ends.

[Vijikanth]

Learnt from trial and error...ofcourse lots of error that coconut oil is the best. No compromise on that. Really magic. My hair is in good shape now. But I still expect to get thick hair...

[Tail Feathers]

i use coconut oil, twice per week, the night before washing. i coat my scalp and all my hair,
right down to the tips, and then english braid it and put a towel on my pillow and sleep on it.

after washing, almost every day, a few drops of almond oil to tame the lot...

[Firefox7275]

I don't know for sure yet, I think I shall try the float test (or are there any better way to decide?) when I've washed my hair tomorrow..so if it floats maybe mineral oil is best for me and otherwise coconut?

MO do give me a amazing slip, and should wash out easily so I can do a DT after washing? Thank you for your help, I really like to learn things from you who knows soo much!=)

Float test has been debunked, best way is to consider how your hair behaves - how easily it wets in the shower, how fast it air dries without products, how well it absorbs penetrating ingredients, if wavy especially how easily it frizzes with humectants in humidity and so on. It is possible to have lower porosity roots and higher porosity ends of course. My hair is really obviously higher porosity being colour treated, fast drying when naked, can take plenty of leave in conditioner, frizzes easily, does well with penetrating ingredients like coconut oil and hydrolysed protein. But not half as bad as it was when I first joined LHC!!

Or have a hair analysis if you are still confused - Goosefootprints on Etsy is very well priced and the store owner is active on Naturallycurly and the Wavy Hair Community on Facebook so is trustworthy.
http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2013/01/junk-science-hair-porosity-tests-float.html
http://pedaheh.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/goosefootprints-hair-analysis-with-my.html

You can use mineral oil if you have high or low porosity, it's a good sealant and as you say some like it for slip. I can't see the point of using it as a deep treatment since it cannot penetrate and AFAIK more molecules won't adhere over time so there would be little 'deep' about the session. Better as an ingredient in a leave in conditioner or a couple of drops as a 'serum' but totally up to you. First in a series of articles that are all worth reading, straight hairs as well as curlies
http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2012/10/deep-conditioning-update-penetration.html

[Liz_park]

Yup! There's a huge thread on it here. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=18265) I also find it helps massively with itchies and dandruff for me, both my moisturizing my scalp and by killing fungus.

Thank you for posting the thread! That is helpful! I have very light hair and several people say in the thread that castor oil is darkening, so I may be a bit cautious or use it very diluted.

Has anyone had any luck with avocado oil? I've heard that is great too, though I haven't tried it.

[Misschilly]

Float test has been debunked, best way is to consider how your hair behaves - how easily it wets in the shower, how fast it air dries without products, how well it absorbs penetrating ingredients, if wavy especially how easily it frizzes with humectants in humidity and so on. It is possible to have lower porosity roots and higher porosity ends of course. My hair is really obviously higher porosity being colour treated, fast drying when naked, can take plenty of leave in conditioner, frizzes easily, does well with penetrating ingredients like coconut oil and hydrolysed protein. But not half as bad as it was when I first joined LHC!!

Or have a hair analysis if you are still confused - Goosefootprints on Etsy is very well priced and the store owner is active on Naturallycurly and the Wavy Hair Community on Facebook so is trustworthy.
http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2013/01/junk-science-hair-porosity-tests-float.html
http://pedaheh.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/goosefootprints-hair-analysis-with-my.html

You can use mineral oil if you have high or low porosity, it's a good sealant and as you say some like it for slip. I can't see the point of using it as a deep treatment since it cannot penetrate and AFAIK more molecules won't adhere over time so there would be little 'deep' about the session. Better as an ingredient in a leave in conditioner or a couple of drops as a 'serum' but totally up to you. First in a series of articles that are all worth reading, straight hairs as well as curlies
http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2012/10/deep-conditioning-update-penetration.html

I will try to investigate it as much as I can and see if I can decide what I am..I'll try to check how much an envelope to us cost here from Sweden, the analysis seems really intresting!

[lapushka]

I use olive And coconut oil once a week and leave it in for an hour. What do you use? When? Do you use oil as a leave in during the day?

The only oil that goes into my hair is mineral oil on the ends, in place of my serum (on wet hair). Just a few drops of it, and it's *wonderful*!

[Agnes Hannah]

coconut daily, argan night before washing.

[rcblinn]

Love love love Dabur Vatika Enriched Coconut oil. The smell at first was a little off putting ( soapy, lemony?) but has really grown on me. I do a pre wash oiling 3x week and then after every CO a teeny amount as a leave in. What's even better, I used to have to make a big trip over to San Jose to get it and now found a tiny Indian grocery store 5 minutes from my home that sells it. Score!

[heidi w.]

I made a long hair video on youtube. Look it up under "heidi w. oils hair video..." It shows how to oil hair, how to Boar Bristle Brush hair and how to do an easy updo.
I oil once a week after the hair is freshly washed.

FYI: I now have really short hair, sadly.
heidi w.

[Aingeal]

Heidi, I'll look for it! You're hair is amazing in your siggy pics! Sorry to hear you've cut it!

[cathair]

Float test has been debunked

Interesting, I did wonder. In that case I am going to have to re-assess.

[kiezel]

Cumulatively, I use nearly half a teaspoon of camellia oil between washes, it just soaks it up. So, every 2-3 days.

[martyna_22]

My hair hates coconut oil... it's just not for my porosity. I use either flaxseed oil or avocado oil. Olive oil too, occasionally. These oils work wonders for me!