Coconut milk soak but adding penetrating oils for protein + moisture? How to mix it?

[lole18]

So i did the coconut milk soak it didn't do much to my hair just gave it a bit of shine.. i want to add coconut oil and olive oil to the soak so my hair would be more moisturized since it's really dry and unhealthy! should i rub a couple of tablespoons of the oils in my hair\scalp then dump the coconut milk on it? or how should i? Also anyone had an experience with coconut oil\milk or olive oil tell me what you noticed in your hair and after how many uses did you notice it and how long do you leave it? I have extremely thin fine low porosity uneven (CANT EVER RETAIN LENGTH) prone to breakage\shedding DRYY hair lol help? Also my hair used to be curly now its wavy\fried\stringy\damged though i dont use heat\chemicals and i handle it gently :(

[lole18]

Heeeelllllpppppppppppp?????????????

[sarahthegemini]

If you have low porosity, you may find that doing that sort of treatment (milk + oil) will have little effect as your hair can't absorb as much goodness as someone with high porosity hair.


eta: Oils don't moisturise. You could try a coconut oil and/or olive oil pre-wash but again, due to your low porosity, I don't know whether it will be beneficial to you. It works for me but I'm highly porous.

[Pocahontash]

Hi Lole,

I used to be a big fan of coconut milk hair masks until i discovered that my hair likes the coconut oil a lot more.
I have oiled my hair before and put the milk over it as well. It did not seem to make much of a difference for me when i did both, but regular use of the coconut oil on damp hair overnight has really made a difference in the silkiness of my hair. My hair is long but is thin at the ends due to damage. Have you tried almond oil before? I find that oil to be very hydrating for my hair. I typically sleep with the oil in over night to see a difference, i do that about 2 to 3 times a week. Just put a towel down to sleep on as you don't want to ruin your pillow cases :) Good luck.

[Katrine]

Here is a recent thread about coconut milk. http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=116131

I had a heavy shed after using a Coconut Milk shampoo bar so I stay away from it.

I think coconut milk is considered protein and non-hydrolysed protein doesn't penetrate the hair shaft very well. Protein is always to be followed by moisture. Did you do a moisturizing treatment after? It sounds like like your hair could use some moisture.

My hair is fine and has done better with sweet almond, jojoba and argan oils. Some people swear by coconut oil but others say it makes their hair crunchy. (it makes my hair feel dry and crunchy) Olive oil too seemed a bit heavy for my fine hair.

Have you considered using a leave in? Maybe leave in would be a better option for you.

HTH :)

[Anje]

In my experience, coconut milk is already pretty oily, unless you get the low-fat variety. Adding more oils doesn't seem like it'd help much, to me. Furthermore, oil isn't protein, as you'll see from the nutrition label, so adding it won't increase the protein your hair's getting.

How hair reacts to protein is a very individual thing. Some hair loves it, some hates it. For me, it makes my hair dry and velcro-like; it gets snappy and tangles even as I'm trying to detangle it. While it's totally possible that your hair does need protein (especially if it seems stretchy!), don't discount the possibility that you've overdone it and that that's part of the problem.

My magic bullet for dry hair is an SMT. You'll find a link in my signature for it. So my suggestion would be to clarify your hair if you haven't recently, then do that. See how it goes, report back in. Good luck!

[YamaMaya]

Coconut milk turned my hair to velcro, so I wouldn't know, but maybe I'm doing it wrong :confused:

[Firefox7275]

AFAIK there is no hydrolysed protein in any oil nor in coconut milk so that mix won't do what you want. Also the research on penetrating oils is applying to dry hair, which makes sense since oil and water do not mix. Oils do not moisturise (add or increase water) they reduce porosity and reduce the amount of water the hair takes up when washing, so I cannot see the point in using penetrating oils on low porosity hair. Are you sure that is what it is, have you had a hair analysis? The DIY tests have been debunked. If you genuinely need moisture use humectants like glycerin, aloe vera, honey or propylene glycol - an SMT for example.

http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2009/06/size-matters-protein-conditioning-part.html
http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2013/01/junk-science-hair-porosity-tests-float.html

[reilly0167]

I usually do a treatment of olive oil, honey and castor oil once a week and my hair loves it but every now and then I like to try something new, so decided to try coconut milk soak. I used the full fat kind and added some honey and castor oil, mixed it up and applied it. I clarified first using good old suave shampoo and conditioned it a bit to detangle. I found it easier to have it in a bowl big enough to dunk my head in and catch the excess mixture and work it in real good followed by a nice scalp massage, put on a plastic cap and a terry turban and marinate, I left it on for two hours. After that I used conditioner to rinse out. I love the way my hair feels afterwards, it was soft and silky feeling and shiny, not weighed down:D plus I love the coconut smell it gives. Very impressed.

[Anya15]

I use coconut oil as a pre poo treatment. I put it in my hair and leave it overnight. By morning, most of it sort of gets absorbed and then I wash. But I do not have damage, so you should really try an SMT as Anje said.

I also use it on my ends from time to time if they seem dry.

[reilly0167]

I tried the SMT earlier when I first joined. It worked fine but my hair thrives better with richer treatments. I have very curly hair, no damage yea!:joy: I can't say enough thank you's for how much I learn here. Also welcome to our happy hair community:cheer:

[Hairkay]

In my experience, coconut milk is already pretty oily, unless you get the low-fat variety. Adding more oils doesn't seem like it'd help much, to me. Furthermore, oil isn't protein, as you'll see from the nutrition label, so adding it won't increase the protein your hair's getting. How hair reacts to protein is a very individual thing. Some hair loves it, some hates it.


I have to agree here. Coconut milk has enough coconut oil in it already. I sometimes have a coconut milk hair mask. Daily (except coldest winter when I use olive oil), I'll add a little bit of coconut oil to the ends of my damp hair. That works for me. The milk made from the coconut flesh does have some protein in it. I've never seen any claims to say if this can get absorbed into the hair. You can make your own home made coconut oil by extracting it from the coconut milk. The oil as the name implies will be oil so there won't be any protein left when the oil is extracted.

Once I used the concentrated coconut milk block in my hair. I had dissolved it using warm water but apparently I hadn't put enough to thin it out. After I applied it to my hair for conditioning and went to rinse it out in the shower, the shower took out the rest of the protein and semi-solids but left a thick layer of oil in my hair. I never repeated that mistake again.

[reilly0167]

I have to agree here. Coconut milk has enough coconut oil in it already. I sometimes have a coconut milk hair mask. Daily (except coldest winter when I use olive oil), I'll add a little bit of coconut oil to the ends of my damp hair. That works for me. The milk made from the coconut flesh does have some protein in it. I've never seen any claims to say if this can get absorbed into the hair. You can make your own home made coconut oil by extracting it from the coconut milk. The oil as the name implies will be oil so there won't be any protein left when the oil is extracted.

Once I used the concentrated coconut milk block in my hair. I had dissolved it using warm water but apparently I hadn't put enough to thin it out. After I applied it to my hair for conditioning and went to rinse it out in the shower, the shower took out the rest of the protein and semi-solids but left a thick layer of oil in my hair. I never repeated that mistake again.
I never heard of coconut blocks, where did you get them from?

[Hairkay]

I never heard of coconut blocks, where did you get them from?

They're quite commonly sold on supermarkets here. They're concentrated coconut milk that hardens into a block. See here.

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=272666106

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/ktc-creamed-coconut-200g

[reilly0167]

They're quite commonly sold on supermarkets here. They're concentrated coconut milk that hardens into a block. See here.

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=272666106

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/ktc-creamed-coconut-200g

That's interesting cool.