What happens if you add oil to shampoo?

[sarahthegemini]

I've seen this idea mentioned a few times and it always leaves me wondering: What happens? I mean, what is the purpose and benefits of doing this? I don't actually use shampoo so I won't be trying this but for the sake of my curiosity, I must know ;)

[Johannah]

I guess it makes your shampoo 'less hard' in a way. Not sure, I'm not doing it. :p

[ErinLeigh]

I always assumed to make hair more slippery so the shampoo doesn't damage as much. And maybe to hold in moisture maybe?
waiting for answers..:)

[furnival]

There's a rather large thread on it here:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=65063

[MissBubble]

I use almond oil in my shampoo. I put about three 3 spoons in each bottle.
It makes the shampoo less harsh and my hair is more moisturized and shiny and frizzes less.

[Johannah]

There's a rather large thread on it here:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=65063

Awesome! Thanks! :p

[sarahthegemini]

There's a rather large thread on it here:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=65063

Thanks, so from what I can gather, adding oil to shampoo eliminates the need for conditioner? And it eliminates the fluffy-ness that shampoo can create. Interesting. I wonder if oils in shampoo acts like a coney shampoo?

[Kherome]

It makes concentrated awesomeness, that's what happens.

[Johannah]

Now I'm actually thinking about trying this. Hmm...

[lapushka]

Be careful, because there's a certain "saturation point", the point where you've added all the oil each time you can add. I'm sure it's mentioned in the thread, if that's the thread I think it is...

[arr]

I add a mix of coconut and olive oil to my shampoo almost every time i wash. I mix it in the palm of my hand. I would say i use an 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of oil. I like to use very clear non moisturizing no silicone shampoos like suave naturals, and i feel that adding the oil helps a lot to prevent frizziness and add shine and softness but without any of the buildup i used to get from using more opaque heavy shampoos. I follow with no silicone conditioner and my hair feels light, silky and great. After much trial and error and reading practically every thread on LHC, i discovered my hair does so much better with plant oils rather than silicones. I have no idea about the science behind this idea, all i have is my personal experience but i just know it works very well for me.

[Firefox7275]

Thanks, so from what I can gather, adding oil to shampoo eliminates the need for conditioner? And it eliminates the fluffy-ness that shampoo can create. Interesting. I wonder if oils in shampoo acts like a coney shampoo?

Not really: silicones in shampoo coat the cuticle surface conferring faux shine. AFAIK in the tiny quantities used they don't protect the hair from harsh surfactants, just disguise damage to the fatty protective surface. If you use silicones in conditioners or serums also you may get some protection from hygral fatigue.

Penetrating oils in shampoo will coat the surface somewhat but they also enter the cortex probably reducing porosity and increasing elasticity (coconut oil is proven to, I suspect oleic acid rich oils wil work similarly). Lower porosity hair behaves differently from higher porosity hair, it should be less likely to absorb excessive water and frizz in humidity, the strands may be more attracted to one another (capillary adhesion) so lay nicely together and, over time, hair wont so easily get damaged during washing.

[Anje]

It's worth a try, since a lot of people love it. Me, it's like concentrated tangle-juice. I keep my oil and shampoo separate now. :)

[Heavy Raindrops]

I want to try this once my shampoo has nearly ran out. :)

[cygnet19]

I want to give this a try. Does it matter if hair has been oiled the previous night? Do we then need to reduce the ratio of oil added to the shampoo?

[arr]

I want to give this a try. Does it matter if hair has been oiled the previous night? Do we then need to reduce the ratio of oil added to the shampoo?

I also do a pre-wash oiling and still add the oil to my shampoo and i don't end up too oily. However i only oil the lengths, not my scalp so maybe that makes a difference.

[spidermom]

Most of the time, I do a pre-wash coconut oiling, so there's no need to add more oil to my shampoo; it's already present.
Plus there are already oils in my shampoo according to the label.

[sumidha]

It makes concentrated awesomeness, that's what happens.

Lol! This, completely. :D

[catasa]

I tried the oil shampoo for a while and got some good results, but in the end it was simply to difficult to keep the results consistent, I kept having to change the ratio and could never be sure how my hair would turn out (my hair seems particularly finicky though, as I have mentioned in other threads...). I also only used the oil mix on my lengths, or at least a mix with very much less oil on my scalp.

I do love the idea of this though, especially since my hair seems to hate conditioners, and I will probably try it again if I need a change in my current routine.

[Panth]

From memory, the original idea was to make a conditioning shampoo that eliminated any need for conditioner, leave-ins, etc. The idea was 'wash and go', with at most the addition of an acidic rinse afterwards. As for how it works ... not sure, but at least part of it is that the shampoo spreads the coconut oil so that you get a very thin, even spread of oil. It was also implied that (as coconut oil was used, which is a penetrating oil) the hair would build up increasing levels of oil inside the shaft.

As for trying the oil shampoo method, be wary. It requires an awful lot of trial and error - finding the right ratio of oil to shampoo, finding the right sort of shampoo, finding the right washing frequency. And then there's the added problem that your hair supposedly gets increasingly saturated with oil - as this occurs, you need to re-optimise everything repeatedly. One of the major problems people had was reaching 'saturation' and thereafter never getting a perfect wash - either too much oil left on, or not enough causing tangles and poor conditioning - because of the constant re-optimisation. Also, some people found that over time it caused an awful lot of damage (lots of splits, I think).

I think it's a lovely idea, but I personally gave up on it because a) the only shampoo I could get to work with it was Pantene clarifying shampoo, and I worried about the effects of washing twice a week with a clarifying shampoo and b) I reached near-saturation and was fed up with washing my hair and it ending up just as oily as before the wash or worse.

[sarahthegemini]

From memory, the original idea was to make a conditioning shampoo that eliminated any need for conditioner, leave-ins, etc. The idea was 'wash and go', with at most the addition of an acidic rinse afterwards. As for how it works ... not sure, but at least part of it is that the shampoo spreads the coconut oil so that you get a very thin, even spread of oil. It was also implied that (as coconut oil was used, which is a penetrating oil) the hair would build up increasing levels of oil inside the shaft.

As for trying the oil shampoo method, be wary. It requires an awful lot of trial and error - finding the right ratio of oil to shampoo, finding the right sort of shampoo, finding the right washing frequency. And then there's the added problem that your hair supposedly gets increasingly saturated with oil - as this occurs, you need to re-optimise everything repeatedly. One of the major problems people had was reaching 'saturation' and thereafter never getting a perfect wash - either too much oil left on, or not enough causing tangles and poor conditioning - because of the constant re-optimisation. Also, some people found that over time it caused an awful lot of damage (lots of splits, I think).

I think it's a lovely idea, but I personally gave up on it because a) the only shampoo I could get to work with it was Pantene clarifying shampoo, and I worried about the effects of washing twice a week with a clarifying shampoo and b) I reached near-saturation and was fed up with washing my hair and it ending up just as oily as before the wash or worse.

Thanks for the detailed response. I feel stupid but I'm still not completely understanding the 'saturation' thing though?

[Panth]

Thanks for the detailed response. I feel stupid but I'm still not completely understanding the 'saturation' thing though?

The implication was this:
1) Coconut oil is a penetrative oil, thus it enters the hair shaft. (This has been proven scientifically, but only after long oil treatments, i.e. overnight, not after short ones.)
2) Washing with oil mixed somewhere between 2:1 and 1:4 with shampoo is a way to introduce large quantities of coconut oil over time without looking greasy. (Also, there are other benefits, namely the quick and easy routine as you only need to wash with the oil shampoo, no conditioner, rinses, leave-ins or deep treatments.)
3) Washing with coconut oil mixed with shampoo was supposed to gradually build up the levels of coconut oil in the hair shaft. (Actually, this is fairly unlikely, as coconut oil doesn't penetrate the hair shaft in the timespan of a wash.)
4) Eventually, your hair will become saturated with coconut oil (i.e. so much coconut oil has penetrated the hair shaft that it is 'full').
5) This is the "optimal point", but from here on you will have to adjust the amount of coconut oil in your shampoo with every wash or even alternate oil shampoo with just shampoo washes - you're aiming for just enough to replace that which was washed/worn out since your last wash, but if you put on too much when your hair is saturated/full, you will just end up with a heavily oiled look once your hair dries as the hair shaft is full, so the remainder sits on the hair surface.

TBH, I really doubt the explanations given. They are all theoretical and ignore the fact that coconut oil has been scientifically proven to require multiple hours to penetrate hair. However, the effects were as described - great hair, then you hit 'saturation' and thereafter had terrible trouble with getting the ratio of oil to shampoo right. You ended up with constantly greasy-looking hair and/or days when the oil was too little so there was basically no conditioning effect.