Dry oiling - why does my hair hate it and does it work for you?

[Selkie-]

My hair seems to hate it when I use oil on it when it is dry. My hair hardly ever tangles (I don't even really have to detangle after washing) but if I dry oil my hair it becomes another kind of beast: snarly, crispy and it gets tangles. I have tried a range of oils but they all seem to have this effect. My hair tolerates damp oiling a lot better.

So I was wondering - does dry oiling work for you?

And does anyone know why some hair might dislike dry oiling - i.e. does it have to do with the porosity of one's hair?

Thanks. :)

[sarahthegemini]

Dry oiling never worked for me - always left my hair looking stringy and in need of a wash. Yet using the same amount on damp hair worked fine.

[Selkie-]

Dry oiling never worked for me - always left my hair looking stringy and in need of a wash. Yet using the same amount on damp hair worked fine.

The same thing happens to me if I use too much oil. But the weird thing is that if I use a small amount on dry hair - it seems to become drier, crispy and snarly. :confused:

[Long_hair_monk]

Dear Selkie,

Greetings to you. I may be able to throw some light on your challenge. If you have dry hair then the challenges you have mentioned here are possible. Secondly it depends on hair oil ingredient and quality also. If hair oil has higher density, e.g. castor oil; it is likely that being heavier than hair, it will tend to take its own shape and your hair will look crispy, snarly and so on.

Should you use less density oils like almond, refined coconut oil or olive oil, it will be light on your hair and hair will be easily manageable.

Also I feel that either you are using high quantity or very less quantity of hair oil at a times. Here what is your expectation? Do you like sleek looks? then more quantity is desirable but if you want normal looks then little quantity will do.

As you said, damp oiling your hair tolerate, my guess is your hair must of dry type. and when they are damp, due to little quantity of water in it, oil gets well and equally spread over hair strands and can be managed well.

I wash my hair everyday and after drying, oil them everyday and my hair are of dry type so when I oil them while damp, I can comb them well and they look sleek and shiny. You may follow same practice.

I suggest use oil made of tree resin. this oil contains water too. If you apply it on dry hair, water in the oil will moisten it and oil will be spread over damp strands and they will look neat, shiny.

I hope you are satisfied with my answer. Should you need more information, please feel free to contact. God bless

[Chromis]

My hair is just the opposite of yours. Damp oiling leaves it greasy and clumpy, but dry oiling works great. I think everyone's hair is different. Just look at people's oil preferences!

[Rosetta]

I can only ever use oils as pre-wash, but for that dry oiling works perfectly for me :) (And way too much fuss to dampen it first ;))

[Night_Kitten]

For me dry oiling works great, but I haven't managed to make damp oiling work well

Perhaps it depends on the hair type? no idea why it happens really...

[Anje]

Just to throw a fun wrench in the mix, my hair used to hate being oiled when it was dry, particularly with coconut oil. A few years of maintaining length later, and my hair is just fine with it, thinks it's all good. :shrug: I can't help but wonder if it's associated with certain types of damage (hygral fatigue, perhaps? I didn't abuse my hair that much pre-LHC). Switching oils might make a difference for you too.

[Quasiquixotic]

Just to throw a fun wrench in the mix, my hair used to hate being oiled when it was dry, particularly with coconut oil. A few years of maintaining length later, and my hair is just fine with it, thinks it's all good. :shrug: I can't help but wonder if it's associated with certain types of damage (hygral fatigue, perhaps? I didn't abuse my hair that much pre-LHC). Switching oils might make a difference for you too.

That's interesting. Could be. I know different oils absorb at different rates. Thanks!

[meteor]

You really need to just find the way your hair likes to be oiled and do that. It also depends on your technique of application.
I notice that curlies often prefer oiling wet/damp hair, but they are generally more interested in "sealing in" moisture. I personally prefer oil on dry hair, especially in the porous, highlighted ends. Oiling dry hair gives me more control of the amount I put in. It's just too easy for me to put too much oil in wet hair, so I avoid it. Also, it takes much longer for my hair to dry if there is an oil film on top, preventing fast water evaporation.

Please note that hair is never totally dry, i.e. water-free, so it won't make a huge difference if you go on wet/dry. There is always some water in the hair, and it correlates with water in the atmosphere: the more humid the air, the more water should be in your hair, too.

[lazuliblue]

I've never actually tried damp oiling. I dry oil with refined coconut oil and my hair loves it, it is very soft afterwards.

[Firefox7275]

I suspect a huge factor for me is distribution technique, I am heavy handed and don't get even coverage for leaving in, waves are not helpful it seems a little easier when I wear my hair straight.

[Johannah]

I HATE wet oiling. Dry oiling works best for me.

[ErinLeigh]

What kind of oil are you using? The only natural oil I can use on dry hair is hemp seed as for me it is light and non sticky. I use 1-2 drops as a frizz serum sometimes.
Honestly though, no other oils work well for me on dry hair. Well there is one but it is a product...Pureology Precious Oil Serum is fantastic for dry oiling in my opinion. I love the blend and it is cone free. It works on my hair just as a coney serum would. Shine, no frizz and softness. Its my current favorite finisher.
I still use the hemp once in while just to mix things up.

It seems here everyone has favorite oils and favorite methods. For instance a lot here adore Argan Oil, but for me it is a sticky mess - on wet or dry hair.

[ErinLeigh]

I forgot to mention, I do dry oil with coconut/avocado or olive as a pree poo. It works well for that in my case.

[QMacrocarpa]

If dry oiling doesn't work for you, then I wouldn't do it! There's no requirement to suffer for your hair, and this seems like it would be especially pointless suffering.

[shutterpillar]

I can only oil my hair before washing. If I put oil on my hair after washing it (dry or damp hair) it leaves it looking stringy no matter how much or how little oil I use. So, I oil it before bed to let it soak in over night and CO wash it the next morning.

[minxe]

Dry oiling always attracts lint for me! I don't know how it happens, but I end up picking tons and tons of fuzz out of my hair a few hours afterwards. It's a shame because I love how my hair feels (sans lint) after oiling.

[restless]

Im joining in on the group who says dry oiling works for them. I do heavy oiling about twice a week and always on dry hair. It leaves my hair very soft and tangle free once the oil is being washed out. Knowing my hair (and my tendency to over oil), if I tried oiling it while it was wet/damp it would end up in a stringy mess. My hair is fine and my ends a little thin so in general any product will make it look stringy and weigh it down so my waves get lost. Thats why I dont bother with the damp oiling.

[Venefica]

I dry oil my hair the day before washing and that works very well or me, my hair get softer and tangle less so I really love my almond oil. I but generous amounts of the oil on my hair and then brush it to distribute it evenly then braid it until wash it.

[Bagginslover]

I dry, and damp oil. I add oil to my lengths and ends after towel drying, and there is no sign of greasyness once its dry. I'll dry oil my ends towards the middle/end of my wash cycle, by then my roods are naturally oily, but my ends can tend towards dryness. If the dry oil leave it crispy, I just run wet hands through them, let them dry, and they're soft again :)

[inanna]

I prefer to dry oil, because damp oiling means that drying my hair will take forever! That probably means it's really good for retaining moisture in my hair, but I just can't deal with having damp hair for days. My hair seems to be rather low porosity, so that might be why oils generally don't seem to sink in very much.

I definitely can't dry oil with coconut oil if I still want to be able to move my hair around without massive tangles. Like Selkie-, I don't get tangles that often and if I do get a few, they usually just slide out of my hair. I'm used to being able to whip my hair about and it just falling into place effortlessly. No matter how much I try to warm up the coconut oil, how little I use and how meticulously I BBB afterwards, my hair just gets sticky and doesn't have the same kind of movement.

I do still occasionally use coconut oil for pre-wash oiling, I just need to remember to slap the oil on, put my hair in a bun and not touch it before hopping in the shower.

[LadyLongLocks]

I use coconut oil on dry hair.I let it sit on my hair for at least an hour before I wash and have left it in for 2 days too. My hair is ok with it now. I think it is better the day after I wash it out. It used to get crunchy but it stopped. I use spectrum virgin coconut oil.
You did not mention what type of oil you use.

[Selkie-]

Thanks for the replies. :) It's amazing how everyone's hair seems to like different things!

I did a bit of a search about this and it seems that dry oiling can be a problem for those with low porosity hair (hair cuticle is tight and sealed and resists uptake (and loss) of products & moisture). As a result products can just sit on hair and lead to build-up. Given the characteristics they list for low porosity hair (takes ages to dry, resists getting wet etc), I think it might be relevant to me. They say the solution is to use a lot of heat to try and encourage hair cuticles to take in moisture and conditioner. So they suggest deep conditioning with heat or hot oil treatments. I am going to try some hot oil treatments and see how that goes.

Some of you asked me what oils I had tried - I have experimented with camellia and jojoba and have found my hair hates them when applied on dry hair. I have only used coconut oil as a pre-poo so far - I am not yet sure whether I like it or not. The best results I've had with oils have definitely been argan oil on damp hair as well as olive oil as a pre-poo. I think I will stop any dry oiling except as pre-poo treatments and experiment with the use of hot oils instead.

Thanks again. :)