Does anyone else feel that oil treatments make you shed more than usual?

[Leslieslsa]

Or does it just seem that way? It seems when I massage my scalp with any sort of oil; sometimes coconut, sometimes olive, that I swear I shed a lot of hair when I do that. Is it just because I am massaging the scalp? Or is it just an illusion, lol.

[Nadine <3]

Yes, I can't put oil on my scalp or I shed buckets.

[Madora]

I never put any oil on my head because I don't want to upset my scalp's natural balance. The shedding hair issue might be a result of the massaging.

[YamaMaya]

As a general rule, it's best to avoid oiling your scalp and stick to the length, especially with heavy oils like coconut.

[JCM]

If I use coconut oil I shed less probably because it helps detangle my hair and makes it less of a hassle to comb/brush through it right after I shampoo my hair and my hair turns really puffy.

[MeowScat]

I tried oiling my scalp a few times and I shed a lot of hair every single time. The same thing happened when I CO washed. It's amazing to me that some people's scalps love it and mine decides to spit hair out.

[ravenheather]

I use neelibringhadi oil on my scalp to help with shedding. Now the first few times I used it I shed quite a bit as I massaged it in, but now my shedding is much much less.

[sarahthegemini]

I wouldn't continue with anything that makes my scalp shed more than normal.

[Scarlet_Heart]

Yes, I can't put oil on my scalp or I shed buckets.

Same! 10chars

[Natalia]

Not just you I shed much more with oil on my scalp. It didn't used to be that way but something changed a few years ago. So now I only oil my scalp a few hours before a wash.

[Mizumi]

If I use too much oil for scalp I shed a lot and I my dandruff appears. Seems like my scalp has definite amount of grease it can take at once! Using very little oil is OK for me.

[Firefox7275]

I don't oil my scalp: the skin barrier doesn't require the unsaturated fatty acids found in natural oils, I have mild dermatitis (oleic acid is the irritant in SD) and think my poor skin gets enough abuse with bimonthly box dyes. My cleansing conditioner and sebum should be 'moisturising' enough.

Having said that I do get oil on my scalp when I do overnight oilings on the length. I did feel I shed an excessive amount of hair after a recent two day coconut oiling but not after the same wash spacing and treatment time but instead a sweet almond oiling. I didn't go anywhere near as close to the roots and generally applied less oil ....

[ravenreed]

I shed insane amounts if I oil my scalp. Every time I CO I do a scalp massage and shed relatively little, so I am certain it is the oil and not the massaging.

[Wildcat Diva]

Castor oil plus massage equals handful of hair coming out. This happened to me once, I didn't do it at all after that.

[DarleneH]

I use neelibringhadi oil on my scalp to help with shedding...

Yeah, I'm having a difficult time comprehending extra shedding after oiling scalp, after all the talk on here about castor oil and such. Maybe it's genetics, because the entire population of India would be bald if oiling your scalp caused shedding. I have used some Indian hair oils, and castor oil, and didn't have problems. Or maybe it actually starts stimulating growth, and the first step of that would be releasing damaged hairs so newer ones can come up in their place?

[Beborani]

Agree with Darlene H. My head has been oiled from the day I was born and I had impossibly thick hair all through those years when my scalp and hair were oiled. It is probsbly not genetics but perception. When oiling scalp is as normsl as eating--you dont question it--when it is newly added to your routine you observe more carefully and it is possible it sheds hair that is in the process of shedding in the next few days--and that is not bad thing long term as new hair almost always follows (unless prevented by diseses, alopecia etc)--so overall density remains unchanged.

[Rio040113]

I feel like a bit of an oddity now, I oil my scalp from time to time (coconut, avocado, vit. e or castor, sometimes 1 oil, sometimes a mix) and I never get an increase in shedding, even with heavy/overnight oilings :shrug:

[spidermom]

I cannot figure out a mechanism whereby something like this would increase shedding. Your hair has roots that have to shrink before hair can shed out, and this process takes time.

[LadyLongLocks]

I never put any oil on my head because I don't want to upset my scalp's natural balance. The shedding hair issue might be a result of the massaging.

I agree! I NEVER put oil on my scalp, only on the length.I use coconut oil.

[Firefox7275]

Yeah, I'm having a difficult time comprehending extra shedding after oiling scalp, after all the talk on here about castor oil and such. Maybe it's genetics, because the entire population of India would be bald if oiling your scalp caused shedding. I have used some Indian hair oils, and castor oil, and didn't have problems. Or maybe it actually starts stimulating growth, and the first step of that would be releasing damaged hairs so newer ones can come up in their place?

There is some evidence massage may encourage hair growth in some populations. Equally there is evidence certain fatty acids applied topically or in the sebum itself contribute to inflammatory issues (visible or otherwise, signs or symptoms) particularly in susceptible individuals. Inflammatory issues are linked to some forms of hair loss.

Genetics plays a role, as does lifestyle and other factors. Almost nothing works the same for everyone, not a single prescription drug nor foodstuff. Do consider that the average Indian diet, lifestyle, body weight and health status is wildly different from the average US/ UK one. Many common lifestyle diseases are rooted in systemic inflammation, so westerners *may* be more vulnerable to the use of additional inflammatory compounds.

There are also gender differences: in certain Asian populations it is the norm for the men to smoke but unusual for women to do so. Then there is the contribution of hormonal changes and nutrition issues linked to pregnancy and breast feeding ....

[ravenreed]

Actually, I grew up shampooing my hair, which makes me shed more than COing. I had no idea because that was what I had always done and there was no basis for comparison. It wasn't until I switched to COing that I realized how much hair I was losing that it wasn't necessarily normal. So yes, some people in India may shed more from oiling their scalps, but because they have always done it, they may just think that it is normal.

I never went bald from shampooing, by the way, I just shed a lot. Clearly the new hairs grow in faster than I can shed them out.


Yeah, I'm having a difficult time comprehending extra shedding after oiling scalp, after all the talk on here about castor oil and such. Maybe it's genetics, because the entire population of India would be bald if oiling your scalp caused shedding. I have used some Indian hair oils, and castor oil, and didn't have problems. Or maybe it actually starts stimulating growth, and the first step of that would be releasing damaged hairs so newer ones can come up in their place?

[ExpectoPatronum]

I don't get extra shedding if I oil my scalp with coconut oil. I still don't oil my scalp unless I really need to for whatever reason.

[ravenheather]

I think oiling with castor oil would increase shedding when you apply it because its thick and sticky. Just the action of rubbing that into scalp may be the culprit.

[clairenewcastle]

The fact that oiling my hair - not my scalp - has been enough to cause shedding in the past has put me off using oil despite its beneifts to my hair.