leave in and oil

[ErinLeigh]

For those of you who use leave in conditioners and oils...which do you apply first?
I have always used a leave in conditioner then applied the oil on top of that, but am going to try it the other way around to see if there is a difference in how it feels, dries and help hair retain moisture.

Does anyone want to share which order they use and why?
I started thinking about it watching LOC method videos where people would use water as liquid, oil, then a creamy leave in as creme. Made me wonder if it really works better in that order.

[woodswanderer]

I do coconut oil after showering, and then a leave in spray of very dilute conditioner. The time gap between the two products is probably only about 2 minutes, so I don't know if that is enough time to count. I haven't read up on LOC methods.

[meteor]

Depends on the leave-in and the oil. Formulations really matter.

If I'm using a silicone-based leave-in, I prefer putting oils first. If my leave-in is oil-based, then either way works, so I just do whatever gives me better results. With leave-ins, you really need to work with your hair's needs at that moment.

To me, with leave-ins, less is more. So ideally, if I conditioned my hair extremely well in the shower, I use NO leave-in at all (it's great for stretching washes and avoiding lint/dust), but depending on how thirsty my hair is, I add a tiny drop at a time until I'm satisfied with how my hair feels.

[ErinLeigh]

Both answers are helpful. Thank you for taking time to reply. I started wondering..if I use a penetrating oil I would want that on first so it can do its job..then the leave in for smoothing if needed. Then I started thinking ok what if its a sealing oil like jojoba..would sealing oil may be more appreciated applied first so it can seal moisture, r would I want to seal moisture and conditioner.

My new favorite leave from Alba has coconut oil in it and I have been skipping the oil step, but I am torn if I add it back in.. what order should I use. And would the oil matter which step it is placed. I really should stop reading hair science articles as they make my head spin trying to figure things out...yet I am just so fascinated i cannot stop.

I may end up just alternating oil one day, leave in the next :) I am going to try it this new way first though with oil, then leave in to satisfy my curiosity. I have a feeling it would be most beneficial I suppose. I am also curious if it leave one with a slightly less "greasy" look. I use oil sparingly after wash but have overdone it a time or 2.

[meteor]

ErinLeigh, it's awesome that you read hair science articles. :D It's important to be well-informed. But let your own hair be the final judge.
If there is a step in my hair care routine where I wing it the most, it's the leave-in stage. I like to use pre-poo oiling and rinse-out conditioner whether my hair needs it or not. But leave-ins are totally optional and case-by-case. I'd never use a leave-in if my hair felt fine without it, as "naked" hair is so much cleaner and easier to manage. Also, by now, I have a lot of hair, so some parts of it (highlighted ends) might want quite a lot of leave-in while others (virgin hair till shoulder) would only suffer from it. Porous/damaged/dry hair loves leave-ins a lot more.

And yes, traditionally, penetrating oils are used as a pre-poo and sealing oils as a leave-in to "seal" moisture, but all oils (being hydrophobic) can slightly "seal" moisture. And many currently un-researched oils may be penetrating (we just haven't researched them yet).

[meteor]

Sorry, double post.