Oils don't work on hair

[Frankenstein]

It seems like every oil I've tried doesn't really work. I haven't tried many (olive and moroccan/argan mainly; never tried coconut) but the ones I have usually leave my hair frizzy and drier mid shaft to ends where I apply it. Olive oil has been the least offending but it is very hit or miss. For the record I just had a trim and my ends/hair are what I consider to be healthy and not dry in any other case. I put oil on damp hair and only use a few drops so I'm not sure what the problem is. I've seen a few other members here state that oils don't work for them either but I'm just wondering why this is. Could it be that I'm not using the right ones?

[naturophile]

I've read that if your hair has an adequate protein content, using protein laden oils can actually cause damage instead of helping. It makes the hair shaft too rigid if there's not enough moisture in the hair. I am not sure if olive and argan fall into this category though, just a hunch. I didn't look much into it so I wish I could help more, but maybe that can point you in what I hope is the right direction :) Look up protein vs moisture content in hair and see if any of that seems like it applies to you :)

[endlessly]

I used to rave about how fantastic oils were, but after a few weeks, they just plain stopped working for my hair. Now, I very, very rarely use Argan Oil only if my hair needs a bit of smoothing or I want more shine, but otherwise, I see absolutely no benefits of using it on my hair. Sometimes, it's just a matter of finding the right oil that works for your hair type/texture and your needs, but sometimes, I just don't think they work for certain people. My hair benefits so much more from creams and hair moisturizers versus using oils separately. If oils are mixed with shea butter, cocoa butter, etc. my hair seems to just soak it all up, but won't do it at all with separate oils.

[Aderyn]

Did you use products marketed as "hair oils" or just the straight-up pure oils? Some oils just don't work for people, there's nothing wrong with that. Have you tried mineral oil (baby oil)? A lot of people who aren't too crazy about oils have good luck with that. Otherwise, you can just stick to a moisturizing leave-in or nothing at all. :)

I noticed said you use it on damp hair, have you ever tried it on dry hair? My hair gets a bit dry/crunchy if I use oils on damp or wet hair because it's such a low porosity.

[ravenreed]

I find oiling generally isn't necessary for my hair's well-being. Unless my hair is extra dry I skip it. I find that oils attract lint to my hair and that causes me more tangles and more split ends in the long run. I CO wash every other day that keeps my hair moisturized enough that I don't need the oils.

[Marika]

I find oiling generally isn't necessary for my hair's well-being. Unless my hair is extra dry I skip it. I find that oils attract lint to my hair and that causes me more tangles and more split ends in the long run.

I agree with this. I use coconut oil as a pre-poo (not everytime I wash) but I don't use oils as a leave-in because of the lint and I just don't see the benefits. I like 'regular' leave-ins and sometimes a silicone based serum after that. Both oils and silicones can lock the moisture in but silicones don't attract lint (= less tangles and split ends). But obviously I know that there are a lot of people on this forum who don't want to use silicones. But they do have their benefits! :)

[Aderyn]

Hahaha, how interesting! I've noticed silicones (and even cone-free water-based leave ins) tend to attract lint and frizz my hair out much more easily than oils do!

I find using a very tiny amount of oil, and using a light oil (like argan) prevents the lint issue and softens up my hair wonderfully.

[Arctic]

It might be a porosity related issue. I think if your hair is low porosity, oils just tend to sit on the hairshaft and not "do anything"".

[hannabiss]

I used to be in love with coconut oil. But now I use cones (sparingly) though, i do coconut on the very rare occasion that I wash my hair more than once a week as a prepoo. I found after a while coconut oil made my hair crispy.

[dellad]

I also have this issue. I've tried coconut, evoo, grape seed, baby, castor, jojoba, Nightblooming's triple moon anointing, and a mastiha blend body oil. I've tried them on damp and dry hair, pre-poo and as leave in. All of them leave my hair more dry and tangly. Some of them do seem to add some shine, but with hair this long, anything that makes my hair more tangly is out of the question.

Nightblooming's panacea, which contains oils but has a whipped texture seems to be working well so far.

[meteor]

I think hair that is virgin, low-porosity, fine, straight, short or oily sometimes doesn't seem to benefit from oiling at all, or the oiling can be too easily overdone on it. Oils tend to be more useful on dry, porous, damaged, long or textured hair.
Some hair can be overwhelmed by a drop of oil, while other can take palmfuls without looking greasy.
Personally, I go through times when I feel the need to oil every other day (esp. wintertime) and then skip it for weeks if not months (when humidity is right)...
Oils are a very YMMV kind of thing. :)

[DollieNanayoLim]

My hair always feels frizzy and limp every time I use oil be it on dry or damp hair. My hair simply dislike oil and love protein. Protein does wonder to my extremely porous hair.

[Nique1202]

I've been finding less and less need for oil as the summer heats up here (I'm at 50 degrees north, so it takes a while for summer to get in full swing) even though I had to oil daily through the winter. I'd say just pay attention to what your hair needs and doesn't need, you know? If you don't like how it feels with oil on it, then you probably don't need oil.

[Halliday]

oils dont work on my hair because i have virgin hair that is not damaged at all. also my hair is low porosity therefore the oils sit on top.

[lapushka]

I use a serum mostly, maybe try that. I only use oil (2 drops of baby oil) on the very ends, never up as far as my ears. Half the lengths and down is pretty much enough for me. And I'm almost classic, and yes 2/3 drops is enough. Spread through palms then scrunched through a little.

[Frankenstein]

I've read that if your hair has an adequate protein content, using protein laden oils can actually cause damage instead of helping. It makes the hair shaft too rigid if there's not enough moisture in the hair. I am not sure if olive and argan fall into this category though, just a hunch. I didn't look much into it so I wish I could help more, but maybe that can point you in what I hope is the right direction :) Look up protein vs moisture content in hair and see if any of that seems like it applies to you :)
As far as I know olive oil isn't protein laden but I'm not sure about the others. I've heard that coconut is which is why I've avoided it.


Did you use products marketed as "hair oils" or just the straight-up pure oils? Some oils just don't work for people, there's nothing wrong with that. Have you tried mineral oil (baby oil)? A lot of people who aren't too crazy about oils have good luck with that. Otherwise, you can just stick to a moisturizing leave-in or nothing at all. :)

I noticed said you use it on damp hair, have you ever tried it on dry hair? My hair gets a bit dry/crunchy if I use oils on damp or wet hair because it's such a low porosity.
I've used both. And I've actually thought about trying mineral oil but haven't gotten around to it yet :) I have tried oils on dry hair and the results are pretty much the same as damp except worse.

I think hair that is virgin, low-porosity, fine, straight, short or oily sometimes doesn't seem to benefit from oiling at all, or the oiling can be too easily overdone on it. Oils tend to be more useful on dry, porous, damaged, long or textured hair.
Some hair can be overwhelmed by a drop of oil, while other can take palmfuls without looking greasy.
Personally, I go through times when I feel the need to oil every other day (esp. wintertime) and then skip it for weeks if not months (when humidity is right)...
Oils are a very YMMV kind of thing. :)
My hair is virgin, low to normal porosity, fine, straight-ish so you probably have a great point there.


Thanks everyone for your input. It's possible that my hair just really doesn't need oil but I like the idea of using it :(

[Hairkay]

Oils always work well for me. I've got dry hair so it can do with a little boost. I've used them almost all my life on virgin hair. Oils have also worked for most of my family too. Growing up everyone one I knew used oil on hair. Since last year I've done henna glosses and still use oil. Yes I'm aware of the lint issue. Even without oil my hair can still easily collect lint in the little curls. I'm unable to use all those manufactured hair supplies so my head and skin are a silicone free zone.

[meteor]

I've read that if your hair has an adequate protein content, using protein laden oils can actually cause damage instead of helping. It makes the hair shaft too rigid if there's not enough moisture in the hair. I am not sure if olive and argan fall into this category though, just a hunch. I didn't look much into it so I wish I could help more, but maybe that can point you in what I hope is the right direction :) Look up protein vs moisture content in hair and see if any of that seems like it applies to you :)

Oils can make hair rigid if overused or if the oil solidifies in hair.
Also, I wanted to mention that pure oils are 100% fat, so they contain no protein. :)
I think the confusion may have come from the fact that there is a frequently cited study (comparing coconut, sunflower and mineral oils) (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12715094) that showed that "among three oils, coconut oil was the only oil found to reduce the protein loss remarkably for both undamaged and damaged hair when used as a pre-wash and post-wash grooming product". (http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc2003/cc054n02/p00175-p00192.pdf)
It's about keeping the integrity of the hair (which mostly consists of protein), not about adding any external protein to hair. :flower:
If somebody is interested in more details, this blogpost covers this issue nicely :) : http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2009/07/reader-questions-coconut-oil-and.html

[Aderyn]

oils dont work on my hair because i have virgin hair that is not damaged at all. also my hair is low porosity therefore the oils sit on top.

Well, I have healthy, non-damaged, fine, very low-porosity hair and oils have worked wonderfully for me. I have done a few henndigo glosses, and oils have worked both before and after. The trick for me is to find a light oil, like argan, and only use 6 drops or so for all of the hair. :shrug:

[spidermom]

My hair is porous. I like coconut oil as a prewash treatment and CHI Silk Infusion after washing. I agree with Meteor. Oils are essential fatty acids, not proteins. I suppose there might be a product that contains both oil and protein. Read labels.

[-Fern]

I totally agree that oils are a very YMMV sort of thing.

That being said... I love them right now. :crush: Been using them for about 3 or 4 months now with great results, though I keep tweaking how I use them.

My favorite is the rinse-out oil method (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=129191), though I even tweak that by mixing my 3 drops of oil with my conditioner (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=132578&page=7&p=3044976&viewfull=1#post3044976).

Once or twice a week I also spread 2-3 drops of oils on my palms and smooth through the ends of my dry hair... just because it relaxes me. :cloud9:

[spidermom]

Wanted to add that it's definitely the oil that attracts lint to my hair, not the coney serum.

[Halliday]

Well, I have healthy, non-damaged, fine, very low-porosity hair and oils have worked wonderfully for me.

okay, just saying :)

[meteor]

Wanted to add that it's definitely the oil that attracts lint to my hair, not the coney serum.

Oh yes, same here. :agree: And if somebody knows of any oils that don't attract lint as much, please do share! :flower:
Coney serums tend to be significantly better in that regard. Which serums attracted the least lint for you, spidermom? :)

[curlymarcia]

I have the same problem. So far olive oil, grape seed oil, avocado oil and coconut oil make my hair dry and crunchy. I have tried in wet hair and in dry hair. Pre shampoo, and post shampoo. I am disappointed of oils.

What I really like is flax seed gel, is amazing in my hair. It gives a lot of shine, but I hate that the gel doesn't last longer. I don't use it more often because I'm too lazy to do the gel. But it works great!

[meteor]

What I really like is flax seed gel, is amazing in my hair. It gives a lot of shine, but I hate that the gel doesn't last longer. I don't use it more often because I'm too lazy to do the gel. But it works great!

It freezes pretty well, so, to save time, you can make big batches at once and then freeze stuff so it won't go bad too fast. :)

[Ambystoma]

I have the same issue with oils making my hair crunchy, tangly and contributing to build up issues. It's interesting reading this thread since I didn't realise that virgin, non damaged, low porosity hair like mine was a prime candidate for not doing well with them :laugh:

I use a silicone conditioner and cone serum these days and my hair loves it.

[LaraAntipova]

I have the same issue with Argan oil. Argan oil shampoo and conditioners seem ok but the oil itself doesn't do much except add a bit of shine and I am sceptical about its effectiveness as a heat barrier. Olive oil used overnight and washed out in the morning worked well for me in the past. I'm going to try castor oil - will report my results. Overall, I am fairly sceptical of their benefits to hair but they probably do benefit the scalp!

[turtlelover]

Could you be using too much oil? Sometimes less is more!

[dogzdinner]

I quite like oils and use an oil based shampoo bar and argan oil pretty much all the time. Having said that I cant get on with coconut oil at all, it makes my hair feel sticky and gunky and I have loads of trouble washing it out. Not tried olive oil yet but I might give it a go as an overnight pre wash thing.

[school of fish]

My hair seems to dislike oils so much it even hates my OWN scalp oil! No matter how much or how little, wet application or dry, pre-wash or as leave-in... coconut, olive, grapeseed, rosehip, even my own sebum... it all turns my hair piecey, linty, with tiny sticky end pieces that glue themselves together and then tangle and knot together - just unpleasant!

I really love the idea of using oil my hair and wish I could find success with it - my skin LOVES rosehip oil and shea butter as moisturizer and I'd love my hair to be the same way but it just isn't. Oh well...

Actually the closest I've had to success with any oil is 2 drops of jojoba in a spray bottle as a hair mist. 2 drops maximum. But even that needs to be washed out after a day or it builds up.

I think I might have some seriously non-porous hair...

[Frankenstein]

Since starting this thread I have tried coconut oil and I'm happy to report that I think it actually works for me! Who would have thought? I was ready to throw in the towel :D Although I did find out that my scalp hates oil even more than conditioner. I got the coconut oil on my scalp last week and I've had a big shed :(

[spidermom]

I worked some extra virgin olive oil through my length today and braided, then washed this evening. Wow! Not only is my hair exceptionally smooth and silky, but it looks thicker. I don't know how oil accomplished that, but I'll take it!

[LaraAntipova]

Tried Castor oil last night and washed out in the morning. Didn't seem to do much, no difference in hair quality, it wasn't smoother or anything :-/ I think olive oil might be my fav :)

[jrmviola]

It took finding Castor oil for me to finally find a oil that would work on my length. I use castor oil as a carrier oil and mix it equal parts with tea tree oil and good quality olive oil. This combination works so well i can almost ditch Conditioners if I wanted too. It took 2 years though for me to the right ones for me, so dont give up all hope on oils. And I cover it with a hair mask and put my hair up. Takes about a day or two to dry this way, even though i have thin-ish hair. And forget intricate braiding. However if you need mega protection then this works for me and i can live with the non slippage issues.

[meteor]

I worked some extra virgin olive oil through my length today and braided, then washed this evening. Wow! Not only is my hair exceptionally smooth and silky, but it looks thicker. I don't know how oil accomplished that, but I'll take it!

Sounds awesome! Congratulations! :applause I think it's a somewhat penetrating oil, and oils can plump up the hair by penetrating it and also by coating it. :)