Newbie and Confused about Coconut Oil

[anonymous_owl]

Hi! I'm new here and I'm looking to learn more about keeping my hair super soft and taming frizz, and split ends. And Learning how to style longer bangs, as I'm growing mine out. My hair is currently 22" long, I have naturally curly/ wavy hair. I've never colored it. It's a sorta light brown and I have a natural red tiny to it (you can only see it in certain lights).

But I've heard coconut oil has a lot of helpful things in it for hair. And I was wondering: Can it change the color of your hair? Does it change how your natural hair style? and how much does it fix splint ends?

Thanks in advance!:D

[spidermom]

I like to use coconut oil or olive oil the night before I wash my hair. I wait until the scalp area is oily, then I oil my length, braid, and wash it in the morning. I apply conditioner over the oil and let is soak there while I finish washing up, then I rinse out the conditioner while finger combing. Believe it or not, conditioner removes oil better than shampoo does. I think that oil contributes to making my hair feel strong yet flexible, also silky with beautiful shine. It doesn't do a thing for frizziness, and I've always had a problem with split ends, both pre- and post- oil use. It doesn't change the color of hair, although increased shine can have the effect of making hair look lighter.

[anonymous_owl]

But the lightness will go away after you stop using it? and have you dyed your hair? I've never dyed it

[endlessly]

For me, coconut oil did absolutely nothing for my hair - well, other than make it feel a bit greasy and smell like coconuts, that is. Technically, I believe it's only meant to help moisturize your hair and more importantly, seal in moisture. Oils tend to do a better job at soaking into the hair, so it doesn't hurt to incorporate an oil into your current routine. When it comes to split ends, there's no way to remove splits without trimming them - hair is dead, it can't heal itself and if you already have splits, the only way to get rid of them is to cut them. However, that being said, moisturizing your ends can help prevent splits from occurring. Also, as far as I know, coconut oil will not change the color of your hair. I have a darker reddish-brown tone to my hair and when I did use coconut oil back in the day, I never noticed even the slightest bit of a color change. Hope this helps!

[lapushka]

Coconut oil is a little controversial. Not everyone's hair gets along with it. If it leaves your hair crunchy, then it's not *the* oil for you; but it's worth a shot!

Welcome! :)

[Sarahm]

Coconut oil is a little controversial. Not everyone's hair gets along with it. If it leaves your hair crunchy, then it's not *the* oil for you; but it's worth a shot!

Welcome! :)

I'm sorry to hijack this thread but I have a question: Which oil would you recommend if coconut oil isn't 'the' oil for me?

Thanks!

[spidermom]

Olive oil is a good one. Google penetrating oils; they do the most good. Most oils will just sit on top of the hair shaft and do basically nothing, but the penetrating oils actually contribute benefits to the structure of the hair by replacing lost essential fatty acids.

[Sarahm]

Alright, thank you spidermom :)

[lapushka]

I'm sorry to hijack this thread but I have a question: Which oil would you recommend if coconut oil isn't 'the' oil for me?

Thanks!

Yes olive oil, sweet almond oil, macadamia nut oil, jojoba oil. And of course mineral oil, but that one has a manual to it. You can overuse this "justlikethat". A few drops of mineral oil usually will do you.

[gthlvrmx]

I'm sorry to hijack this thread but I have a question: Which oil would you recommend if coconut oil isn't 'the' oil for me?

Thanks!

Baby oil (which is mineral oil, but with fragrance) might work for you. I think I read somewhere that it does a better job in retaining moisture in hair than coconut oil or olive oil, but it doesn't penetrate hair like coconut oil or olive oil.

[browniecurls01]

Just a warning about coconut oil: Moderation. It can make my hair super oily!

[reilly0167]

I have very curly hair..my hair felt kinda weird at first..now my hair just loves it..and everyone is right about using conditioner to help wash it off it helps and at time I use a clarify shampoo like suave...so give it a shot hopes it works for you...just recently I just learned from wonderful people here lhc that it helps minimize damage from lightening from bleach ing and peroxide if you pre oil your hair (overnite best) or at least an hour before the process...it helped tremendously. I wish you happy hair always=)

[Afanen]

Whenever I use coconut oil, it ends up being very stubborn and refuses to wash out. I started oiling it, then before I wet it to wash it out, I slather conditioner over it and let it sit before rinsing it out. It manages to get most of the oil out without having to shampoo (which kind of defeats the purpose of oiling it.)

[onthehorizon]

I love coconut oil but I usually have other oils going on. I like it because it's pretty emollient. I like to really coat my hair to deep condition it, one hour or at least half an hour before shampooing. I wash my hair about 4 times a month, maybe even less. I have black hair and some grey. It doesn't really help with frizz but it does help with dryness. Good luck!

Some of the other oils I like for styling or scalp treatments are:

Extra Virgin Olive
Jojoba
Sweet Almond
Shea Butter (scalp)
Cocoa Butter (scalp)