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mwallingford
May 7th, 2018, 02:07 PM
Greetings fellow LHCers!

So I've been experimenting with oiling lately, and have found that oiling actually does work for me when I use light oils such as sweet almond, argon, and jojoba with just a couple drops after washing and then doing a heavy oiling of coconut oil about 24 hours before a wash. There are several threads that either argue damp oiling is better than dry or vice versa, but I haven't found any proof of either being a superior treatment besides personal experience. And though I welcome personal experience (especially those with 1a or 1b hair), I would love to see if anybody would be able to back up damp or dry oiling with science.

Damp oiling seems to work very well for me, and though I don't know much about the science behind it, my theory is that water is the moisture we need in out hair and applying oils overtop of that seals in the water due to its hydrophobic properties and therefore helps keep the hair hydrated. Is this a solid theory, or is it completely wrong? Please share your input/experience; anything is welcome!

AutobotsAttack
May 7th, 2018, 02:16 PM
Really just depends on how well your hair absorbs the moisture once the oil has been applied.

Porosity is what I categorize this subject under.

There’s many people on here who say you can’t accurately judge porosity without microscopic scanning, gas sporption, etc. But porosity tends to reveal itself just by you touching it and day to day observation, and there’s way too many different textures out there to state you can’t observe hair porosity in different ways.

If you don’t have porous or overly porous hair, damp piling probably will feel odd or weird or even too coating for the hair. So a small bit of dry oiling will probably suffice.

If you have regular porosity, or your hair has healthy levels of water absorption and letting the water go, I think damp oiling or dry oiling will prove itself worthy.

If the hair is very porous, damp oiling will probably be the better alternative, as dry oiling will probably not allow any moisture to be received by the hair.

Concerning the type of hair I have, porosity is somewhat of a big deal for me concerning damp or dry oiling.

Sorry if none of what I said made sense.

mwallingford
May 7th, 2018, 02:25 PM
Really just depends on how well your hair absorbs the moisture once the oil has been applied.

Porosity is what I categorize this subject under.

There’s many people on here who say you can’t accurately judge porosity without microscopic scanning, gas sporption, etc. But porosity tends to reveal itself just by you touching it and day to day observation, and there’s way too many different textures out there to state you can’t observe hair porosity in different ways.

If you don’t have porous or overly porous hair, damp piling probably will feel odd or weird or even too coating for the hair. So a small bit of dry oiling will probably suffice.

If you have regular porosity, or your hair has healthy levels of water absorption and letting the water go, I think damp oiling or dry oiling will prove itself worthy.

If the hair is very porous, damp oiling will probably be the better alternative, as dry oiling will probably not allow any moisture to be received by the hair.

Concerning the type of hair I have, porosity is somewhat of a big deal for me concerning damp or dry oiling.

Sorry if none of what I said made sense.

No, it definitely made sense! :) I'm just confused about porosity now. I thought my hair was either low or normal porosity since it takes about 6-8 hours to dry when its all down and much longer if its up in any way, yet damp oiling seems to work a little better than dry oiling. Or maybe I should re try dry oiling? Is oil moisturizing on its own? Sorry for all the weird questions!

AutobotsAttack
May 7th, 2018, 02:36 PM
No, it definitely made sense! :) I'm just confused about porosity now. I thought my hair was either low or normal porosity since it takes about 6-8 hours to dry when its all down and much longer if its up in any way, yet damp oiling seems to work a little better than dry oiling. Or maybe I should re try dry oiling? Is oil moisturizing on its own? Sorry for all the weird questions!

Oil itself, isn’t moisturizing. There’s butters that are though such as Shea or MuruMuru butter. There’s certain fatty acids in oils that the hair and skin will absorb, but not the oil entirely. The moisturizing effect is coming from either the water or product being applied to the hair and sealed in by the moisture.

But don’t overthink it. If anything, your porosity is definitely normal. I’m not an expert, or trichologist or anything. I’m using thought out deduction.

If damp oiling is working for you, that doesn’t mean your hair is automatically high porosity at all. More than likely your hair absorbs moisture completely normal.

How far your natural sebum oils cover your hair length is important too. That’s Also why dry oiling might not be necessary since your natural hair oils are getting the job done already.

Things like certain shampoos and conditioners play a role as well. Damp oiling would probably feel better if someone used a shampoo that was particularly drying or stripping. Since that extra water can be sealed by the oiling as well.

If someone is using a very heavy or coney conditioner, sometimes dry oiling might be better so you aren’t overly weighing down the hair compared to damp oiling where it might feel extremely weighed down if someone likes coney conditioners or leaveins and whatnot.

I’ll use myself as an example for high porosity. On certain days, my entire head of hair will dry in less than 45 mins. Particularly my ends, and espeacially if I’m struggling to get in adequate amounts of moisture. I’ve tried dry oiling and all it’s done is seal out any moisture that my hair needs and it causes it to be overly dry. With damp oiling, right after drying for maybe 5 mins, my hair can take up to 2-3 hours to dry with the help of the oil sealing in the moisture, and allowing my hair to hold onto the moisture for a longer period of time, and feels less dry in the long run too.

Edit: I should note, porosity also has to deal with how well your hair will keep the moisture. Ergo evaporation, and how well the cuticles will compact together to hold moisture. Lower porosity, and normal porosity have cuticles that will open up normally and close normally to receive moisture including the rate as which it does. Very virgin hair and hair that’s on very younger kids can seem like it won’t absorb any water or even products, and that’s not inherently bad either, espeacially if the sebum is readily coating the entire head of hair. Just means the hair is very healthy and doesn’t need much of anything. High porosity will readily open up, but often has a harder time closing to keep the moisture in, which is why it can feel dry even after conditioning and moisturizing.

mwallingford
May 7th, 2018, 04:01 PM
Oil itself, isn’t moisturizing. There’s butters that are though such as Shea or MuruMuru butter. There’s certain fatty acids in oils that the hair and skin will absorb, but not the oil entirely. The moisturizing effect is coming from either the water or product being applied to the hair and sealed in by the moisture.

But don’t overthink it. If anything, your porosity is definitely normal. I’m not an expert, or trichologist or anything. I’m using thought out deduction.

If damp oiling is working for you, that doesn’t mean your hair is automatically high porosity at all. More than likely your hair absorbs moisture completely normal.

How far your natural sebum oils cover your hair length is important too. That’s Also why dry oiling might not be necessary since your natural hair oils are getting the job done already.

Things like certain shampoos and conditioners play a role as well. Damp oiling would probably feel better if someone used a shampoo that was particularly drying or stripping. Since that extra water can be sealed by the oiling as well.

If someone is using a very heavy or coney conditioner, sometimes dry oiling might be better so you aren’t overly weighing down the hair compared to damp oiling where it might feel extremely weighed down if someone likes coney conditioners or leaveins and whatnot.

I’ll use myself as an example for high porosity. On certain days, my entire head of hair will dry in less than 45 mins. Particularly my ends, and espeacially if I’m struggling to get in adequate amounts of moisture. I’ve tried dry oiling and all it’s done is seal out any moisture that my hair needs and it causes it to be overly dry. With damp oiling, right after drying for maybe 5 mins, my hair can take up to 2-3 hours to dry with the help of the oil sealing in the moisture, and allowing my hair to hold onto the moisture for a longer period of time, and feels less dry in the long run too.

Thank you for your in depth answers; that clears a lot of things up! :flowers:

lapushka
May 7th, 2018, 04:50 PM
I doubt that even baby oil / mineral oil "seals in" if you are using it with plenty of water / conditioner as I am when doing my rinse-out oil method. If it were to seal, the second conditioner would not penetrate; and like you can see, I have no "oily" layer on the last 5 inches of my hair which is where I put the oil of an oil rinse.

AutobotsAttack
May 7th, 2018, 06:27 PM
I doubt that even baby oil / mineral oil "seals in" if you are using it with plenty of water / conditioner as I am when doing my rinse-out oil method. If it were to seal, the second conditioner would not penetrate; and like you can see, I have no "oily" layer on the last 5 inches of my hair which is where I put the oil of an oil rinse.

Well, it’s evident with the texture of hair I have. It may not make sense to you, but I have a completely different texture of hair. Oils as light as almond and jojoba can have the same effect as mineral oil or grease on my hair if I use enough of it, concerning blocking out moisture. It’s also extremely fine textured. I think you’ve mentioned you have fine hair also, imagine your hair as it is now, and lighten the overall weight of your hair times 10, to the point where you couldn’t even feel it if you had it in an updo while your hair was wet. That’s the fine texture my hair is. So virtually anything weighs it down, or blocks any moisture from it, if I use too much, or it’s too heavy.

It also depends on your hair, it’s texture, strand thickness, how far your sebum oils reach down, etc as I’ve mentioned above. I personally don’t use mineral or baby oil because it will completely block out any water or moisturizing product I use, ends included. Even under running shower water. When it dries, it’s even more evident because my hair will dry extremely crunchy If I’ve used something as heavy as mineral oil or grease. Some of it will wash out, or even rub off from day to day, yes, but to get it all off I’ll have to clarify.

Adding conditioner on top of it, makes it worse. And I can feel the product just sitting on it, and it’ll leave a residue on my fingers, and pillowcase if I haven’t washed, even if I’ve used moderate amounts of products on occasion. So yes, I agree. It doesn’t penetrate at all. It just sits there. Hence why whatever conditioner or leave in I use, I use before oiling or sealing. Which is why I gave opinion on the hair’s ability to absorb water/moisture/product, and how oiling could go for certain people.

This is just speculation. It gets even more tricky and specific if you bring into account evaporation, how quickly your hair will open up to receive moisture and close up to retain it, if it does at all, and other environmental influences on oiling/sealing. But none of that is really necessary, and I’m not an expert. Everyone’s hair is different. Concerning the original posters concern, I just kept it vague, and noted something that pretty much anyone can observe and something that plays a decent enough role in damp or dry oiling, since she wanted a bit of science-y observation, and because I also damp and dry oil. I dry oil very occasionally though for the reasons I mentioned above.

That method works for you. Which is great, but it doesn’t work for me.

Starchild494
May 7th, 2018, 07:15 PM
What is the best way to oil... So much info out there!

AutobotsAttack
May 7th, 2018, 07:44 PM
What is the best way to oil... So much info out there!

I’m not sure if you’re asking a question

-Fern
May 7th, 2018, 09:11 PM
What is the best way to oil... So much info out there!

Like anything, your mileage may vary.

Check out the rinse-out oil thread (linked above in Lapushka's signature). I've had good success with that.

Right now, my favorite way is to apply ~3 drops to my fingertips, rub my hands briskly together, then smooth through my length (from the ears down). You may need more or less oil than me, depending on your hair type, thickness, and length.

cathair
May 8th, 2018, 07:19 AM
I think the science of coconut oil pre-shampoo is pretty well known. It stops hair swelling with water and cracking and also helps it hold on to protein.

That's not exactly because it's used dry, it's the characteristics and properties of that oil. It wouldn't be the same with say, almond oil.

I don't know what comparison you can make to wet oiling, unless you pick an oil. Though I've never found wet oiling very successful personally.

Starchild494
May 8th, 2018, 12:03 PM
It's a question... I forgot to put my question mark! I'm so silly! Lol

tangocurl
May 8th, 2018, 04:29 PM
Excellent thread, everyone. I was looking for info like this yesterday!

For what it’s worth, I have very fine hair that is slippery and doesn’t like heavy oils like olive. It does like small amounts of coconut and moderate amounts of avocado.

I am going to experiment with a dry oiling with coconut on my ends to see if I am missing out on something.

*Wednesday*
May 8th, 2018, 04:44 PM
I damp oil after I wash with Argan oil. I wash twice weekly. In-between I do dry oil with coconut oil/butter. I only oil the last 3 to 4 inches of my hair. This seems to take care of my ends very well. Especially for extended periods of not trimming. I have fine hair as well, and this doesn't seem to weigh my hair down. But I always like lighter oils and I use sparingly with dry oiling.

lilelf
May 8th, 2018, 05:58 PM
Oil itself, isn’t moisturizing. There’s butters that are though such as Shea or MuruMuru butter. There’s certain fatty acids in oils that the hair and skin will absorb, but not the oil entirely. The moisturizing effect is coming from either the water or product being applied to the hair and sealed in by the moisture.

But don’t overthink it. If anything, your porosity is definitely normal. I’m not an expert, or trichologist or anything. I’m using thought out deduction.

If damp oiling is working for you, that doesn’t mean your hair is automatically high porosity at all. More than likely your hair absorbs moisture completely normal.

How far your natural sebum oils cover your hair length is important too. That’s Also why dry oiling might not be necessary since your natural hair oils are getting the job done already.

Things like certain shampoos and conditioners play a role as well. Damp oiling would probably feel better if someone used a shampoo that was particularly drying or stripping. Since that extra water can be sealed by the oiling as well.

If someone is using a very heavy or coney conditioner, sometimes dry oiling might be better so you aren’t overly weighing down the hair compared to damp oiling where it might feel extremely weighed down if someone likes coney conditioners or leaveins and whatnot.

I’ll use myself as an example for high porosity. On certain days, my entire head of hair will dry in less than 45 mins. Particularly my ends, and espeacially if I’m struggling to get in adequate amounts of moisture. I’ve tried dry oiling and all it’s done is seal out any moisture that my hair needs and it causes it to be overly dry. With damp oiling, right after drying for maybe 5 mins, my hair can take up to 2-3 hours to dry with the help of the oil sealing in the moisture, and allowing my hair to hold onto the moisture for a longer period of time, and feels less dry in the long run too.

Edit: I should note, porosity also has to deal with how well your hair will keep the moisture. Ergo evaporation, and how well the cuticles will compact together to hold moisture. Lower porosity, and normal porosity have cuticles that will open up normally and close normally to receive moisture including the rate as which it does. Very virgin hair and hair that’s on very younger kids can seem like it won’t absorb any water or even products, and that’s not inherently bad either, espeacially if the sebum is readily coating the entire head of hair. Just means the hair is very healthy and doesn’t need much of anything. High porosity will readily open up, but often has a harder time closing to keep the moisture in, which is why it can feel dry even after conditioning and moisturizing.
Usual-lurker chiming in here!!
I agree in general, Autobots. Though in some cases... In my case at least...hair thickness plays a huge role with drying time. What I mean to say is, incredibly fine lo-po hair can dry incredibly fast, giving the appearance of hi-po, at least from the dry-time perspective, where as incredibly thick hi-po hair can take quite a long time to dry by comparison....which can be rather confusing. My undamaged hair AND my damaged hair both dry at an amazing speed, but that is because there is such little shaft circumference that very lttle water is even inside it. I hope I haven't confused every one....

AutobotsAttack
May 8th, 2018, 07:17 PM
Usual-lurker chiming in here!!
I agree in general, Autobots. Though in some cases... In my case at least...hair thickness plays a huge role with drying time. What I mean to say is, incredibly fine lo-po hair can dry incredibly fast, giving the appearance of hi-po, at least from the dry-time perspective, where as incredibly thick hi-po hair can take quite a long time to dry by comparison....which can be rather confusing. My undamaged hair AND my damaged hair both dry at an amazing speed, but that is because there is such little shaft circumference that very lttle water is even inside it. I hope I haven't confused every one....

Oh no I understand. I like in depth conversation such as this.

And definitely about strand thickness. I would have gone into detail but I was typing paragraphs already just trying to condense lol, so I just referenced it to keep confusion at bay.

But definitely. I think density can even be grouped with strand thickness since they seem to go hand in hand. I have very dense hair, but it’s also influenced by the fine strand thickness I have so it seems to be canceled out by that and dries quickly anyways lol.

AutobotsAttack
May 8th, 2018, 07:17 PM
It's a question... I forgot to put my question mark! I'm so silly! Lol

Oh, no worries.