Question about hair oiling.

[SapphiraSilver]

I have a question about oiling. I was wondering, how do you successfully, wash out oil from your hair without losing the benefits of the oil with the shampoo?

Today I soaked my hair in coconut oil, and it wouldn't come out without shampooing it twice, so I did, (I used a moisturising shampoo) but I feel like shampooing it out made me lose all the benefits of the oil. Even though I tried to do it gently. Shampoo, once again made my hair feel dry, like I didn't oil at all. (I did use a conditioner after the shampoo) But without shampooing, the hair was greasy and unmanageable and gross.

So how do you get the oil out, without losing all the softness and benefits of it that shampoo takes away?

[Meggypoo]

I add a little oil after washing while my hair is still damp.

[TreesOfEternity]

It always comes out without the need of shampooing the length directly, just with the touch of the shampoo running through it when rinsing. Maybe you are using too much oil?

[ravenskey]

It sounds like you're putting too much oil in for your hair type.

I have very coarse thick hair and can use coconut oil as a leave in (I don't rise any of my oils out) but you've put that you're a F/i so maybe you need a lighter oil?

[lapushka]

I have a question about oiling. I was wondering, how do you successfully, wash out oil from your hair without losing the benefits of the oil with the shampoo?

Today I soaked my hair in coconut oil, and it wouldn't come out without shampooing it twice, so I did, (I used a moisturising shampoo) but I feel like shampooing it out made me lose all the benefits of the oil. Even though I tried to do it gently. Shampoo, once again made my hair feel dry, like I didn't oil at all. (I did use a conditioner after the shampoo) But without shampooing, the hair was greasy and unmanageable and gross.

So how do you get the oil out, without losing all the softness and benefits of it that shampoo takes away?

The key is not to "overoil". You need a little bit, so that one shampooing doesn't *quite* pull it all out. That balance is often difficult to find.

Myself, I find more benefits in oiling after I wash (oil rinse, aka rinse-out oil, see signature).

I never pre-poo with oil! Ever. I could never find that balance.

ETA: might also only want to oil the lengths, and not your scalp (that is *super* hard to get out).

[SapphiraSilver]

Thanks for everyones advice so far. I wouldnt wash first. I like to oil before washing. The reason I put it on my scalp... I happened to get a salon shampoo recommended to me last time I was at the hair dresser and it turns out that the shampoo is way too harsh and drying on my scalp and hair. My scalp ended up all itchy and red, with red sores on it. So I put coconut oil on the scalp to try and help that. And it did, which is great, I dont feel itchy anymore and its not as red. I like how my scalp is after the oil. (Will never buy shampoo like that again lol)

Maybe I used to much oil, but I found it barely covered my scalp and hair, it was so hard to spread it around (I did it on dry hair, is damp hair better?) and I did warm it up a little so that it wasn't solid. Maybe next time Ill add some honey to help spread it around.

[Kat]

Damp hair is usually easier, yes. Though, then it's harder to tell how much you're using and it's easy to overdo it.

Use conditioner to get it out. We had another thread on this recently: https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=145819

[GrowlingCupcake]

I oil my hair before I wash, and I use a fair amount of oil because my hair just soaks it up. I use coconut oil on dry hair, warmed with my hands so it's nice, and slick. I massage it into my scalp, focus on my ends, and let it soak for at least an hour, and then have to use two shampoos to wash it off. But some still stays on. My hair still has some soaked into it, and I can still feel the benefit from it. It doesn't feel greasy, just soft, clean, and more manageable than without a soak.

So maybe you should use more, and stick with shampooing twice. That way there will be a little bit more still left over that won't be too dry. Are you letting it soak long enough? If you are finding it hard to cover your scalp, maybe section your hair? Maybe try a mixture of oils? Some coconut with sweet almond or some lighter oil to help spread it around? Keep track of how much you use, how you use it, etc. so you can find out if you need more or need less.

That said, this works for my medium thickness, medium strand thickness hair. I don't know how well it would work for yours.

[TreesOfEternity]

Thanks for everyones advice so far. I wouldnt wash first. I like to oil before washing. The reason I put it on my scalp... I happened to get a salon shampoo recommended to me last time I was at the hair dresser and it turns out that the shampoo is way too harsh and drying on my scalp and hair. My scalp ended up all itchy and red, with red sores on it. So I put coconut oil on the scalp to try and help that. And it did, which is great, I dont feel itchy anymore and its not as red. I like how my scalp is after the oil. (Will never buy shampoo like that again lol)

Maybe I used to much oil, but I found it barely covered my scalp and hair, it was so hard to spread it around (I did it on dry hair, is damp hair better?) and I did warm it up a little so that it wasn't solid. Maybe next time Ill add some honey to help spread it around.

Another option is mixing coconut oil with a lighter carrier oil of your choice, have you tried this?

[SapphiraSilver]

I like the idea of trying to use conditioner to get it out instead of shampoo. My hair is thin though, so I struggle with limp/flat hair, thats one of the worries. What about... mixing the oil into a conditioner? like adding it to it and putting it on. Has anyone tried this method?

[Joules]

How exactly you shampoo oil out of your hair? What shampoo do you use? How many times you shampoo during one wash?

The thing with oiling is that a lot of women want their hair to feel squeaky clean after they wash it out. I've seen many women say they need to shampoo three times with a harsh sulfate shampoo to get the oil out, and you don't need to get all the oil out, that's the whole point of this procedure.

I oil my hair quite heavily, and I never shampoo my lengths. Well, I don't scrub and rub my lengths, I just let the shampoo run down. After I shampooed my hair twice I always have oil left on bottom half of my hair. It doesn't bother me, it is usually washed out by conditioner. And yes, I like adding a little bit of oil to my conditioner. And then I use oil as leave-in. I bathe my hair in oil, basically :D

If you're not torturing your hair to get the oil out and it's still dry, I suggest:
1. Use conditioner. It's already been said.
2. Are you sure the oil you use is good for you? Coconut oil is known for making some people's hair dry. Myself included. Try other oils.

[Larki]

I use conditioner. Shampoo never works for oil. I like to oil quite heavily, enough that my ends look wet, and conditioner gets the oil out with no extra effort.

[lapushka]

I like the idea of trying to use conditioner to get it out instead of shampoo. My hair is thin though, so I struggle with limp/flat hair, thats one of the worries. What about... mixing the oil into a conditioner? like adding it to it and putting it on. Has anyone tried this method?

It's exactly what the rinse-out oil method is, except you put a tiny bit of oil on the hair (lengths) and leave it after a wash. Maybe you'd want to read the thread first, before you decide? If you don't want to do it post wash, it's fine, but there's that option and it's not a bad one.

I would ditch the shampoo, honestly I would. It's not worth it if it's giving you sores. Use it as a handsoap; it's what I do with shampoos that don't match up to my needs!

[spidermom]

I like to use coconut oil on my length the day before washing, then I use diluted shampoo to wash, followed by conditioner. The oil almost always comes out to the extent that my hair looks shiny and clean but feels soft and manageable. There's definitely a difference with the oil, and I think some stays in, but you can't tell by looking. Maybe you're being a little too aggressive with getting the oil out when actually you want some to stay.

[Alissalocks]

I use conditioner. Shampoo never works for oil. I like to oil quite heavily, enough that my ends look wet, and conditioner gets the oil out with no extra effort.

This, totally this! CWC works for me and I like to oil heavily, with only one light shampoo between conditioners.

[Katia_k]

Coconut oil is too heavy for me, but when I do oil, I do it with almond, or a mix of almond and argan oils, and I do it overnight. I notice my hair soaks it up much better, and it comes out better in the shower if it's been allowed to soak all evening. So I'll dampen my hair before bed, run some oil through from roots to ends, focussing on the ends up through the mid-length, then braid it while my hands are still oily to spread it around. Then I sleep with it in a cap to keep it off my pillow, and wash it out the next morning. If I only oil an hour or two before shower, I always feel way greasier after.

Hope that helps. I also agree with everyone on the conditioner, and on trying different oils to see if they work better for you. I can't get coconut oil out of my hair, so I don't use it.

[MusicalSpoons]

I used to find that with coconut or olive oil, before I'd heard about using conditioner to remove it. When I oil before shampooing, I usually use an oil mask that soaks in pretty well so there's not a while lot of excess to remove. I also like the ROO method, because for my lengths I get the benefits of oiling but without attracting lint, and the benefits last longer too.

Just on the subject of using conditioner, and as you oil your scalp I thought I'd mention: I actually tried co-washing last night, and historically I've had bad results from putting conditioner too near my scalp - it turns out the key is to rinse, rinse, and rinse some more. Perhaps you could try soaking your whole hair in a light conditioner, letting it sit, massaging really well then rinsing extremely well; it should get the oil out without stripping your hair. Though if you're oiling to combat dry scalp, maybe you could try other, milder shampoos to see if they're any better for you. Or if co-washing is something you'd consider trying, if it worked for you it would likely leave your scalp better moisturised anyway.

In short, the easiest thing to try first would be to use a different oil and leave it on for as long as possible :)

[daisy rei]

I just recently started using coconut oil on my hair and I've definitely been over-oiling for how fine my hair is, but I've found that conditioner works really well for removing excess oil. I'd try the CWC method or even just apply conditioner a second time in the shower.

[SapphiraSilver]

I am not obsessed with squeaky clean hair, I CO maybe 2-3 times a fortnight. I don't mind if there is oil left, but I am also really thin/fine and I don't want it to look like a greasy mess on my already flat hair. I think After reading everyones comments. I will try a few things. Ill try diluted shampoo way, and next time, Ill try just conditioner only, and see which one works best to give the right balance. Also I would like to try a hair mask with oil mixed into conditioner and see if that washes out easier.

I do put a little oil after drying/styling on the ends to give it some softness. I guess I just want to find the right balance of how to wash it out, so that a little is left. Thank you everyone for your replies, its much appreciated, please do keep sharing your washing out methods, I love to read how everyone manages with oil!

For those that use Conditioner to remove oil, how do you do it? do you rub it in well? or let it soak?

[Julescarm]

For me, when I used shampoo and conditioner, I never noticed a difference whether I left it in overnight dripping oil or a light oiling soak for an hour before washing. I have very fine hair but I noticed oil doesn't bother me as long as after I'm done washing my hair, I put enough coconut oil on my hands to leave a light sheen and add three drops of (my favorite) peppermint oil and start from ends and work my way up to scalp, adding as needed then brushing it all gently to spread it out. I still oil after washing with fermented rice water. My hair (and body in general) reacts quite opposite to everything. If you have shampoo and conditioner with oils in the list near the top of ingredients, that could be contributing. Adding a teaspoon of oil to conditioner or shampoo can be beneficial just be sure to shake to mix well. I found apple cider vinegar works good to remove oil from the length then brushing the rest of the oil from the scalp to lengths works as well. A BBB does wonders. :)

[Alissalocks]

I am not obsessed with squeaky clean hair, I CO maybe 2-3 times a fortnight. I don't mind if there is oil left, but I am also really thin/fine and I don't want it to look like a greasy mess on my already flat hair. I think After reading everyones comments. I will try a few things. Ill try diluted shampoo way, and next time, Ill try just conditioner only, and see which one works best...

For those that use Conditioner to remove oil, how do you do it? do you rub it in well? or let it soak?

For me, I oil from the ears down (overnight) so after wetting in the shower, I condition from the ears down first and just squish it into and down the hair. This pulls at least half my oil out.

I scalp wash only and squish the suds down the length next.

Finish with generous conditioner on the roots and lengths, and I often use use the inversion method by this step. It's just comfortable that way for me while finger detangling mid conditioner.

Rinse really well to get any of the excess residue off and that usually keeps my super fine hair from getting lanky from oils and conditioners, same problem you describe too!