If you don't wash organic oils off your hair will they eventually come off naturally?

[elfynity]

So I was wondering, if any of you know the answer to this: if I had to use oil on my hair, say for eg sweet almond oil etc, would it eventually naturally come off or sink into the hair as time went on?

I do WO, and I only use water that is body temperature, so the oil would not come off that way. I can always get it off without washing by using corn starch and my BBB, but I want to know if those oils sink into your hair over time or just become dirt and build up into a big mess. I am trying to make a decision as to whether I can leave oil in my hair or not as part of my WO routine.

I hope this question makes sense, I don't know if I have explained myself well.

[spidermom]

I offer you this article about oils and how they benefit hair: https://beautymunsta.com/natural-oils-that-penetrate-the-hair-shaft/ Sweet almond oil is on the list.

I do know by past experience that coconut oil (my favorite) builds up on the hair shaft over time, making my hair look dull and limp, and needs to be clarify-washed off. I am one who would never be tempted by a WO routine (I love a good sudsy clean-up), so washing with an SLS shampoo is perfectly acceptable and comfortable for me.

[lapushka]

I think especially if you are WO I would stay away from all oils that aren't your natural oils. I don't think they will sink in if you keep building it up without *ever* doing a sulfate or sulfate-free or CO wash.

[nycelle]

If you use oil on your hair- it will build up eventually regardless of what the oil is, and water alone will probably not be enough to get it out. On me, too much oil leads to greasy, dirty looking hair that needs to be shampoo'd a couple of times.

.

[cathair]

Oils especially coconut oil go rancid on my hair before I have to worry about anything like that! I guess you'll know if that's a factor in your decision to use them or not already :)

[elfynity]

Hi everyone, thank you so much for your responses. HA ha, I think rancid would be a huge deciding factor!

I really love WO, but I feel so limited that I cannot ever use oils on my hair. That article to natural oils was great to read. I think that I am being too pedantic about WO washing and sometimes I may need to do an oil mask and shampoo it off with some organic shampoo. I'm going to give myself that now. I think as long as the split ends are at bay and the hair is growing and healthy.

[LittleHealthy]

If it’s any use, I find conditioner gets oil out of my hair better than shampoo does. Also it might be less stripping on your WO routine if you used conditioner?

[elfynity]

LittleHealthy, I see you also have fine thin hair like me, do you not find that conditioner leaves your hair quite greasy? I am so keen to try it and see if it works because that will definitly solve the drying out problem. Do you follow a CO routine or something similar?

[LittleHealthy]

Elfynity,
I have been cowashing yes! It actually makes my hair more voluminous so far. Conditioner has never made my hair greasy. Some kinds would make it very slippery and soft, that makes it sit flat, but never greasy or like I have build up etc.

The cowashing is how I discovered conditioner washes out oil so efficiently. I oil my hair pretty heavily before each wash, with olive oil. The conditioner gets it all out with hardly any effort!

Keeping in mind, the lower half of my hair has damage from being dyed, so it sucks up conditioner very nicely. But I use it to clean my scalp as well, and it seems to be LESS greasy than when I used to use shampoo!

Someone else might probably have better experience than mine, but for getting oil out of the hair, conditioner will definitely do that :-)

[elfynity]

You know LittleHealthy, I have been growing my hair deliberately since January this year and have had no growth. My hair is literally the same length! I have been WO since March-ish. Something is not working. I just wish I could figure it out so that i can get some length. What experience have you had with CO and hair growth - and are you a slow grower?

PS - last year I was so nasty to my hair, not with dyeing, but with blowdrying, and brushing when wet and sulphates - so the ends look slightly frizzed and dry.

[LittleHealthy]

You know LittleHealthy, I have been growing my hair deliberately since January this year and have had no growth. My hair is literally the same length! I have been WO since March-ish. Something is not working. I just wish I could figure it out so that i can get some length. What experience have you had with CO and hair growth - and are you a slow grower?

PS - last year I was so nasty to my hair, not with dyeing, but with blowdrying, and brushing when wet and sulphates - so the ends look slightly frizzed and dry.

My hair is about average, half an inch, sometimes a little bit less, per month. So I would say I am a slow grower compared to many women in this forum, some get an entire inch a month sometimes!! For me I think the most important part for growing the hair would be to keep my scalp happy. That’s where the hair grows from so I try to focus on that more.. the cowashing does not irritate my scalp so far, it stays happy.
What does the WO washing do for you? Does it feel good or like your hair is better? Or worse? Have you tried any other methods before that?
I guess some people might choose WO for environmental reasons sometimes as well? Saving use of plastic bottles and chemicals.

[LittleHealthy]

And do you think it literally has not grown? Or could your ends be experiencing some breakage? My ends would snap off if I didn’t use conditioner!

[elfynity]

And do you think it literally has not grown? Or could your ends be experiencing some breakage? My ends would snap off if I didn’t use conditioner!

That is what I am not sure about. It's a strong possibility it is split end related. I have loads of hairs of all different lengths as a result - and that is directly related to the dyeing, this is the last of the hair that was damaged from dyeing.

A little less than half an inch seems pretty good, at least you are gaining.
My scalp is so healthy, it just is always in great condition, so I am very lucky there.


What does the WO washing do for you? Does it feel good or like your hair is better? Or worse? Have you tried any other methods before that?

To try give you a short answer ... basically I realized that sulphates were bad for hair, so I went organic, but my hair was still dry, but at least not falling out anymore.
I was doing weekly oilings and then organic shampoo - and my hair was generally too oily because I was also trying to leave in some oil for protection.
I decided to let my own hair do the oiling and go into WO. I love it so much because for the first time ever my hair doesn't feel whispy or so thin and fine, it feels substantial and alsp looks so super glossy.

I am just worried because maybe I wasn't using the BBB enough cos my ends have been really dry. So that is what led me to the oiling or something to keep them moisturised. And because I have loads of baby hairs growth but no length growth.

The ends of my hair, the last 2 or 3 inches actually feels dry and brittle when I run my fingers through it. I hate to say it, but maybe I need to chop 3 inches off? Or maybe I just need to let the good baby hairs grow out. I just hope that it is past damage and not current something that I am doing wrong.

[nycelle]

If you have damage from coloring- you probably need some protein for your length, and you definitely need moisture. Water only won't do it, and neither will oiling as oils alone do not moisturize hair.

Sometimes a little science mixed in with nature works best - try washing with a moisturizing, silicone free conditioner and see how your hair does. If your length gets dry in-between washings, use a leave-in conditioner (not oil). It will help keep the damaged parts hydrated, and should not weigh your hair down or make it oily/dirty. I know many here use a touch of normal conditioner, or dilute their regular conditioner with water and use that as a leave-on.
I don't like to do that as I still feel they're too heavy to use, and attract dirt. But you can try that too and see how it works for you.

[elfynity]

Water only won't do it, and neither will oiling as oils alone do not moisturize hair.

... use a leave-in conditioner (not oil).

Nycelle, my own sebum did not hydrate my hair enough, for whatever reason, it just didn't. I think that using a conditioner (I will go organic of course) is the right step for me. I think I can use it just to condition my ends on wash day and that will solve that issue.

I would still like to use oils though, I've heard that Castor oil mixed with something lighter is amazing for hair, but I'm honestly quite confused as to what oils actually do for your hair, other than make it crazy oily.

[lapushka]

Nycelle, my own sebum did not hydrate my hair enough, for whatever reason, it just didn't. I think that using a conditioner (I will go organic of course) is the right step for me. I think I can use it just to condition my ends on wash day and that will solve that issue.

I would still like to use oils though, I've heard that Castor oil mixed with something lighter is amazing for hair, but I'm honestly quite confused as to what oils actually do for your hair, other than make it crazy oily.

Castor oil is a *very* heavy oil, be sure to mix it at least 50/50 with a lighter oil like sweet almond or grapeseed or jojoba or something like that. Also some castor oils come pre-mixed (and smell nicer). What's that brand again... living isle? No, tropic isle, yep that's it; very popular brand!

[LittleHealthy]

I’ll say what I think, without seeing your hair.
If you have dye damage like me, don’t cut the ends off until you try a new method first! I actually need silicones in the bottom ends of my hair to protect my dye damaged ends. But I cowash using a silicone and sls free conditioner first, then use a silicone conditioner in my ends afterwards.
Definitely try just cowashing with a conditioner which is meant for hydration. Even if you just use it in your ends!! I think after you’ve been doing WO for so long and your ends are dry, you will be pleasantly surprised by the result :)

[ontheway]

I have pretty coarse hair and even I stay away from castor oil. I'd suggest you use very small amounts of that (less than a dime size?) on your ends, and maybe mix it with jojoba oil or grapeseed. I would avoid that though if you can. It's really hard to wash off. My leave-on face masks include castor oil (but a very diluted castor oil) and it's AMAZING for lashes and I've noticed my lashes have grown since I've used them, but again... it's diluted.

I personally think conditioner is important. You could maybe use it once a week (not sure how often you wash), and use a leave-in that's more natural on other washes? I don't condition for most of my washes, but I do it once a week or so especially if I'm using heat on my hair. I always use a leave-in.

IMO oils are tricky. They're OK if you wash them off, but otherwise not worth it unless they're mixed heavily with other things. I personally also hate coconut oil. I know a lot of people love it, but my hair doesn't react well to that and I wish I had listened to my gut instead of trying it. I'd opt for almond oil or grapeseed. Jojoba is also safe.

[LittleHealthy]

I hate coconut oil on my hair too.
I love using oils. I only use them in the bottom couple of inches of my hair. I put 2 or 3 drops on when my hair is still damp.
But yes, I’d save the oils for if the conditioner doesn’t work. But give the conditioner a few washes to work on your hair and get it nice and soft!!
It really does sound like your hair is just breaking off at the ends, as you say your scalp is happy and healthy!

[elfynity]

My hair is just breaking off at the ends, and they actually feel dry and a bit crispy - the answer here is definitly conditioner, not oils. I had no idea conditioner was so important, but when I think about it now my hair stopped growing at the beginning of this year when I stopped using conditioner. There could be, probably is, a connection there - and the cause of splits / breakage.

I'm going to keep WO and use conditioner on my ends. No more oil, except for the occasional hair masks.

[LittleHealthy]

My hair is just breaking off at the ends, and they actually feel dry and a bit crispy - the answer here is definitly conditioner, not oils. I had no idea conditioner was so important, but when I think about it now my hair stopped growing at the beginning of this year when I stopped using conditioner. There could be, probably is, a connection there - and the cause of splits / breakage.

I'm going to keep WO and use conditioner on my ends. No more oil, except for the occasional hair masks.

My hair would do the same if I gave up conditioner, I think! Good luck with it, would love an update to see how your hair is feeling after some conditioning :)

[elfynity]

My hair would do the same if I gave up conditioner, I think! Good luck with it, would love an update to see how your hair is feeling after some conditioning :)

Hi LittleHealthy, I couldn't get my organic coniditioner yet but I rummaged through my cupboard and found my old Mane n Tail herbal growth conditioner. Read through the ingredients, and there are no parabens or sulphates. I wet my hair ends, applied generously and left it in for half an hour. Washed off with cold water.

My first reaction to my dried hair is that the ends are soft and moisturized! I sleep with a bun in my hair and when I took the bun out this morning, usually the ends are a bit crispy to brush, I brushed and they were very easy to get through, and I didn't hear any bad brushing sounds either.



Sometimes a little science mixed in with nature works best

I think I was being too untrusting of science and had to give in a bit.

I will have to see how this goes over the next few weeks, but I am sure it will be better than dry, split ends. Already my hair is showing a massive improvement in the ends in hydration. Conditioning my ends has worked immediately to moisturize my hair ends and now I realise how dry my ends were without conditioner.

[elfynity]

Dimethicone (silicone) is in Mane & Tail Conditioner, so I wont be using that again. I have ordered Enchantrix Organic shampoo and will get it soon hopefully.

[lapushka]

There's a tidbit on oils in this video, how they aren't moisturizers and have a pH of 0 - might be interesting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ozl7mYKwGPc

[elfynity]

I have solved my problem for now. I am very excited actually about it. I saw around here that people are using rye flour to wash their hair. Anyway, I bought a totally organic conditioner* in order to apply it to my hair ends as a moisturizing mask. It worked very well, got my ends all conditioned, but I didn't realise that it had added a fair amount of oil to my hair which only featured yesterday when my hair was totally greasy and wet looking. The BBB spread the oil to everywhere and there was now an overload.

I don't want to use shampoo because it takes everything I have been working toward straight out my hair. Using corn starch dry on my hair works to make my hair look great until water comes near it. So instead I mixed 2 teaspoons of cornstarch into a paste with some pure water and after wetting my hair with cool water in the shower, applied it to my roots, massaged it around a bit and then plopped my hair under the shower again.

My hair is literally perfect today. It is not stripped of it's sebum, but the extra oiliness is gone, my ends are still wonderfully moisturized, my curls are back and my hair has volume but still feels light. I am going to get some fine rye flour for my next 'wash' instead as I have heard great things about it and it will probably have a similar effect. I now can safely use my conditioner as an overnight mask and wash it out in the morning for example.

*https://simplybee.co.za/shop/hair/honey-rosemary-conditioner-250ml-2/ (https://simplybee.co.za/shop/hair/honey-rosemary-conditioner-250ml-2/)