Did I Change or Did the Product?

[CampFireTiger]

When I was 14ish, I tried using coconut oil as a deep conditioner. I HATED IT. I couldn't seem to wash it out of my hair even if I used my shampoo on it. When I eventually was able to wash it out after using less, my hair felt crunchy in some spots and greasy in others. I kept trying it with different products since my mom kept buying shampoos to help her fine thin hair. No matter the product I used otherwise, the supposed miracle oil made things worse and my hair felt better as soon as I stopped using it.

it's now 6 years later and the other day I thought, "Why not try that horrid coconut oil again, worse case scenario you have a bad hair day and don't use it again." I applied maybe a teaspoon onto my hands and let it soak for an hour with a little Shea Moisture deep conditioner as well, washed it out, and... MY HAIR IS SO FREAKING SOFT! No crunch, no grease, and it doesn't way my fine hair down. In fact my hair feels the best it has this year.

What do you guys think? Did my hair change even though the texture and way I treat it isn't all that different? I didn't really change how I applied it and I'm using the same water. Have any of you ever gone back to a bad product only to find it now works wonders on your hair?

[lapushka]

First of all, an oil is not a great conditioner, it can add to a conditioner or conditioning process, but it's not that great. Also many people can't use coconut oil (CO) as it gets the hair to be brittle & dry. Plus if you use too much of it you'll be washing several times. More than a teaspoon for the whole long length is more than enough and you need far far less for shorter hair.


it's now 6 years later and the other day I thought, "Why not try that horrid coconut oil again, worse case scenario you have a bad hair day and don't use it again." I applied maybe a teaspoon onto my hands and let it soak for an hour with a little Shea Moisture deep conditioner as well, washed it out, and... MY HAIR IS SO FREAKING SOFT! No crunch, no grease, and it doesn't way my fine hair down. In fact my hair feels the best it has this year.

What do you guys think? Did my hair change even though the texture and way I treat it isn't all that different? I didn't really change how I applied it and I'm using the same water. Have any of you ever gone back to a bad product only to find it now works wonders on your hair?

You didn't used to use it with a conditioner. I bet that's it.

There is a method here on the forum called the rinse-out oil method (oil rinse). Link is in my signature. It is approximately the same, with some slight differences. Look into it sometime.

[neko_kawaii]

I'd say it was the conditioner on top of the oil that allowed it to wash out, unlike your previous experience.

My hair LOVES coconut oil. It is a little hard for me to use in the winter, as my usual oil containers do not have large openings and the solid oil sits there in the jar, leering at me.

I usually apply the oil before bed, combing a fair amount through so all my length is visibly oily. In the morning I apply diluted conditioner and let that sit for 20 minutes before rinsing it out.

[lapushka]

Oh gosh, neko, I wish my hair liked CO! It would be such an easy oil to get and keep. But alas, no. Darn difficult hair. LOL. ;) :p

[CampFireTiger]

I'd say it was the conditioner on top of the oil that allowed it to wash out, unlike your previous experience.

My hair LOVES coconut oil. It is a little hard for me to use in the winter, as my usual oil containers do not have large openings and the solid oil sits there in the jar, leering at me.

I usually apply the oil before bed, combing a fair amount through so all my length is visibly oily. In the morning I apply diluted conditioner and let that sit for 20 minutes before rinsing it out.

Your hair seems very similar in appearance to mine texture-wise (not length-wise for sure since your hair is absolutely gorgeous and amazingly long) so I'd be interested to hear your routine and the products you use. I would love it if I could leave my hair conditioner in at night like you, but I move around so much my silk sleeping cap always falls off in the middle of the night ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[CampFireTiger]

Oh gosh, neko, I wish my hair liked CO! It would be such an easy oil to get and keep. But alas, no. Darn difficult hair. LOL. ;) :p

It seems like we all have that one thing (or more than one thing) that works for most everyone but not for us. A lot of the women on here use Garnier products but they leave my hair a sticky mess O.O
I guess we should just be grateful for the hair we have. Myself included, even if I do get frustrated by my fine fluffy head of hair :D

[neko_kawaii]

Your hair seems very similar in appearance to mine texture-wise (not length-wise for sure since your hair is absolutely gorgeous and amazingly long) so I'd be interested to hear your routine and the products you use. I would love it if I could leave my hair conditioner in at night like you, but I move around so much my silk sleeping cap always falls off in the middle of the night ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

My routine is pretty simple. I wash about twice a week. Most often I wash my scalp with Trader Joe's tea tree shampoo and then my length with their Spa line of conditioner. I don't let it sit for a set period of minutes before rinsing, but I do wait to rinse the conditioner until the last thing in the shower. I take very short showers, so it isn't sitting in my hair for very long. Blot dry and then usually leave it down until it is at least partially dry. Due to thickness and local climate my hair drys very fast.

I prefer wearing it up, so it is up most of the time, usually in a simple fast bun with a stick or fork.

I usually sleep in a silk cap or a braid. My cap is old and tattered and the elastic is shot. It falls off constantly. When I oil overnight I put it in a braid.

Deep treatments are somewhere around once every 1-2 months. Clarifying and protein treatments probably once a year. I tried another brand of shampoo and conditioner and found they contributed significantly to buildup and I had to clarify once a month while using them. When I first joined LHC and was learning about oils I tried a bunch of different oils and did them once a week. My hair got too slippery and wouldn't stay up! So that is one of the reasons I space out treatments, the other is sheer laziness.

Once the indoor temperatures are warm enough for the coconut oil to be liquid, that is what I use along with argan on the ends. The rest of the year I choose pretty much at random from avocado, jojoba, and argan.

Good luck finding something that works for you!

[neko_kawaii]

Also, the diluted conditioner I apply to remove the oil is based on LHC's famous SMT (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128). I'm too lazy to add the honey so my process is to put some of my regular conditioner in a re-purposed squeeze bottle, add some aloe gel and water, and shake. The trick is not to add so much water that it drips, but enough that it is easier to distribute than undiluted condish would be. I clip it up for a minimum of 20 minutes and go do things around the house until I remember I was going to wash my hair. Rinse the conditioner out, shampoo scalp and condition length as usual.

[Lady Stardust]

I tried oiling my hair before washing in the past and it wasn’t great, my hair would attract lint, get build up, and I couldn’t use much oil.

I’ve recently started applying quite a lot of oil for an hour or two before washing, but now I add conditioner over the top before I wash. As neko_kawaii says above, the conditioner helps to remove the oil. I don’t have any problems with it now.

[lapushka]

Yep, oil + conditioner = a magic combo! If you don't use too much oil after a wash!

[Jo Ann]

I use coconut oil once a week, after I wash my hair, as part of a modified LOC (I leave off the "C" :p ) (see the link in Lapushka's signature) and my hair loves it! I can not use coconut oil on my hair after it's dry, because it becomes dry and crunchy.

On the rare occasion when I put a lot of coconut oil in my hair before washing it, I apply a lot of conditioner at least 30 minutes before washing my hair so the excess oil will wash out.