Coconut oil newbie

[ZoeZ]

I've used the commercial coconut oil-shea butter spray on my hair and it seems to love it. I'd like to try pure coconut oil and am wondering which is better, the refined or the regular. Not a fan of the strong coconut smell, but if it works better than the refined (which I understand has much less/no smell) I'd be prepared to put up with it.

Cheers and thanks for any info.

[ExpectoPatronum]

I don't think there are any functional differences between refined and unrefined, so if you don't like the smell, then unrefined should work fine for you - if your hair likes coconut oil, that is.

[Laurab]

I read an article about this when I was buying. It's one of those things where it's hard to find unbiased information, but from what I've read your hair can't really tell the difference.

[Groovy Granny]

I have used both and saw no difference.

[EdG]

I add unrefined coconut oil to foods after cooking in the microwave. Unrefined coconut oil gives foods a mild sweetness. :yumm:

I have no experience with putting it on my hair. It is solid at current temperatures. ;)
Ed

[SleepyTangles]

Unrefined is usually higher quality but lower in shelf-life.
Keep in mind that, depending on the ingredient listed, your spray may have very little coconut in it. If it's liquidy/oily I'd say It can't contain mainly coconut oil and shea butter, that are solid at room temperature.

[florenonite]

You could also try fractionated coconut oil (https://www.herbivorebotanicals.com/blogs/news/what-is-fractionated-coconut-oil), which is liquid at room temperature and doesn't smell like coconuts. I much prefer it for my skin as solid coconut oil makes me break out, and I think my hair likes it more as well because my hair is very low on the porosity spectrum so a lot of things just sit on it.

[ZoeZ]

Thanks for all the answers. Sleepy Tangles, that's one of the problems I have in buying new things - I always wonder about the ingredients - they never seem to say how much of anything is in there - so there's no way to tell if it agrees with your hair.

I really wanted to know because I'd like to try it but I really don't like wasting stuff if it doesn't work, so I thought I can always use it as a cooking oil if my hair doesn't like it. I'd prefer to buy the refined less-fragrant one so it could be used for savory or sweet things as I don't often make sweet things.

florenonite - can I cook with fractionated oil?

Cheers all.

[florenonite]

I'm not sure about cooking with the fractionated oil, but it does work great on skin as well if your hair doesn't like it.

For cooking I think unrefined is best from a nutritional perspective, though you can definitely still use that in savoury foods as you don't really smell or taste it (and think of all the curries and such with coconut milk - you definitely won't notice a hint more of coconut there).

I've actually been able to find deodorised, unrefined coconut oil a few times. When I lived in Scotland the brand was Biona, but I can't for the life of me remember the one I found in a wee, now-closed health food store here in Ontario. At any rate, if you can find something like this (https://biona.co.uk/product/biona-organic-coconut-oil-cuisine-2/) that might be your best bet.

[ZoeZ]

Thanks florenonite. I'm vegetarian, so curries would work for me :)