What's your oiling routine?

[gossamertresses]

(Sorry if there's already a thread like this!)

I'm a newbie to oiling and I'd really love to know all about the routine you go through while using oils.
For example: what you do before/after, how long you leave them in, your application method, how you put your hair up etc.

Please include the type of oils you use + your hair type, and I'd also love to know about the results you've seen.


Skip this part if you're not interested in my situation :run:

I have straight hair which leans towards fine, and I just bought some coconut and castor oil. I made a 50/50 mix in a dropper bottle. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Also, I plan on leaving it in while working out, but I don't want to get my yoga mat dirty. I've tried covering my hair with a plastic bag, shower cap and towel during past experiments but I just hate anything on my head. Any suggestions? :D

[JasminxCat]

I add whatever oil into my treatment that my hair is asking my for, I do castor oil treatments every two weeks, and other oil treatments when my hair is feeling dry, want some extra moisture, to soothe my scalp, or as a pre poo treatment. I prefer to do them during the day for a few hours or as long as I can stand it. I've just oiled my hair and scalp as a pre poo treatment with jojoba and peppermint oil for tomorrow's Nizoral shampoo wash. The shampoo is drying but will help with my scalp itchiness. I wasn't planning on oiling so late so I guess I'll have to sleep with it in tonight until I wake up. I always add a few drops of oil to my ends working my way up to rest of my length after washing or on dry hair before detangling

My preferred oils are sweet almond oil, argan oil, olive oil, coconut oil (only for scalp), jojoba oil, castor oil for growth, and peppermint oil for itchiness

I think I have 1a/1b but not sure, F/M, ii hair

My results with sweet almond oil have been silky smooth, frizz free, and easier to detangle,
castor oil I've noticed less shedding and improves growth,
jojoba oil is moisturizing and mends the appearance of splits,
argan oil helps with frizz and adds moisture,
peppermint oil to soothe irritation and help with itchiness,
olive oil for dry, itchy scalp or mixed with brown sugar to exfoliate,
coconut oil for dry scalp

Of course, everyone's hair is different so you will have to experiment and find what works best for you

[MusicalSpoons]

I usually do a reasonably heavy oiling with a babassu/castor/rice bran? blend (started out as just babassu and I added the others over time just to see if it stayed liquid better) on my lengths, a day or two before washing. Any oil will do but I found babassu to 'soak in' like coconut oil but without the risk of crunchiness, and it did give superior results to other oils I've tried. I'm not sure when or why I stopped feeling like the results were so amazing :hmm: at least an hour before washing, but usually a few hours before, I wet my hair, squeeze the water out and apply conditioner to my lengths (essentially to what would be my ponytail) which gets the conditioner out much better than trying to shampoo it.

I also use oil during a wash, after shampoo and before conditioner. I squidge it in up to about armpit/shoulder length, rinse it out then apply conditioner. Some people apply conditioner straight away without rinsing it.

Oh, my hair is 1c/2a F/M.

My main tips would be to experiment, and if you do a moderate/heavy oiling, conditioner will be your friend. I used to oil all my hair and scalp but my scalp started to get grumpy having conditioner on it for so long so I had to stick to lengths only. My scalp is greasy though so someone with a lot less sebum production may find they don't even need to wash oil out, given enough time for it to sink into the skin.

I used to oil between washes but realised it was attracting lint. The heavy pre-poo avoids that mostly by being heavy, and because I only comb and redo the bun if I really have to, so it's only free to attract lint for the most minimal time.

[BuddhaBelle]

Once or twice a week on wash day I will oil with a mixture of 25% castor oil and 75% sweet almond oil. I rub this into my roots and coat my ends. I wrap my hair in a spare turban towel and leave it on for 3 or so hours, that’s usually around the time I start getting the urge to wash it haha! I do my usual CWC.

Then almost daily I will add a few drops of sweet almond oil to the ends of my hair after I have brushed the sebum through, then i plait for the night. I use this sparingly but it’s usually soaked in by morning.

My hair is 1b/1c :)

[Finda]

My hair is 2a/b f/m.

I only use coconut oil. I oil mainly before washes, which is twice a week, and before swimming. For everyday oiling I'm missing the ability to get the dosage right.

I apply it on dry hair and try to leave it on overnight on weekends. During the week a couple of hours is more realistic. I oil heavily from the chin down, then I put the hair up with a fork

The next morning I apply conditioner to the oily part of my hair for 10 to 20 minutes (still no water at this point). I used oil for a time a couple of years ago and washed it out with only shampoo, but that was always hit or miss and the reason I stopped using oil for a while. The conditioner, however, works every time.

Afterwards I wash my hair with shampoo, which I follow up with a mask and another conditioner.

The addition of oil made my hair super smooth and since my ends are probably porous I also want to counteract hygral fatigue. The effect holds for about three days (though I think all the conditioner also plays a part)

After the oil has been sitting on my hair for a while it doesn't stain anymore. I don't even have to cover the pillow. But sometimes I put on a hat to generate a bit of warmth but no idea if that makes a difference.

For further reference this might be interesting to read: https://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/oils-which-ones-soak-in-vs-coat-hair.html

[Chromis]

I oil after washing once my hair is dry. I mostly use coconut oil or things like Nightblooming oils. I find castor is really heavy for me, even diluted and I can't use straight jojoba either. If it very dry out, I might oil a second time as well a couple days later. I use a couple drops down my split length over my shoulders, then a couple more if that absorbed super fast and then I run my hands on my scalp with the light amount of excess since it is always dry too, but doesn't often need a full on oiling.

[WavyWannabe]

My hair is 2a/ii, and I'm not sure of the strand thickness. I do have some definitely fine hairs but they're not the majority, the rest is coarser (so I went with F/M) but every hair on my head splits if you look at it the wrong way :rolleyes: (I guess it's not quite as easily weighed down by oils as real fine hair though.)

I oil my hair every week, on the day I start thinking about washing it, so zero to two days before actually washing it.
Usually it's coconut oil, which my hair soaks up by the time I wash. Sometimes I'll put some olive oil instead. I do find olive oil to be heavier; my hair soaks up coconut oil in one night and becomes soft but remains visibly oily with olive oil. Either way, I'll apply oil to my length and ends until it looks oily.

I used to own jojoba oil, which I used as a leave-in. I applied a few drops to the ends and a tiny bit on the lenth. I seemed to make my hair shiny yet feels very lightweight (and I loved the smell).
When I'm done using up other stuff I'll buy some again.

I also have a small jar of shea butter sitting somewhere, but I rarely use it on my hair. I find it sticky and hard to apply, although it's easier in tiny amounts. As for the results, not any better than coconut or jojoba oil if I remember correctly.

[Belgrade Beauty]

2+ hours before washing, full length and scalp, olive oil +some essential oils, menta or rosemary for hair loss... Used to do ROO couple of times, and stopped. I need to clarify and I still didn't buy a shampoo for that.

[Jools69]

I apply coconut oil before I wash and leave it on for about 1/2 hour as I soak in the bath. I do it on the first of every month, but I’m considering applying it more often, now that my hair is much longer.

[lapushka]

I do an oil rinse (rinse out oil method, see signature), which means I wash my hair, condition it for a couple minutes and then rinse out, wring out my hair, put a couple drops of oil on my ends, smack a second conditioner onto my hair (including the ends), let sit for a couple minutes, then give it all a final rinse. I also do the WCC method (which just means I condition or mask 2x after a shampoo).

I then still use the LOC method for styling, so leave-in or curl cream, gel and a serum or an oil.

I don't pre shampoo (use oil prior to washing). I only use oil or serum very sparingly, but it works because the method is key in this case.

My hair is 2b/c. I might sometimes get a ringletty wave at my nape or front hairline, not that often though, hence the b/c.

[Etheldreda]

I typically oil my hair a few hours before washing but sometimes I leave it on longer or wash it out right away. On wash days I use either olive oil or coconut oil pretty liberally on the length and ends. I prefer the results of the olive oil but like the smell of the coconut. If I have time I will also oil my scalp and massage it in. On my scalp I use a mix of castor oil and some other oil, right now I'm using coconut oil which I heat up in a glass of hot water. Recently I've started using a dropper to apply the oil to my scalp and it has made the process much easier. To make sure the oil gets washed out properly, I put conditioner mainly on my scalp and a little bit through the length. This has made the world of difference when trying to wash out the oil, especially if I've applied too much.

On non wash days I'll add a tiny bit of oil to the ends of my hair. For this I'll use a nice smelling coconut oil (something from the Monoi Tiare Tahiti brand) or Aveda Shampure oil.

For reference my hair is 2b, I'm not sure about the porosity and such. :)

[Sammich]

I apply argon oil to my ends everyday or whenever my ends feel like they need it. I also oil my ends after I wash my hair, my hair feels so silky soft and doesn’t tangle as much with the oil! I love it plus it smells so good!

[paper.wyrm]

I do a scalp massage with a castor/avocado/rosemary mix daily, I only put a bit on so my roots don't get too disgusting, then I oil much more heavily the day I wash, leaving on for several hours.

[Saldana]

I usually oil my hair/scalp either the night before a wash, or a couple of hours before. I wash my hair once or twice a week (it's been twice a week for a long time, I'm experimenting with moving that to once a week, at least in the winter)

Right now, I'm using a combination of bear grease, and an oil mixture that I make myself (right now, it has olive oil, neem oil, and rosemary oil in it). After a shampoo/condition, if I remember, I usually put a little bit of argan oil on the last couple of inches of my hair while it's still wet.