Dry Hair from Oiling?

[TwilightMermaid]

I've been oiling about once every two weeks to once a month for the past few years, and have had decent results, until now. A few weeks ago I did a coconut oil treatment for an hour, however after my hair dried it was much frizzier than normal. I have curly hair and I usually have zero frizz after washing because of the products I use. I thought that I must've touched my hair too much or not put enough styler in, so next wash (3 days later) I made sure to be diligent that my routine was the exact same as always. However, it was still frizzy. My ends feel a lot drier and are also a little bit lighter, in the way that older hair lightens from wear.

Has anyone else experienced dryness as a result from oiling? I should also mention that I don't wash my length unless I'm oiling, as to prevent stripping moisture. I am thinking about stopping that and just trying to remove the oil with conditioner so as to prevent any potential dryness from the shampoo.

[lapushka]

How much / often do you clarify-wash. I know for curly hair that often is not the most popular route, but if all else fails? Sulfates; lots of them.

[Nightshade]

There's this weird misconception that oils are moisturizing and they're not. Moisture needs water. When oils make your skin and hair feel 'moisturized' it's because they're replacing lipids and fatty acids that produce many of the same feelings as moisture (softness, flexability, etc.)

With oiling and not washing your length, you're making an oil-barrier that is actually sealing out moisture.

Give all your hair a wash with a mild shampoo and then a deep treatment / soak in conditioner THEN oil. But you are going to need shampoo and it's not 'bad'. There's another weird misconception that ANY amount of shampoo is bad and drying and that is also simply not true.

[TwilightMermaid]

How much / often do you clarify-wash. I know for curly hair that often is not the most popular route, but if all else fails? Sulfates; lots of them.

I clarify about once a month. I currently am using a sulfate free shampoo but am planning on going back to a sulfate shampoo because I find it cleans my hair best.


There's this weird misconception that oils are moisturizing and they're not. Moisture needs water. When oils make your skin and hair feel 'moisturized' it's because they're replacing lipids and fatty acids that produce many of the same feelings as moisture (softness, flexability, etc.)

With oiling and not washing your length, you're making an oil-barrier that is actually sealing out moisture.

Give all your hair a wash with a mild shampoo and then a deep treatment / soak in conditioner THEN oil. But you are going to need shampoo and it's not 'bad'. There's another weird misconception that ANY amount of shampoo is bad and drying and that is also simply not true.

You know, I actually read the Science-y Hair Blog article about the penetration of oils awhile back, where it explains why oils are not hydration, but it completely spaced my mind! Thank you for reminding me. I'll try using a deep treatment then putting oil on afterwards. I know shampoo is not bad because it is necessary for clarification of product build-up, I guess I'm more concerned about damage from the friction required for me to shampoo all the oil out. I try not to rub my hair TOO much but I still have to a little bit or I find the shampoo doesn't reach all of my hair under the canopy.

[Nightshade]

Aye that makes sense. I think at this point a little gentle friction is better than moisture-locked hair. Let us know how clarifying goes!

[MusicalSpoons]

When you oil then wash, do you just shampoo your roots then condition the lengths and rinse?

With oil, if you want to remove it you need conditioner, and ideally it needs to sit.

Clarifying is clearly necessary at this point, and if you haven't used coconut oil before and this time is when it turned out badly, that's just a signal to not user coconut oil - it doesn't work for everyone's hair.

If you want to go back to oiling before a wash, CWC is recommended because the first C emulsifies with the oil better than shampoo does.

[clairenewcastle]

I would clarify as others have suggested.

Then try again.

Howver my hair went dry when I used coconut oil in the past no matter how clarified my hair was. Almond oil works for me.

[lapushka]

There's this weird misconception that oils are moisturizing and they're not. Moisture needs water. When oils make your skin and hair feel 'moisturized' it's because they're replacing lipids and fatty acids that produce many of the same feelings as moisture (softness, flexability, etc.)

With oiling and not washing your length, you're making an oil-barrier that is actually sealing out moisture.

Give all your hair a wash with a mild shampoo and then a deep treatment / soak in conditioner THEN oil. But you are going to need shampoo and it's not 'bad'. There's another weird misconception that ANY amount of shampoo is bad and drying and that is also simply not true.

I am totally with you on that. It is necessary in any good routine!


I clarify about once a month. I currently am using a sulfate free shampoo but am planning on going back to a sulfate shampoo because I find it cleans my hair best.

No. Nono. You have problems with your hair. So the sulfate-free clarifying is *not* working. Good on you, then, that you're going back to sulfates for that.

Get yourself a nice, cheap, sulfate-laden shampoo and go from there. Trust us. We're all just about recommending this to you.

[SeppV]

MusicalSpoons has a good point about CWC! That's the method I use to remove oil. Plenty of conditioner (cone free is what I go for). I don't use oiling for moisture, personally, but as a protection against water. Meaning I will heavily oil my hair over night or for at least 5-6 hours prior to a wash. I read an article on the blog people are refering to here stating that it's important for the oil to penetrate long enough into the hair before washing if you want it to protect against the hair sucking up water too fast (it's been a while since I read the article). I just want to add this reason for oiling to the other ones, because oil is actually very beneficial when hair meets water to avoid the damage water can cause to your hair. So, heavy oiling pre poo is indeed useful! Just not for moisture, necessarily, but for the reason I mentioned.... :-)

Every fourth wash or so, I will use a silicone free sulfate shampoo on my entire lenght, to get all the residue out. When I do wash my hair with shampoo I don't oil pre-poo. I just want to clarify at that point, and not have anything excessive to wash off. That means, I never actually use shampoo straight after oiling and I have had more luck with this than trying to shampoo my oil away.... that would be a hit and miss for me.

[ladyofthewoods]

My hair and scalp is dry. What has helped me was a hair recipe I tweaked from curly proverbz. I put in coconut oil, black caster oil, pumpkin seeds oil,, fenugreek,  rosemary, pepperment, msm powder, turmeric and ginger powder, green tea, vitamin c powder. I put all the ingredients in a jar.

[bluejaysierra]

There's this weird misconception that oils are moisturizing and they're not. Moisture needs water. When oils make your skin and hair feel 'moisturized' it's because they're replacing lipids and fatty acids that produce many of the same feelings as moisture (softness, flexability, etc.)

With oiling and not washing your length, you're making an oil-barrier that is actually sealing out moisture.

Give all your hair a wash with a mild shampoo and then a deep treatment / soak in conditioner THEN oil. But you are going to need shampoo and it's not 'bad'. There's another weird misconception that ANY amount of shampoo is bad and drying and that is also simply not true.

Holy moly. I keep forgetting this! This totally makes sense. I wonder what other than oil wash-stretchers like me could use to moisturize in between washes. Getting my hair wet tangles it :(

[TwilightMermaid]

If you want to go back to oiling before a wash, CWC is recommended because the first C emulsifies with the oil better than shampoo does.

I washed my hair yesterday for the second time since first posting, this time I did a coconut oil treatment, and did CWC, as well as using a clarifying shampoo. I think I'll do CWC from now on because it removes a decent amount of oil and lets me use a little less shampoo. My hair does feel/look better and I think figured out why! I just finished a gel I had been using for a few months, and I think my hair just got too tired of it because it was a bit drying due to a lot of protein and polymers causing buildup that I had not really noticed until now. There was some pretty heavy winter weather where I am about the time I started issues as well, and I think the dry air just accentuated my dry hair. I just did not think it was the gel because I used it for so long with good results! My new gel has a gentler formula and I think I am good to go now.