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View Full Version : Oils and static, why?



Giggy2
November 23rd, 2008, 12:28 PM
Is it just me or does everyone have this isssue? I don't use oil very often at all, but today I decided to add a dab of coconut oil after my shower and let my hair dry naturally. Why oh why does oil create such an outrageous amount of static? Is it because the heat is on in the house and I'm walking on carpet? If I put on my jacket my hair stands up all over the place and sticks to my face, drives me crazzzzy!:brickwall Usually I don't have these static issues, only when I use oils do I get this crazy static head. My hair can be damp still and have static :confused: It's shear madness I tell you! Does the oil suck the moisture out of my hair? Please chemists or anyone with knowledge in this area help me out, should I stay away from the oils?

BTW, my hair looks great with the coconut oil. :cheese: Smooth as butta.

LutraLutra
November 23rd, 2008, 12:36 PM
Oh gosh, me too! If I shea my hair when it's dry, or even not damp enough, then it's a one way trip to Static City. I thought it was just me!

heidihug
November 23rd, 2008, 12:42 PM
Me, too. I recently gave up on using coconut oil as a leave-in because I was having too many problems with static. Now I use only a few drops of carnation oil along with a bit of diluted conditioner as an after-wash leave-in, and I am having no problems with static. I still do use coconut oil as a pre-wash treatment, though.

Silver & Gold
November 23rd, 2008, 12:46 PM
Me too! I clarified my hair yesterday and used coconut oil as my leave in. Static city!

Giggy2
November 24th, 2008, 05:11 AM
Thanks for the replies guys. I guess I will pass on the oil from now on. I sure do love how pretty it makes my hair but WOW, the static is unbelievable. I'm concerned if all that static is damaging to my ends. :confused:

Last night before bed I was putting on my pj's and once I pulled my shirt on all of my hair was standin up, looked like I belonged at the science museum :p. Gives a whole new meaning to halo head. I just don't understand why that happens. I need to find the chemistry teach at my college and see if he can explain it for me.

akka naeda
November 24th, 2008, 05:20 AM
Is it the type of oil?
I used to have horribly dry and staticy hair, but oiling it has improved things - no more static.
My daughter also has staticy hair, it gets so tangly as a result she can't brush it, but putting a tiny amount of oil on it removes the static and then she can get rid of the tangles.

ChloeDharma
November 24th, 2008, 09:10 AM
Is it the type of oil?
I used to have horribly dry and staticy hair, but oiling it has improved things - no more static.
My daughter also has staticy hair, it gets so tangly as a result she can't brush it, but putting a tiny amount of oil on it removes the static and then she can get rid of the tangles.

This is what i find too, i can't actually even guess how the oil increases static....one thing though, has anybody tried using aloe vera either alone as a leave in or mixed with oil? I find combining the two things works wonders for calming down static flyaways.

heidi w.
November 24th, 2008, 09:30 AM
I was oiling my hair and still experiencing fly-away and static too, relatively recently. I solved the problem by adding a humidifier in my bedroom at night running all night long, very close to my bed. (I oil dry, as many know, but I also know many prefer oiling damp/wet. That's fine. So oil a bit, then sleep with the humidifier.) This also solves my dry nostrils problem and dry skin problem.

This tip comes to me from Lady Grace, a lovely woman with incredible hair! (I plan to purchase a second humidifer to have downstairs in the kitchen/dining/living room area.

In winter, there's less ambient moisture in the air, so many do well by adding it. The heat (in just about any form) takes it away; and the general moisture content, when the temperatures dip, also contributes to lack of moisture in air.

I have a friend in Florida and she reports that even she is having problems with drier/fly-away hair.

Hopefully this tip helps a few.
heidi w.
PS. For the record, I use Coconut Oil by Spectrum Naturals, what's pressed for use on hair and skin. UNREFINED.
http://www.spectrumorganics.com/?id=205
I do find in winter, for my hair, I do need a trace bit more oil added than my norm. This is a new difference for me comparing living in a semi-arid climate of Bay Area California, to Northern Illinois (near the Wisconsin border) where it snows here! This info may be helpful to others as well living in different parts. Lady Grace, for example, is in an area of the South that experiences a lot of humidity, and she still runs the humidifier when she sleeps, often enough!

Eryka
November 24th, 2008, 10:06 AM
I was oiling my hair and still experiencing fly-away and static too, relatively recently. I solved the problem by adding a humidifier in my bedroom at night running all night long, very close to my bed. (I oil dry, as many know, but I also know many prefer oiling damp/wet. That's fine. So oil a bit, then sleep with the humidifier.) This also solves my dry nostrils problem and dry skin problem.

This tip comes to me from Lady Grace, a lovely woman with incredible hair! (I plan to purchase a second humidifer to have downstairs in the kitchen/dining/living room area.

In winter, there's less ambient moisture in the air, so many do well by adding it. The heat (in just about any form) takes it away; and the general moisture content, when the temperatures dip, also contributes to lack of moisture in air.

I have a friend in Florida and she reports that even she is having problems with drier/fly-away hair.

Hopefully this tip helps a few.
heidi w.
PS. For the record, I use Coconut Oil by Spectrum Naturals, what's pressed for use on hair and skin. UNREFINED.
http://www.spectrumorganics.com/?id=205
I do find in winter, for my hair, I do need a trace bit more oil added than my norm. This is a new difference for me comparing living in a semi-arid climate of Bay Area California, to Northern Illinois (near the Wisconsin border) where it snows here! This info may be helpful to others as well living in different parts. Lady Grace, for example, is in an area of the South that experiences a lot of humidity, and she still runs the humidifier when she sleeps, often enough!

Very funny you mentioned this because when I was in San Diego, I had the most fabulous hair. So much so I took it for granted, I just thought I got lucky. After moving to Copenhagen with healthy winters and hard water (delicious fortunately), my hair and scalp have been in a revolt. My hair looks pretty good but its taken a lot of time to figure out its Morse Code. It will be interesting to see what happens to it when I move back.

EDIT: My hair got SUPER staticy when I was using Camellia oil. I swear, the more I put on the more it stood up on end, which says something for my knee length hair. I can only imagine if it was shorter and not so heavy. Emu Oil is the one I've found that doesn't do that and rinses out well, not to mention giving me the condition I want.

spidermom
November 24th, 2008, 10:11 AM
No, oil doesn't suck moisture out of the hair. Glycerin can do that. So can honey.

Eryka
November 24th, 2008, 10:14 AM
No, oil doesn't suck moisture out of the hair. Glycerin can do that. So can honey.

Molasses, too.

heidi w.
November 24th, 2008, 01:01 PM
Basically, cooler air has less capacity to holdmoisture: indoors, outdoors. So you add heat to dry air (moisture-less air), and now you have static and bigger fly-away.

It's not the oils fault, per se! Oil is not water nor moisture. It's more like a coating. Sebum is not an oil. It is a waxy ester, kinda like a wax coating on top of the hair. Oil is intended to mimic this effect. Oiling/oil is not water. They're not the same thing.

This weekend I was getting little shocks off my dog!

http://wc.pima.edu/%7Ebfiero/tucsonecology/climate/concepts.htm

heidi w.

longhairedfairy
November 24th, 2008, 01:11 PM
I use camellia oil and have very little/no static at all.

burns_erin
November 24th, 2008, 03:37 PM
IME cocnut oil did cause some static but grapeseed oil does not. Neither does rosehip seed oil.

Arctic_Mama
November 24th, 2008, 06:25 PM
Huh. Coconut oil solved my static issues, and I live in Alaska. My hair has behaved similarly in both San Diego and Anchorage, except for some additional dryness in the dead of winter. Weird! I always recommend oiling to people to SOLVE static, because it worked so well for me. Maybe the type of oil makes a difference, as other posters have said?

Silver & Gold
November 25th, 2008, 07:15 AM
I would like to add to those who say it isn't the oil's fault. Although I made an earlier comment about how my hair was static city after oiling it the last time, I know it is due to the dry air right now.

I've been oiling my hair with success since nearly a year ago when I first came here. When I oiled it the last time it was the first time I had oiled it since the house had become so dry from the indoor heating. So it was my notice that I have to find more ways to put moisture back into the air and into my hair - not a notice to stop oiling.

Anyway, I plan to humidify my house over the next few days to give my hair, skin and sinuses what they really need. In this sense my hair is a good barometer for the rest of my body.

Periwinkle
November 25th, 2008, 08:56 AM
Oil gets rid of my static almost totally :/