PDA

View Full Version : Can you oil/moisten too much?



Pear Martini
November 15th, 2009, 08:17 PM
[COLOR=royalblue]Is it possible to oil, condition, cholesterol,

ZenBird07
November 15th, 2009, 08:57 PM
Is it possible to oil, condition, cholesterol, and just moisturize your hair to much?

Is putting so much extra crap in it actually not good for your hair?

I have recently joined the LHC and love it here. Seeing pics of you ladies and gentlemen luscious long hair inspires me to keep on growing and stop messing with bleach and dye.


I have recently started oiling my hair in heavy coconut oil masks about once a week overnight (thanks LHC :cheese:)

Since my hair has been through a lot of damage, I am tempted to use oil and/or cholesterol 3 or 4 times a week.
(recently quit my job and am waiting to go back to college in January so, yeah, I have the time for that)

I can never get it soft and sleek enough.

I am just wondering if this would be a waste of time or if this could actually have the reverse effect and start damaging my tresses?

Thanks for the advice,

Erica Lilianna

It is possible to over do it and it's a common mistake for newcomers to LHC. Wanting to try everything at once to find the miracle cures or panaceas for all hair ailments... What might wind up happening is build up. Just clarify and begin again. Start COing or CWCing. It was the first thing I tried when I got here and paired with my monoi -my hair is 1000x better than what it was. It's still not the best it can be but it is MUCH improved...It might take a bit of time for your hair to improve and heal from the damage of bleaching and dyeing but it should get better...Good Luck:)

Pear Martini
November 15th, 2009, 09:03 PM
Thanks for the advice... btw what is cwcing?

I read the "for newbies" post but I missed what cwc meant

Bereft
November 15th, 2009, 09:22 PM
CWC is short for condition-wash-condition. Its a washing method that protectgs the length of the hair from the shampoo. Condition the length of your hair, from the ears down, and then just shampoo the scalp. Rinse and then condition again. You may also want to think about switching your shampoo to a sulfate free one if you haven't already. Good luck growing!!:D

P.S. in the articles section, there is a list of the abbreviations everyone uses here. I cant remeber if newbies can view, but its under the miscellaneous. :)

RancheroTheBee
November 15th, 2009, 11:08 PM
I can't see how oiling once a week would do any damage whatsoever. Coconut oil is not apt to build up on the hair, especially when you use it only once a week. Many people here, like myself, oil almost daily. Mind you, I just put a little bit on the ends, but the principle is the same.

Gypsy
November 15th, 2009, 11:49 PM
3-4 times a week?
Hmmm. For me, doing that without washing would make my hair kinda sticky and depending on the oil, will smell rancid within a couple days.
If you have cooperative hair, then you may not have those issues, so maybe try it and see how it reacts and then adjust accordingly.:D

WaimeaWahine
November 16th, 2009, 12:36 AM
Somewhere one of our members posted a pic of herself with over-oiled hair if my memory serves correct. It was quite funny.

You'll know you've over-oiled because your hair will look greasy and/or become stiff. Feel free to experiment because it's not the same for everyone. :)

prittykitty
November 16th, 2009, 12:44 AM
I have over oiled a few times with coconut oil but since my hair is curly it just looked like I had some kind of gel in it that gave it the wet look all day. It turned out to be alright in the end. My hair is so dry from previous chemical damage that I don't think too much oil will do any harm. Still, I like it to look more healthy than oily so I am very careful to just add a little at a time.

ericthegreat
November 16th, 2009, 12:50 AM
Too much of anything is not a good thing. If you use loads and loads of conditioner and never ever clarify your hair, then yes you can over moisturize your hair. Hair like everything else likes a good happy medium. If you oil say once a week and use a decent amount of conditioner and always rinse thoroughly, it shouldn't be a problem. Again of course, make sure to clarify either with a good shampoo or vinegar or ACV rinse every once in a while say every two weeks to rid yourself of buildup.

pelicano
November 16th, 2009, 01:29 AM
My hair is curly, and when it is over-conditioned, it actually looks dry! It feels very soft but looks fluffy and flyaway. Took me ages to realise that!

hanne jensen
November 16th, 2009, 01:30 AM
I over oil with coconut oil before every hair wash. It has really helped my velcro like ends. Sometimes I'll really over oil where my hair almos drips. Then I'll put it up for the day. When I take it down that evening, my ends are dry again. I've never had a build up of coconut oil, no matter how much I over oil.

ChloeDharma
November 16th, 2009, 03:32 AM
If you are using pure coconut oil with no other ingredients added then it should be fine. In fact it was keeping my length heavily oiled almost constantly that saved my hair and allowed me to still grow long while growing out chemical damage.
Over oiling is something that can happen if you are doing a light oiling and intending to wear it down or do not want the oil to be visible. But for conditioning, heavy oiling requires you to make the hair look wet with oil and is beneficial to the hair.

julliams
November 16th, 2009, 04:41 AM
Do you need to clarify if you are using "no cones" conditioner? I thought the build up was from silicones. Maybe this explains the return of my itchy scalp.

Juliette

jivete
November 16th, 2009, 07:46 AM
I oil every pre-wash (3x per week) and don't have a problem. I do occasionally clarify because of build-up, but I'm sure I would need to do that anyway.

Coconut oil is probably the best one to start with. Lately I've been using my Emu oil, because I ran out of coconut, but I prefer the latter.

misstwist
November 16th, 2009, 08:22 AM
I started heavily oiling in March of 2007. I used tons of coconut oil everyday and braided my hair or put it in a bun.

It was damaged and dry and constantly splitting.

I kept this up for about three months, along with s&d every three weeks or so and using a non-sulfate shampoo. I'm convinced that the heavy oiling helped my hair.

But, oiling was about all I did for moisturizing/retaining moisture. When my hair didn't seem to need it as much I quit using so much oil. I now use a sulfate shampoo every couple of washes because my hair behaves better that way and usually only oil after the sulfate.

As it gets colder and dryer I will switch back to oiling more frequently.

My point here is you need to pay attention to your hair. If it isn't doing what you want try something else. If it's doing what you want then stick with that. But you do need to experiment a little bit to find out what your hair needs to begin with.

ericthegreat
November 16th, 2009, 08:43 AM
Do you need to clarify if you are using "no cones" conditioner? I thought the build up was from silicones. Maybe this explains the return of my itchy scalp.

Juliette

Yes, even if you are using a coneless conditioner, you will still need to clarify from time to time. Silicones are only ONE kind of product that builds up over time if you use them on your hair. Other substances besides silicones can build up in your hair. See, any kind of conditioner is designed to have some kind of grab onto your hair, it is designed to leave at least some kind of coating or binding to your hair so that it helps to make your hair feel sleeker and shinier. In it and of themselves, these substances are not bad in fact they can even help to fill in the weak spots in your hair if you have damaged hair. However, over time they can and do build up and can eventually block your hair from absorbing other things like actual water moisture which it needs to stay pliable and flexible. So, from time to time you will need to clarify your hair to keep your hair from getting this kind of buildup. :)

Vrushali
November 16th, 2009, 09:04 AM
I do pre-wash heavy oilings almost everytime I wash my hair. I also put a little bit oil on my hair if it feels dry...but just a little bit and not anymore :P.

After dunking my hair in waaay too much oil I have come to learn that a little goes a long way, even a drop or two of oil spread on your hair (not scalp) make it nice and soft. Putting oil on my scalp unless I wash it out the next day makes my hair and scalp feel greasy. Hope this helps :flower:

prittykitty
November 16th, 2009, 02:51 PM
My hair is curly, and when it is over-conditioned, it actually looks dry! It feels very soft but looks fluffy and flyaway. Took me ages to realise that!
Thank you. I will try this. I have been using a lot of conditioner and my hair always looks dry. I will start to use just a little bit and see if that solves my dry hair issue.

khan
November 16th, 2009, 03:04 PM
Glad you posted that question. I was wondering about that too. I need to keep searching the community, 'cause I'm not sure what 'clarifying' is. I don't use much conditioner on my hair, esp. in summer, since I like to air dry it outside & I enjoy taking time with it. It's a ritual really.

Desideira
November 16th, 2009, 04:20 PM
I this balnce is the key. But everyone hair is different and need different igriedients more.
I used to massage my hair with cocnut oil but it only made my already oily scalp worse. But I have very good result with oiling ends of my hair before washing. I use both olive oil and coconut but I prefet the first one.

I think that watching what your hair seems to like and experimenting is the only way to find out how much moisture adn oils your hair needs.

ps. Welcome to the LHC i wish you happy exploring LHC and happy growing:)

jojo
November 16th, 2009, 04:24 PM
I oil the last few inches and my canopy lightly every day and have only noticed positive results. Longer hair tends to get dry at the ends, as a result may split and break by keeping the ends especially oiled prevents this. I have a host of different oils but i always go back to coconut.

I also DC twice a week and I co wash inbetween, so lots of moisture for me! my hair has honestly never looked better but ask me this question in summer and the answer may be different. Each season for me, means swapping my routine. At the moment the cold and wind are elements that are going to damage my hair, even when its up, so putting oil on it, is like wrapping it up!

No right or wrong answer, we are all individual and although we may have a similar type of hair to others on here, we are unique, as is our hair therefore its a case of suck it and see!

Laululintu
November 16th, 2009, 04:33 PM
I sometimes have problems with both overconditioning and product buildup (which may be simultaneous but are still 2 different issues), but neither is really dangerous to your hair per se, in my experience (YMMV). Product buildup is easier to resolve by clarifying.