Coconut oil made my hair freeze solid!

[ericthegreat]

We're back in the dead of winter here in NYC. It got down to just 15 degrees last night. Needless to say I had my scarf and my leather gloves and hat and coat and all, and I also thought to myself that I also needed to protect my hair from this crazy cold weather. So I soaked my whole head in coconut oil and then I did a tight single braid. Not a very good move on my part. So I was at a restaurant having sushi and I playfully just grabbed at my braid. I usually pull my hair to my right shoulder just because, you know I like fooling with my hair :cheese:. Well this time I could NOT move my hair at all. It was frozen cold and solid. It felt like a long, braided chunk of ice! That was scary! :scared:

After dinner I rushed home and very carefully took off my coat and scarf and everything. Then I jumped into the shower (still with my hair in a frozen braid) and ran my head and back under really warm but not too hot water. After a few minutes my hair thawed. Whew!

[Longlocks3]

LOL, that's why I had to switch to jojoba for the winter! Funny story, but only because it didn't have a bad ending.

[Anje]

15 is really cold?

The good thing is that oil doesn't expand when it freezes the way water does. Whether iced hair causes damage is something up for debate, we can at least rest assured that solidified oil shouldn't cause any trouble.

[Roseate]

When I was a kid I liked it when my hair would freeze in the winter. It was about shoulder length, and I'd gently shake my head as I walked to my bus stop in the morning so I could hear the hair-icicles clinking together. It would probably freak me out now though! Glad you didn't hurt your hair!

[Svenja]

Happened to me before - it was scary. Glad you did not hurt your hair. These days when i know it's freezing cold I use almond oil instead of coconut.

[akilina]

ahah this winter i experienced my hair freezing for the first time. I moved to nevada and believe it or not the desert is a cold cold place sometimes. My fringe started forming icicles!

[CaityBear]

Hah. I've never had that happen. I don't load my hair with oil in winter though. It gets down to about -30, sometimes -40 here so I just put my hair in my jacket to protect it.

I'm scared of hair freezing which is why I started showering at night in winter. haha

[Gumball]

Oh man I can totally understand the difference using coconut oil in more chilly weather. We don't get the freeze where I am, but texturally my hair sure changes! Glad you managed to thaw it out.

[jojo]

Oh dear Eric, I had this happen too, though it did taste pretty good!

I now use mustard oil as its much better in the cold weather, smells for about an hour after putting it on but its lovely for softening and protecting my hair. I will switch to coconut again in summer, thats if we have a summer here in the UK!

[spidermom]

Does oil freeze? I would think the coconut oil merely solidified. There should be no harm to your hair from this.

[ericthegreat]

Oh dear Eric, I had this happen too, though it did taste pretty good!

I now use mustard oil as its much better in the cold weather, smells for about an hour after putting it on but its lovely for softening and protecting my hair. I will switch to coconut again in summer, thats if we have a summer here in the UK!

You would have thought that a guy as smart as myself would know better than to use coconut oil which is solid at 76 degrees F on a freezing cold winter's night. But no, somehow my brain misfired! :p

I'll try to look around for mustard oil, and if I can't find mustard oil I can do what LongLocks3 does and use jojoba oil during the winter.

[ericthegreat]

I could also try sweet almond oil like Svenja suggested, or just about any kind of oil that doesn't freeze solid at below 32 degrees F. I do know that olive oil also becomes solid at 45 degrees F or below, so olive oil is also not a good choice for me during the winter.

[Svenja]

Maybe this helps you in choosing an oil for winter:

Freezing points:

Corn oil - 20 deg. C
Sunflower oil - 17 deg. C
Olive oil - 6 deg. C
Sesame oil - 6 deg. C

[jojo]

You would have thought that a guy as smart as myself would know better than to use coconut oil which is solid at 76 degrees F on a freezing cold winter's night. But no, somehow my brain misfired! :p

I'll try to look around for mustard oil, and if I can't find mustard oil I can do what LongLocks3 does and use jojoba oil during the winter.
Try asian shops its in the cooking section and is dirt cheap! only need a teeny bit though. I have done a DC with it and it makes my head all cosy and warm!

[jojo]

Does oil freeze? I would think the coconut oil merely solidified. There should be no harm to your hair from this.Well it was -10 here a few week ago and I kid you not just standing at the door to get a parcel off the postman, with my heavy coconut oil it was like icicles unbelievable I know but very true, funny though the mustard oil doesnt seem to do this.:)

[ericthegreat]

Thank you Svenja. :flower:

Unfortunately, winter temperatures here in NYC often always get below 0 degrees C! I'm thinking perhaps for the winter time, when I do decide to use an oil I will try to use it when I know I have time to stay indoors. I will wash it out and then dry my hair before going outside.

[Kaijah]

Actually, all oils have a freezing point - any substance will freeze if it's cold enough. There's a bit of variance with oils since they're 100% fat, so depending on the composition of your particular brand the point may be higher or lower.

Lowest F.P. to Highest:
Linseed (flax seed): -24 *C (-11 *F)
Almond: -18 *C (0.4 *F)
Castor: -18 *C (0.4 *F)
Sunflower: -17*C (1.4 *F)
Soybean -16 *C (3.2 *F)
Olive: -6 *C (21.2 *F)
Sesame: -6 *F (21.2 *F)
Peanut: 3 *C (37.4 *F)
Jojoba: 7 *C (44.6 *F)
Coconut: 21.5 *C (70.7 *F)
Palm: 24.1 *C (75.4 *F)

Those are the only oils I can remember people mentioning regularly. :ponder: But I'm sure I missed something obvious. I usually end up using almond oil since it's the easiest for me to find, and can stand up to Nebraska winters.

[Longlocks3]

Actually, all oils have a freezing point - any substance will freeze if it's cold enough. There's a bit of variance with oils since they're 100% fat, so depending on the composition of your particular brand the point may be higher or lower.

Lowest F.P. to Highest:
Linseed (flax seed): -24 *C (-11 *F)
Almond: -18 *C (0.4 *F)
Castor: -18 *C (0.4 *F)
Sunflower: -17*C (1.4 *F)
Soybean -16 *C (3.2 *F)
Olive: -6 *C (21.2 *F)
Sesame: -6 *F (21.2 *F)
Peanut: 3 *C (37.4 *F)
Jojoba: 7 *C (44.6 *F)
Coconut: 21.5 *C (70.7 *F)
Palm: 24.1 *C (75.4 *F)

Those are the only oils I can remember people mentioning regularly. :ponder: But I'm sure I missed something obvious. I usually end up using almond oil since it's the easiest for me to find, and can stand up to Nebraska winters.

Hmmm, looks like jojoba isn't the best choice then!

[Gemma]

I guess I have been lucky! I've been using coconut oil on my braids all winter (and we just got down to 7F so it's been pretty cold!) with no problems so far. :) I do have a lot less hair than you, though, Eric, so less is probably exposed to the elements!

[Kaijah]

Hmmm, looks like jojoba isn't the best choice then!

Haha, yeah. I forgot to tack onto my post - I actually had a bottle of jojoba freeze solid sitting in my basement bathroom. o.o I knew it got chilly down there, but I was a little surprised by that. And coconut's always solid in my house. :shrug: I haven't really had problems with it getting solid on my hair, though. I do tend to shower at night so it's mostly all absorbed, and not reapply in the mornings.

I haven't had almond freeze up on me yet though! But I do try to keep my hair tucked under a jacket/wrapped around my head in a hat when running around outside, otherwise, some mornings I think it would freeze too.

[bumblebums]

Next time you're in the East Village (on 1st Ave betw. 6th and 5th streets), go to the indian grocery store--they have mustard oil there.

[prittykitty]

When I was using coconut oil I did notice that when I used it as a leave in, my hair felt stiff in certain spots when I went outside in the cold. Where I live it can get to -25 F. below 0, especially at night. Sometimes it can be almost that cold in the daytime and with the wind chill can bring the temperature even lower. I had to quit using oils because of this. Jojoba oil gives my hair static. My hair seems to do much better without oils for now anyway. When summer gets here it may be a whole different story. We get some very hot and dry summers.

[Anje]

Lowest F.P. to Highest:
Linseed (flax seed): -24 *C (-11 *F)
Almond: -18 *C (0.4 *F)
Castor: -18 *C (0.4 *F)
Sunflower: -17*C (1.4 *F)
Soybean -16 *C (3.2 *F)
Olive: -6 *C (21.2 *F)
Sesame: -6 *F (21.2 *F)
Peanut: 3 *C (37.4 *F)
Jojoba: 7 *C (44.6 *F)
Coconut: 21.5 *C (70.7 *F)
Palm: 24.1 *C (75.4 *F)
I'm not sure the peanut oil figure is right. Mostly because I've got a now-opaque, thick bottle of peanut oil in my pantry, and I'm pretty sure it's over 37°F in there. Perhaps it needs more insulation?

[Kaijah]

I'm not sure the peanut oil figure is right. Mostly because I've got a now-opaque, thick bottle of peanut oil in my pantry, and I'm pretty sure it's over 37°F in there. Perhaps it needs more insulation?

It would depend on how your house is set up - is the pantry any cooler than your actual living space? I know the pantry at my house is kind of offset from the rest of the house (kind of extended back out into garage space/outdoor space, rather than surrounded by living space) and it's generally cooler than anywhere else, aside from the basement.

It's the only temp I found across Material Safety Data Sheets though. :shrug:

[ericthegreat]

Actually, all oils have a freezing point - any substance will freeze if it's cold enough. There's a bit of variance with oils since they're 100% fat, so depending on the composition of your particular brand the point may be higher or lower.

Lowest F.P. to Highest:
Linseed (flax seed): -24 *C (-11 *F)
Almond: -18 *C (0.4 *F)
Castor: -18 *C (0.4 *F)
Sunflower: -17*C (1.4 *F)
Soybean -16 *C (3.2 *F)
Olive: -6 *C (21.2 *F)
Sesame: -6 *F (21.2 *F)
Peanut: 3 *C (37.4 *F)
Jojoba: 7 *C (44.6 *F)
Coconut: 21.5 *C (70.7 *F)
Palm: 24.1 *C (75.4 *F)

Those are the only oils I can remember people mentioning regularly. :ponder: But I'm sure I missed something obvious. I usually end up using almond oil since it's the easiest for me to find, and can stand up to Nebraska winters.

Thank you Kaijah. :flower: From that list, I will most likely choose sweet almond oil since I know I've seen that being sold in the health food stores around here.

[ericthegreat]

Next time you're in the East Village (on 1st Ave betw. 6th and 5th streets), go to the indian grocery store--they have mustard oil there.

Thank you bumblebums. :flower: I'll be sure to check this place out!

[camirra555]

When I wear my hair down with coconut oil in it in the cold then my curls get crunchy. These days whenever I'm outside my hair is bunned with my hood on

[CrisDee]

Ugh, Eric, that sounds like it was pretty scary, with all that gorgeous hair of yours! Glad everything turned out ok, though - it's been CRAZY cold here in the Northeast this winter! Heat wave today, went up to 28F!

[Pear Martini]

We're back in the dead of winter here in NYC. It got down to just 15 degrees last night. Needless to say I had my scarf and my leather gloves and hat and coat and all, and I also thought to myself that I also needed to protect my hair from this crazy cold weather. So I soaked my whole head in coconut oil and then I did a tight single braid. Not a very good move on my part. So I was at a restaurant having sushi and I playfully just grabbed at my braid. I usually pull my hair to my right shoulder just because, you know I like fooling with my hair :cheese:. Well this time I could NOT move my hair at all. It was frozen cold and solid. It felt like a long, braided chunk of ice! That was scary! :scared:

After dinner I rushed home and very carefully took off my coat and scarf and everything. Then I jumped into the shower (still with my hair in a frozen braid) and ran my head and back under really warm but not too hot water. After a few minutes my hair thawed. Whew!

Lol, I will have to try this next time I'm in Boston

[bumblebums]

You're welcome, ericthegreat! That place is my one-stop shop for hair needs. They have every kind of herb and oil you can imagine. You would get better prices in an Indian grocery in Queens or Jersey, but the EV one is easier to find.

[ericthegreat]

You're welcome, ericthegreat! That place is my one-stop shop for hair needs. They have every kind of herb and oil you can imagine. You would get better prices in an Indian grocery in Queens or Jersey, but the EV one is easier to find.

Yeah, Manhattan is much easier for me to get to than going into Queens. And New Jersey is definitely too far away for me to get to.