How does your hair feel when you do heavy oilings?

[pinklemonade]

Hi everyone, I use coconut oil and sometimes almond/shea butter oil and I've been using them for about a year but I'm STILL not sure if my hair loves them or hates them. How does your hair feel when you apply oil? I don't mean AFTER you wash your hair but during the oilings? I guess it could depend on your hair type and oil but my hair feels ...well oily of course, and sometimes it becomes sticky and hard and stiff. It doesn't feel nice but I put a ton of oil because I feel it doesn't work much when I put a few drops only. So is this stiffness and rubberiness normal?

I was also wondering if anyone here puts LOTS of oil on their hair and/or leaves it on for several days, not just overnight? There are some days when I can just put my hair in braids and leave it up so what I do is, leave oil on for up to four days, sometimes longer! I'm not sure if this has any benefits or not but my hair doesn't seem to be damaged or anything. After I wash my hair, my hair feels pretty good (but that could be because it's been smothered in grease for ages :p). Would love to hear what your experiences are! :)

[Lianna]

Coconut makes my hair hard and crunchy, so I stoped using it. Olive, sweet almond, grapessed, carrot and shea/avocado/mango butter feel soft. I leave it a few hours, sometimes I blend some into a nice creamy paste. :)

[pepperminttea]

I have sometimes left heavy pre-wash oilings in for days, unintentionally, if I just haven't found the time to wash my hair (a general morning shower takes me ten minutes, put hair washing into that equation and it's a lot longer, both during and after). With coconut oil it often becomes a bit crunchy if left that long, but after a wash my hair feels better than it would've been without it.

Actually during oiling, it feels soft, my hands glide over it easily, and even my dry ends cooperate more. It shines more, but after several days it can attract more than it's fair share of little bits of fluff and dust, even kept in updos.

[christine1989]

I'm about to do one now! I use castor on my scalp and coconut on the length and suprisingly it makes my hair feel really light when it is on. I let it soak for 1-2 hours then wash it out with a minimal amount of shampoo (non SLS). Afterwards my hair feels nice but I get frizzies from using shampoo so I apply a few drops of jojoba and that seems to take care of the frizz.

[Dr. Girlfriend]

I use argan oil on my hair. Makes it feel so soft and smells so good. I also notice that it helps with the flyaways and dry ends.

[MissCoco]

Light oilings don't do much for me either. I always do heavy oilings with coconut oil, almond oil and castor oil, sometimes with a bit of honey, wheat germ oil and olive oil mixed in. If I don't add the honey/wheat germ/EVOO mix, my hair feels a lot lighter and very smooth/sleek. It's also important to notice how well hair absorbs an oil; mine soaks it up by the next day and even feels dry after several days.

However, if I add the honey mix in, my hair hardens and becomes really stiff/crunchy! But for some reason, my hair actually likes honey a lot! :p

ETA: Oops, I forgot to add that I put shea butter on my ends and hairline every once in a while as well. It makes my hair "stuck together" during the oiling, but smooth and soft after washing. I only use shampoo with sulfates/cones, so that helps (conditioner does not work at all with my hair, especially with heavy oils/butter/honey)

[jera]

My hair is dry but hates heavy oilings. It actually repels oil so the oil sits on top during an oiling like a disgusting greaseball. :(

This is why I've opted to substitute heavy oiling for light oiling and doing them more frequently. ;)

[MNoelH]

Gross. I haven't figured out how to get the oil out with a CO wash. Last time I did a heavy oiling with jojoba, I had to CO wash three times because every time it dried, it was still a greaseball.

[virgo75]

I've done heavy oilings using Coconut Oil & Olive Oil.

With both my hair becomes silky while wet with oil.
After I wash my hair is generally less frizzy and retains moisture better.

I'm not sure what others qualify as a 'heavy' oiling but I do mine like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV4Q4l_FgZ4

I pour it on until it's almost(or literally) dripping off of my hair and running down my face and neck. For some reason it makes a BIG difference when I do it like this as opposed to pouring some into my hand and then trying to massage it into my hair. I do that for light oilings in between washings - usually at night before I go to bed.

I've also found that my hair likes Parachute Coconut Oil better than the Spectrum Organic Unrefined kind I get from Whole Foods. With the former my hair is soft and silky, with the latter my hair gets hard and crunchy. I don't know why. :shrug:

Edited to add: I have never left a drippy heavy oiling on for days because it's messy. I've left it on overnight once with my hair wrapped in plastic followed by a towel, but it still got on everything while I slept. :shake: So now I only leave it on during the day until I feel like washing.

To the OP - have you done oilings without the shea butter? My hair hates shea butter and gets that rubbery feeling that you described so it may be that.

Hope that helps. :flower:

[Kristin]

MNoelH- Maybe you need to leave the conditioner in longer, or use a lighter conditioner?

I can get pretty much any oil out with CO, except castor oil. Sometimes I do light oilings, but I think heavy makes more of a difference. I leave the conditioner on for a few hours, overnight, or for a couple of days. When oiled, my hair feels smooth and does not tangle and is very shiny. I think coconut oil saved the last 2-3 inches of my hair as I was contemplating a cut last fall before I started oiling. My ends are super soft now!

[MNoelH]

Interesting. I think I'm headed in for another wash right now because the oil isn't gone yet.

[Carolyn]

I'm using camellia or coconut oil now. I believe the yellowish oils such as EVOO, grapeseed or avocado oil were contributing to my hair going golder/brassier. Now I only use clear oils and my color has been staying nice and ashy. I'll leave a heavy oiling in over night or I'll get lazy and decide not to wash it the next day and it will be on my hair for a couple of days. It doesn't do anything harmful. It collects dust but that washes out. My hair feels like its dirty and sebumy and looks like I haven't washed it for a week. If I'm home I don't mind that at all. I oiled it last night with about 2t of camellia oil. It had almost all soaked in this morning. It just looked like dirty hair. So I added another teaspoon of camellia oil and braided it. That has pretty much all soaked in now. I'll CO it out in the morning. If I have a lot of oil in my hair like this, I always plan to leave my CO conditioner in at least an hour if not longer. I glob it all over my hair and work it in to the length and make sure it's covering my scalp. I do that as soon as I get up. Then I go about my morning activities for at least an hour and rinse it out. It's never failed to get all the oil out.

[MandyBeth]

My hair will try any oil. Light when wet, heavy at night, CO in shower as first part of CWC. My ends love it now that the ick is gone. But my hair is a 1b with the oil.

[MNoelH]

I'm using camellia or coconut oil now. I believe the yellowish oils such as EVOO, grapeseed or avocado oil were contributing to my hair going golder/brassier. Now I only use clear oils and my color has been staying nice and ashy. I'll leave a heavy oiling in over night or I'll get lazy and decide not to wash it the next day and it will be on my hair for a couple of days. It doesn't do anything harmful. It collects dust but that washes out. My hair feels like its dirty and sebumy and looks like I haven't washed it for a week. If I'm home I don't mind that at all. I oiled it last night with about 2t of camellia oil. It had almost all soaked in this morning. It just looked like dirty hair. So I added another teaspoon of camellia oil and braided it. That has pretty much all soaked in now. I'll CO it out in the morning. If I have a lot of oil in my hair like this, I always plan to leave my CO conditioner in at least an hour if not longer. I glob it all over my hair and work it in to the length and make sure it's covering my scalp. I do that as soon as I get up. Then I go about my morning activities for at least an hour and rinse it out. It's never failed to get all the oil out.

Can I ask how you go about your morning activities with all that conditioner in your hair? Maybe I'm keeping mine too wet when I do the CO wash, but mine is dripping. I pretty much just sit in the bath and soak while letting the conditioner do it's job for between 5 and 10 minutes. I guess I could knot it up and wrap a towel around it for an hour or so, but man, that sounds like a pain.

[tanya222]

Hi everyone, I use coconut oil and sometimes almond/shea butter oil and I've been using them for about a year but I'm STILL not sure if my hair loves them or hates them. How does your hair feel when you apply oil? I don't mean AFTER you wash your hair but during the oilings? I guess it could depend on your hair type and oil but my hair feels ...well oily of course, and sometimes it becomes sticky and hard and stiff. It doesn't feel nice but I put a ton of oil because I feel it doesn't work much when I put a few drops only. So is this stiffness and rubberiness normal?

I was also wondering if anyone here puts LOTS of oil on their hair and/or leaves it on for several days, not just overnight? There are some days when I can just put my hair in braids and leave it up so what I do is, leave oil on for up to four days, sometimes longer! I'm not sure if this has any benefits or not but my hair doesn't seem to be damaged or anything. After I wash my hair, my hair feels pretty good (but that could be because it's been smothered in grease for ages :p). Would love to hear what your experiences are! :)

Yes I find that shea butter makes my hair's ends sticky and hard too. You mention you use 'shea butter oil', is this different than shea butter? I've given up using shea butter in my hair and just keep it for skin use (great for dry elbows!)

And yes I put tons of coconut oil from shoulder-length on downwards, and I've recently adopted a modified scalp-only wash routine, washing my whole length only about once a week or so, or sometimes once every 2 weeks. Scalp-only every other day or so, depending on the weather and how much I've sweated :p When my hair's been 'percolating' in oil for days and I wash it out it feels real silky and smooth too! It would be nice (and cheaper) if I could be one of the ones who can get away with only using a drop or two of oil, like I've read in a thread on here about oiling, it actually mentioned using like a drop and spreading that around all through. That would be literally a drop in a bucket for me :D

[Carolyn]

Can I ask how you go about your morning activities with all that conditioner in your hair? Maybe I'm keeping mine too wet when I do the CO wash, but mine is dripping. I pretty much just sit in the bath and soak while letting the conditioner do it's job for between 5 and 10 minutes. I guess I could knot it up and wrap a towel around it for an hour or so, but man, that sounds like a pain.I put the conditioner on dry hair. I glob it on started at the roots and then the length making sure it's saturated. I take the length and make kind of a donut shape on top of my head. I kind of "frost" the donut with more conditioner. Then I cover my hair with a cheap plastic conditioner cap. You can get them at Sallys or I always take the free cheapie shower caps when I stay in a motel. I ask for an extra if I think of it. That contains all the wet hair and conditioner. Then I take a Turbie Twist towel and cover my plastic covered hair. This will sop up an drips from around the edges. It also helps retain body heat and is like a mild heat cap treatment. I put the long end of the turbie to the back. Then I use and old cotton knit scrunchie and ponytail the end of the turbie. That makes a nice snug fit and also helps prevent drips. When you put the turbie on make sure it comes just slightly over the edge of the plastic cap. Shower caps works too but I like the thinness of the conditioner caps or cheap hotel shower caps better. Turbies are available at Sallys and Bed Bath and Beyond among other places. But that's where I get mine. BB&B has some really nice ones. LisaJaney also sells them. HTH

[MNoelH]

I put the conditioner on dry hair. I glob it on started at the roots and then the length making sure it's saturated. I take the length and make kind of a donut shape on top of my head. I kind of "frost" the donut with more conditioner. Then I cover my hair with a cheap plastic conditioner cap. You can get them at Sallys or I always take the free cheapie shower caps when I stay in a motel. I ask for an extra if I think of it. That contains all the wet hair and conditioner. Then I take a Turbie Twist towel and cover my plastic covered hair. This will sop up an drips from around the edges. It also helps retain body heat and is like a mild heat cap treatment. I put the long end of the turbie to the back. Then I use and old cotton knit scrunchie and ponytail the end of the turbie. That makes a nice snug fit and also helps prevent drips. When you put the turbie on make sure it comes just slightly over the edge of the plastic cap. Shower caps works too but I like the thinness of the conditioner caps or cheap hotel shower caps better. Turbies are available at Sallys and Bed Bath and Beyond among other places. But that's where I get mine. BB&B has some really nice ones. LisaJaney also sells them. HTH

Thank you so much for the great description. I will so be trying this the next time I heavy oil.


Interesting. I think I'm headed in for another wash right now because the oil isn't gone yet.

Turns out I didn't need to wash again. I think I got it out on the second go through.