coconut oil-where to find?

[feb26]

OK, I noticed in the "Show me your hair stash" thread that was recently posted that alot of the gals who are using coconut oil are using oil in a tub form..this makes me think it's creamier, more like a serum or thin cream? Have only been available to find virgin cooking oils in Vancouver and am concerned about slathering this straight on my head. Pls advise where you located the tub form of coconut oil, is cooking oil quality ok if virgin? tx..

on totally unrelated note tried braiding dampish hair before bed, woke up with lovely long braid waves this am :)

[AmericanWoman]

Cooking oil is what you're looking for, virgin preferred. Virgin smells like coconut, refined doesn't. Whether it's solid or liquid depends on room temperature. it'll melt in summer. (just like butter on a hot day)

[vanillabones]

Whole Foods is where I got my tub of Spectrum unrefined virgin coconut oil. I found it in the hair/vitamin section :)

I've also seen the same thing, different brand, at CVS in the vitamin section. There was a big tub of unrefined virgin coconut oil for the same price.

[BrightEyes7]

Cooking oil is what you're looking for, virgin preferred. Virgin smells like coconut, refined doesn't. Whether it's solid or liquid depends on room temperature. it'll melt in summer. (just like butter on a hot day)

Virgin and refined are two different things. I've seen Virgin Refined Coconut Oil.

You can find it at most stores, most likely a natural foods store or a vitamin store, like GNC has it. It'll be solid below somewhere around 75*F and will be anywhere from mush to liquid any higher. I have never tried unrefined, but I don't believe it makes a difference what kind you use.

[Anje]

A decent alternative, if you can only find it in a bottle format (Parachute brand is like that, perhaps because it's meant for an Indian market where it would normally be liquid?), you can melt it and squeeze some into a wide-mouth plastic container. That's my usual MO, even when I get tubs. They're just too big.

Definitely get the stuff that's meant for cooking and eating. You'll rarely find real coconut oil among the hair products.

[allmixedup88]

I buy mine from health food stores & I've seen it sold at Vons

[pixiestar]

http://www.coconoil.co.uk/organic-coconut-oil.html

This is where I get mine. Pure Virgin organic coconut oil, its sold and only liquid when it gets to 72degrees I think:D

[Roseate]

..this makes me think it's creamier, more like a serum or thin cream?

Coconut oil isn't really creamy; it's either liquid or a stiff semi-solid, depending on the temperature. Like PP's said, the cooking kind is totally fine.

But if you want something a little creamier, you can whip it up with other ingredients; there are recipes around here. I've tried both of these (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=4586) recipes (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=10275) and liked them.

[Annibelle]

I bought a tub for about $4 USD. Mine is from the ethnic hair section of Walmart, but definitely read the ingredients before you buy-- a lot of things advertised as "coconut oil" in that section also have things like petroleum in them! Mine is in a tub; it's a soft solid. Once you put your fingers on it, though, it melts. I prefer the solid because it's much less messy and it's easier to regulate and measure how much you use, but there's nothing wrong with the liquid; in fact, my Indian friend who used to have knee-length hair used exclusively the liquid kind. She massaged it on her scalp every night. I tried it and it was TERRIBLE for my hair to do it nearly that often, but once she STOPPED doing that, her hair stopped growing nearly as fast... apparently, the coconut feeds nutrients to your follicles. Anyway, it made a mess of my hair, so I use coconut on only my ends.

Good luck finding something that works for you! I :heart: coconut, though!