how do YOU use coconut oil?

[laurarvt]

So far I'm loving the coconut oil I bought, but I've been experimenting on the best way to use it. I was under the impression from the stickies that most use it very sparingly on dry hair, but I haven't gotten that down yet....my hair starts to look too greasy.

Any other tips or tricks? Thanks!

[Raiscake]

I apply mine on towel-dried hair. You don't need a lot. Just enough to give your palms that sheen, and maybe a little extra on the ends. I find that coconut oil works better for me on wet/damp hair.

[racrane]

Because I have fine, blonde hair, I use it as leave-ins on the ends only. I sometimes will use a little on the rest of my hair occasionally other times as well, but always a leave-in. My hair is much more shiny now. I like it. :)

[Copasetic]

Lately I have been using it straight out of the shower. I finger comb a pretty large amount through my hair before I add my leave in and curl creams. It's been helping me to get better curl definition.

I also put a bit in before bed once in a while.

[ALYSSA]

Mine works best on wet/damp hair as well.I use it sparingly on my ends when dry once in a while. About once a month(more like when ever I feel like it) I soak my hair in coconut oil overnight and wash in the morning. My hair feel more moisturized and shiney. When my hair was more damaged I needed it more often on my dry ends.Now that my hair has little to no splits at all and my ends arent very dry anymore i find that less is more. The less I do to my hair the better :)

[Khiwanean]

I use it on dry hair. I add a little at a time until my hair is smooth, shiny and easy to run my fingers through, but not greasy. I'll also do this as a pre-shower treatment, but then I use more. I've only ever had a problem washing it out when I melted too much coconut oil in the microwave and decided to put all of it in my hair anyway.

[angleofdeth]

I use it on dry hair. I hit the last 10-12" or so with a fair amount (but not enough to look greasy) then work the leftover through the rest of the length. I put the barest amount on the crown to tame the new wild hairs. lol

[rachelily]

I use the oil-shampoo method. I pour a little bit in my hand (our apartment is so hot because we don't have AC so my jar is always liquid!) and mix about an equal amount of shampoo into it in my palm, and apply to my length. It lathers SO MUCH! And my hair has no tangles. I do not use conditioner. It took a teeny bit of time for my hair to adjust to this, but it dries much faster (lauric acid in coconut oil can actually penetrate cuticle of hair unlike other oils with larger molecules, so your hair soaks up less water and more oil) and gives my hair more volume.

If you haven't read about the oil-shampoo method, check out the thread somewhere on here. It's amazing!

[redwoman]

I bought refined coconut oil so there was no odor to it. I then bought lemon oil and lavendar oil and put in 1part lavendar oil to 2 parts lemon oil. Now it smells lovely. I put three drops in my hand per day, rub my palms together and apply mostly to my ends and the last 6 inches. On the fourth day I wash with my cruelty free lavendar shampoo and condish with suave lavendar and sweet pea cone free. It works. By the fourth day my hair is starting to look stringy and the oil has soaked into the shaft.

[tinywife]

I never could put it directly on my hair. No matter how little I used, it wound up greasy-looking. But I've found that a few drops in my shampoo (or conditioner, now that I CO) works just fine.

[sun-kissed]

I rub it into my palms and apply it to the length right after my shower, then again later if it still is frizzy after it dries. And then I add as much to my ends as I feel they need that day.

[loveandwaves]

I apply mine on towel-dried hair. You don't need a lot. Just enough to give your palms that sheen, and maybe a little extra on the ends. I find that coconut oil works better for me on wet/damp hair.

Exactly!

At first I tried on completely dry hair, but I do find it works better when my hair is 80% dry or so.

-LoveandWaves

[scotty810]

I bought some coconut oil for cooking and put so much in my hair till it was dripping off.

yeah never tried that again, must have smelt like a coconut for a week,

[swetiepeti]

before I shampoo I put a couple of drops at a time until the ends look a bit stringy (takes about a teaspoon for me) then comb and the use BBB to distribute.

After CO washing, while just towel dried, put one or two drops on my palms, rub my hands together then do the underside at the nape and the ends, then using the last bit of sheen on the ears down.

[Lollipop]

Although I can deal with the smell of coconut oil in the jar, I hate the way it mixes with my body heat and hair:mad:. I haven't tried it wet (I'll get around to it...) and I rarely use it on my ends in between washes. I personally do heavy coconut oil soaks before I wash my hair. I do this every 2-3 washes out of sheer laziness, and while CO has done a good job of getting the oil out, I'll find out how my shampoo bars do tomorrow.

[Pierre]

I mix a gram or two in my perfume, which is mostly jojoba, spray a bit on my palm, rub it on the other palm, and spread over my hair.

[rachelily]

I bought some coconut oil for cooking and put so much in my hair till it was dripping off.

yeah never tried that again, must have smelt like a coconut for a week,

Hahaha this is exactly what I did. I put in so much that my hair looked like straw. I had to do multiple shampoos before it was all out :(

[Avital88]

i apply very sparely on towel dry hair, i only use it dry if im gonna wash my hair within 24hrs and i dont mind the greasyness.
Rather use a bit less so u can apply more than having to walk around with greasy hair for a few days..
oh i hate when that happens and i dont like to was my hair more than twice a week.
Good luck with the oil, its super stuff

[kdaniels8811]

Start with a drop - yes, one drop - rubbed on your palms and smoothed over your hair, paying attention to the length. You can always add another drop and repeat. The biggest mistake folks do is to use too much. The stuff is great when used sparingly.

[IanB]

I use it the night before a wash, massaging into the scalp and hair shafts.

[gracenotes]

Most of the time, I rub a little bit between my palms and spread it over dry hair. Sometimes I use it on wet or damp hair, too: it makes my hair very soft, but a little too fluffy if I'm leaving it down. I also put a fairly generous amount on the end of my sleeping braid. I don't usually use it for deep treatments, but sometimes I do use a little but more than usual the day before a wash and it seems to work really well. :) I did notice that it seemed to take my hair a while to "get used to" the coconut oil, no matter how I used it.

[teal]

The majority of the time I use it to coat dry, damaged ends when they're looking or feeling especially dry. Other times I put more in before washing, or use a bit after a shower as a leave-in. I credit coconut oil with allowing me to survive this long without getting a trim! (15 months and counting... I'm hoping to make it to Christmastime before having a proper cut) The ends are in reasonable shape - not too many splits or white dots - and the coconut oil makes it feel stronger to me.

[Luna Lavender]

Mostly I use it for heavy oilings the night before a wash.
Sometimes I use it as a leave-in, on damp hair, after washing.

[Chetanlaiho]

I do a soak as a DT, mostly for the ends since I don't think my scalp likes to be oiled that much (a looot of hair comes out). I use it on damp hair after showering and on dry hair during the week. It doesn't make my ends look good since it makes them stringy but I put it up all the time anway. It has really helped my dry ends feel much softer =)

I also use it as a body moisturizer for places that are particularly dry or need some extra attention. And I have a seperate jar that I use for cooking and on peanut butter sandwhiches xD

[rachelily]

I do a soak as a DT, mostly for the ends since I don't think my scalp likes to be oiled that much (a looot of hair comes out). I use it on damp hair after showering and on dry hair during the week. It doesn't make my ends look good since it makes them stringy but I put it up all the time anway. It has really helped my dry ends feel much softer =)

I also use it as a body moisturizer for places that are particularly dry or need some extra attention. And I have a seperate jar that I use for cooking and on peanut butter sandwhiches xD

Ooh! How do you use it in pb sandwiches? This sounds so yummy.

[heidi w.]

I don't know if the form you have is liquid or a solid. IF liquid you can place it in the frig to get it solidified. Then scrape a bit off with your fingernail, perhaps about a fingernail full, and rub between your palms of your hands. The friction will kind of melt it. You should NOT have a pool of coconut oil on your hands, but a mere smear that you can only see by tilting your hand about in the light.

Then take all the hair to one side. And smooth down the length, to the tips beginning about chin zonage. Do NOT put on top of head hair as your own sebum is plenty of "oil". (Oil being a misnomer. Sebum is a waxy ester.)

Repeat to the other side.

It takes about 3 times of using it this way to get it down to how much is the right amount for your hair type and length. Curlier hair tends to need a bit more oil, but really it needs MORE conditioner than anything else.

You can BBB the hair to work this oil in to the hair length. If you use too much, wait a day (overnight) and see how it looks the next day.

You'll figure it out. I wrote a tutorial some years back that someone was kind enough to make an article here on Oiling the hair. I always used Spectrum Naturals Coconut Oil -- for use on hair and skin. They make a kind for use on hair and skin. Check out their website, and look under Beauty section.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

I went to try and find my Oiling Tutorial but I can't find it. It was posted on my behalf by another member some years back. There are, however, quite a few oiling tutorial and info under Articles. If you're new, you may not be able to see this area of the website until you're 101 posts in.

heidi w.
FYI BBB = Boar Bristle Brush, and this is not for detangling the hair. Hair must already be detangled to use, and never use on wet hair.

[slo2gro]

i use it as a leave in condish

[CitznMag]

I co-wash and was using it alone (applying straight coconut oil on towel-dryed hair, root to tip) on my 3b-c hair. Lately, I have been mixing coconut oil with my conditioner and using it as a leave-in. So far very pleased with results. My hair is nicely defined without being crunchy and I have decent 2nd and 3rd day hair with a little water spritz and conditioner.

[l0nd0nbr1dg3]

I just put alot on before i wash my hair, sometimes bot cocnut oil and olive oil and i just soak my hair in it before im about to wash my hair. Then i leave it on a bit and wash. Maybe when my hair gets longer i will put it on the ends but right now cause my hairs shorrter than chin it just looks greasy

[Aquamarine]

I went to try and find my Oiling Tutorial but I can't find it. It was posted on my behalf by another member some years back. There are, however, quite a few oiling tutorial and info under Articles. If you're new, you may not be able to see this area of the website until you're 101 posts in.

heidi w.



Here it is! (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=71) :D

[Snowflakey]

I wash my hair at night and in the morning, I dampen it with some water from a spray bottle and then apply ONE drop evenly on the ends only. Any more than one drop makes my fine hair clump together.

[Chetanlaiho]

Ooh! How do you use it in pb sandwiches? This sounds so yummy.

I use it as butter sorta? (it says it's a healthy alternative to butter on the tub). Basically I scrape a bit off with a knife and spread it over the bread like butter (only not so much) and then I just put peanut butter on top xD I'm not a particular fan of coconut but I'm growing to like this ^_^ (I started doing it after reading about the health benefits of ingesting it).

[ashke50]

I coat my hair in it every now and then and leave it overnight before washing, and sometimes put some on the ends or run a drop over my hair.

(I bought the coconut oil for my hair, but use it far more often on my feet)

[RitaCeleste]

I use it before I wash it over night or a few hours at least. If I get it too heavy, I put my hair in a bun and leave it oily looking.

[rusika1]

I put it in my shampoo and conditioner.