It stinks to be beautiful?!?

[ladonna]

Since I've joined LHC my hair is looking awesome, but it now longer smell's pretty. I mix coconut oil with some of my kids baby shampoo, my hair looked amazing and almost blindly shiny:D. But it stink's. So last night out of frustration I used my old pantene shampoo, so now my hair smell's great but looks dull and is flat. So is there any way to make my hair smell better? Or does it stink to be beautiful?

[AnnaJamila]

I perfume my hair a lot, you can also add escential oil to regular oil. Ylang-ylang, rose, lavendar, jasmine, orange blossom, the list goes on in regards to that!

One blend I really like is 5 drops of rose, 2 drops of sandlewood, 1 drop of clove and 1 drop ylang-ylang added to a small bottle of oil. You can add more if you like. Also you can perfume your hair with incense. That lasts FOREVER if you do it on damp hair, just put your hair so the smoke covers it. Be careful of the ember, though. Lol, makes the whole house smell great!

[MissEarlGrey]

Absolutely not! My hair smells absolutely fantastic. Besides the fact that there are tons of shampoos on the market (some with amazing scents) you can always purchase an unscented shampoo and customize it with EO's to make your own person scent.

[racrane]

See comments above. My hair always smells very nice. I get compliments from strangers sometimes. So, no.

[Cowgirl16]

I have noticed that if I do an ACV rinse my hair has a "clean smell", my DH has even commented on it :)

[spidermom]

I have noticed that if I do an ACV rinse my hair has a "clean smell", my DH has even commented on it :)

Strange; I can't get rid of the sour vinegar smell, no matter how much I rinse (or don't rinse).

The only time I notice the scent of my hair is just after taking down a bun. Other than that, I'd say there's no scent.

[angelfell]

I sort of know what you mean. I don't think everyone likes the smell of coconut oil. I like coconuts, and therefore I like the smell. But my boyfriend hates it, he won't come near me when I'm doing a deep treatment. Of course, the small amount I put on my hair after my shower, he doesn't notice. But, if you don't like the smell, then I can see how it may seem like it smells bad to you.

Try adding essential oils like suggested above? They must smell nice.. otherwise, they wouldn't be used for aromatherapy I'd imagine :p

[Cowgirl16]

Strange; I can't get rid of the sour vinegar smell, no matter how much I rinse (or don't rinse).



Thats too bad, I love how it makes my hair feel.

I soak the ends of my hair in the cup with the diluted ACV for a minute, I add more water after I remove my ends then pour half over my head then refill the cup with water and do it one more time. The smell lasts maybe an hour :shrug:

[ladonna]

ACV smell stays in my hair too. I love the smell of coconut oil but as the day or days go by my hair start's smelling musty, my kids hair smell's the same way since I try my experiment's on them too. I'll try my rose EO mixed with EVOO in a few days when I wash again.

[ladonna]

what shampoo's are you all using?

[Xandergrammy]

I think that "stink" is in the nose of the smeller (or something like that!) I know that I would love the smell of baby shampoo and coconut oil. The scents of most commercial shampoos (especially Pantene) give me a headache and make me feel a little queasy.

[Copasetic]

Does your hair actually stink or is it just missing that Pantene perfume smell? All the baby shampoos I have tried smell really good, and coconut oil smells good, so your hair should too!

[ladonna]

I could be all in my head because when I complained to my DH he gave me his "you're crazy" face. The mixture smell's really good when I mix it, but not the same on my head. Maybe I should keep doing this shampoo method for awhile? Just to get used to it? I've only been doing it for a week so that equal 2 washes.

[mrs carol]

I use ACV every time I shampoo and the smell goes away very quickly. My hair is always soft and no bad smell.

[QueenJoey]

I know what you mean. My hair smells really funky, even my brother notices.

[Lianna]

I can endure some temporary stink (don't like the smell of castor oil). I got some jasmin essence to mask some odors but need something to measure it. I also got the edible vanilla essence, it works too. :p

[ladonna]

Ok so I conditioned, shampooed with olive oil, did avc rinse, then mixed 5 drops rose EO with some EVOO for a leave-in. And my hair smell's great!

[Yame]

No, no it doesn't. My hair smells wonderful... because I wash it, let it air dry, leave it down for the first few days and then put it up until the next wash day. On the days that my hair is up, it retains the smell really well, so each time I take it down it smells just like it did when I first washed it.

Regarding the coconut oil smell though, I do have a dilemma which I was going to post about sometime. I LOVE coconuts, love the taste and the smell. I love the smell of coconut oil even more... to me it's the best smell in the world. Every time I take some to use on my skin (I don't usually use it on my hair unless it's very humid and my hair is frizzy, or if a 'do is giving me a hard time and I need to keep strays together), I just want to keep smelling it forever... I go ahead and eat a spoonful each time because it's just so delicious, too. I just love everything about it.

But I don't like the way it smells once it's on my skin and hair! I don't know why, but by itself it's the best smell in the world, but after a few minutes on my skin or hair, it smells like something really synthetic, like a cheap lotion or something. I can't describe it.

[ladonna]

Yep you got the smell right Yame, like cheap lotion. It smells good on my kids skin, I love my little coconut cookies.

[Kibeth]

I've always hated the smell of coconut so I don't use it - it was too heavy in my hair and I hated the smell. I really like the smell of the Chagrin Valley bars and the ACV rinse made my hair smell horrid. I finally found that 1/8 teaspoon of citric acid powder dissolved in warm water makes the perfect, odorless rinse. I've also been using some grapeseed oil mixed with rose essential oil. Now my hair smells slightly of the Chagrin Valley and roses and not of the nasty ACV.

I would change all that if this - http://www.luxurylanesoap.com/ - girl would make shampoo bars scented like her TARDIS rose. I've been considering getting her conditioner just to try in the rose.

[fairytalehair]

I perfume my hair. Spritz a mist then walk thru it, it spritz the back of your hair very lightly. It hasn't harmed my hair and makes it smell fantastic (esp. when taking it down from an updo)

[tigereye]

I gotta tell you, coconut is the only thing I've ever had this problem with. I did a treatment last week, I've washed it 3 times, and there's still a bit around ear level that still stinks. Worse still, it doesn't even smell like coconut. I liked the smell when I put it in, but since attempting to wash it out, it's left a weird smell, and it's not exactly pleasant. I think the rest of my length was well conditioned enough not to to soak up as much of the oil though, and since washing the oil out it smells like my conditioner, and it's a really nice smell. I add tea tree oil to a lot of my deep treatments, so there can often be a smell off that, which is fine because I like the smell.
Essential oils can definitely help make your hair smell nice if you apply them diluted to either dry hair or just-washed wet hair.

[nellreno]

My hair really only "stinks" when its covered in sebum and I need to wash it.

The problem you're having could be:

Your coconut oil is getting old. I noticed that towards the end my previous jar of coconut oil started to smell funky, I ended up throwing it out before it was finished because I felt like it had gone bad.

The coconut oil mixed with the baby shampoo just is an odd combination that you're not used to you.

You had gotten used to your hair smelling one way from your previous products that now that you're not using those products your mind thinks your hair smells "off".

[Panth]

If you still have problems with the coconut after trying essential oils and all the other suggestions... well, you can get unscented coconut oil. Some people think it's not as good as the scented variety as it's (I think) refined, but I have been using it for nearly a year and (with the oil shampoo method) now don't need conditioner, just coconut oil.

To find unscented coconut oil, look in places that market it as a foodstuff (e.g. indian grocers) rather than health food type shops. I use the KTC brand from indian/asian grocers, mainly because it's about 1/4 of the price of coconut oil from health food shops (though that is unrefined).

[mrs_coffee]

I spritz my hair with Karma perfume from LUSH. It lingers in my hair forever (at least a day or two) and makes it smell nice.

[embee]

Perfume smells different on different skin. That's why we are so annoyed by some of the scents we buy - and probably why there are (used to be?) perfume testers in stores - so one could see if the thing smelled good *on your own skin*. It all has to do with body chemistry and how the perfume reacts with *you*.

So perhaps coconut oil is not for your skin/chemistry. There are other oils out there which might work quite nicely for you. use up the coconut oil on something else - like your kids! ;)

[Aerin]

Yeah I can't stand the smell of coconuts, so I just use the pressed coconut oil. Same consistency, it probably just lacks some minute compounds from the coconuts. Still works great. You can compare the different types (expeller pressed vs. not) here http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/faq.htm#What_are_the_differences_between_all_your_ coconut_oils I like scenting mine with a little bit of essential oils.

[see_turtle]

Maybe try argon oil? I love it's smell! I use herbal essences the blue one and my hair keeps the smell all day. I think I have a heightened sense of smell though my vision is quite bad and it compensates. The only smell I hate in my hair is smoke or food cooking smells. Bleh.

[TrudieCat]

Coconut oil can sort of go bad in hair. I don't use straight coconut oil in my hair anymore because it ends up smelling almost... musty and dank, like an old basement. Not the smell I am going for, lol. It's possible that this is what's happening.

Jojoba oil is technically a wax, will not absorb, and will not go bad in your hair. It smells sort of mossy to me. Argan oil will absorb and smells nice and sort of nutty to me; I have not found that it goes "off" in my hair.

You also might like a pre-mixed scented oil blend, like Nightblooming Triple Moon oil or Jessicurl oil.

[ladonna]

Thanks for the suggestions. LHC is like a foreign language! My hair still smell's good this morning, so I guess I'll be sticking with olive oil for awhile. Especially since I'm on a budget. I also just figure out all the s&c that I can use.

[ladonna]

My hair grew 3 inches in less than a month! Is this from the castor oil and coconut oil? I just measure my 7 yr old hair, it was cut to BSL 2 months ago and is now only an 1.5 inches from her waist, everything I do to my hair I do to my kids.

[embee]

Sounds to me you made an error in your first measure. Three inches in a month is bizarre, unless you mean 3 inches over three different people! ;)

You're quite correct that LHC is a foreign language - there's more things on here that I never heard of before, it quite boggles my mind! ;D

[Thinthondiel]

I gotta tell you, coconut is the only thing I've ever had this problem with. I did a treatment last week, I've washed it 3 times, and there's still a bit around ear level that still stinks. Worse still, it doesn't even smell like coconut. I liked the smell when I put it in, but since attempting to wash it out, it's left a weird smell, and it's not exactly pleasant. I think the rest of my length was well conditioned enough not to to soak up as much of the oil though, and since washing the oil out it smells like my conditioner, and it's a really nice smell. I add tea tree oil to a lot of my deep treatments, so there can often be a smell off that, which is fine because I like the smell.
Essential oils can definitely help make your hair smell nice if you apply them diluted to either dry hair or just-washed wet hair.

I, too, find that coconut oil (or coconut milk) leaves an unpleasant smell. But then I can't really stand that coconut smell, so I hate it when it lingers and I have to smell it on my hair. Which is why I don't use it anymore.

I use the Body Shop Rainforest Moisture shampoo and conditioner, and I like the smell of those.

Back when I was doing WO, I actually got a compliment on the smell of my hair from a guy who didn't know I only "washed" my hair with water. :p

[ladonna]

Sounds to me you made an error in your first measure. Three inches in a month is bizarre, unless you mean 3 inches over three different people!



Yes I'm still trying to figure it out, maybe it'sbecause my hair isn't so coarse and frizzy. I couldn't even french braid or put it in a pony tail, now I can bun it and french braid it once again.

[Lianna]

There's a member here who can grow 3 inches in a month, so isn't impossible.

[cmg]

It stinks to be beautiful?!? He he, today this is true for me. I'm sitting here with an oil treatment of Amla-oil and a dash coconut oil. It smells horrible I think. I will sit this one out though, I hope it washes out.


Strange; I can't get rid of the sour vinegar smell, no matter how much I rinse (or don't rinse).
I so know what you mean! The smell dissapears as the hair dries up, but as soon as I take a step outside the hair starts to stink again from the ACV. I have also tried white vinegar, but this stinks too. I think the smell sticks to people with porous or somehow damaged hair. I have tried alot of stuff and now I'm using oak bark extract from the aquarium trade. It is completely odourless and does the trick! A few drops in the rinsing water and thats it. No build ups.

I buy unscented coconut oil at the thai food store. The cheapest jars. It doesn't smell anything on the hair. It has a faint coconut scent in the jar. Like embee said, how the scents reacts on the skin has to do with body chemistry and diet and so on.

Karma from Lush? Love that too! I didn't think the had it any more. I also have similar Syrimis and Earth tones from Body Shop for mixing in stuff.


Sounds to me you made an error in your first measure. Three inches in a month is bizarre, unless you mean 3 inches over three different people!
Actually, mine has grown that much from time to time. I can clearly see the roots. But let's not talk about quality *Urrgh*

Body Shop Rainforest Moisture shampoo and conditioners don't work for me. Love the smell but their new line tangles my hair immensly.

[ladonna]

Thanks for the info about other's hair growth. I know my hair grows quickly (I'm obcessing on it now) a few times I have cut my hair to about 1 inch under my shoulder, 9 month's later it was mid-back again. This is one of the many reason's I didn't feel bad after chopping it again, since in less than a year I will have my hair back. Hopefully this time it will be 10x healthier since I've stopped flat ironing it and am slowly learning to take care of it.

[Artsy]

Thanks for the suggestions. LHC is like a foreign language! My hair still smell's good this morning, so I guess I'll be sticking with olive oil for awhile. Especially since I'm on a budget. I also just figure out all the s&c that I can use.

I understand what smell you are describing exactly. I know this since I was using coconut oil with baby shampoo for a while. I do not know what causes that smell, it's not even dirty hair smell. I assume you can cover it if you add essential oil to the mix. This is not from old coconut oil or anything like that. It just happens for some reason:confused:
Olive oil in shampoo is not a bad substitute, but it may weigh down hair more, it did for me

[ladonna]

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae328/ladonna_burick/Picture142-1.jpg

^^this is my hair at the start of Aug. I straightened it in this pic
And this is my hair in it's natural state this was taken tonight
http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae328/ladonna_burick/Picture143.jpg


Does that show a ton of growth or am I imagining things?

[rock007junkie]

The stink that I can't seem to get rid of is that of henna. Do you ladies use anything to mask a bit the smell of henna?

[heidi w.]

Strange; I can't get rid of the sour vinegar smell, no matter how much I rinse (or don't rinse).

The only time I notice the scent of my hair is just after taking down a bun. Other than that, I'd say there's no scent.

To you. We acclimate to our own smells, typically. But others may like how your hair smells.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

Since I've joined LHC my hair is looking awesome, but it now longer smell's pretty. I mix coconut oil with some of my kids baby shampoo, my hair looked amazing and almost blindly shiny:D. But it stink's. So last night out of frustration I used my old pantene shampoo, so now my hair smell's great but looks dull and is flat. So is there any way to make my hair smell better? Or does it stink to be beautiful?

Huh, I think that's a first. It stinks to be beautiful. Wonder if that'd be a good bumper sticker? LOL

When I wash my hair more frequently, it smells pretty derned good, even to myself. And I am the only one around usually. hee-hee.

Right now it stinks cuz it is in desperate need of washing. I'm waiting til Sunday because I have an upcoming job interview on Tuesday.

I used to oil my length after a hair wash. That might restore some shine. I waited til my hair was dry, but if you possess a fair amount of body, you may need to oil while still damp/wet.

I've never mixed coconut oil with shampoo.

I used coconut oil to oil my length. Somewhere around the Recipes board is a thread on oiling. You might consider checking that out.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

I sort of know what you mean. I don't think everyone likes the smell of coconut oil. I like coconuts, and therefore I like the smell. But my boyfriend hates it, he won't come near me when I'm doing a deep treatment. Of course, the small amount I put on my hair after my shower, he doesn't notice. But, if you don't like the smell, then I can see how it may seem like it smells bad to you.

Try adding essential oils like suggested above? They must smell nice.. otherwise, they wouldn't be used for aromatherapy I'd imagine :p

On Oiling After Shampooing:

Dry Hair Method.

You can scent your coconut oil by putting a fingernail full of coconut oil on the palm of one hand and rubbing the palms together. The friction of the palms warms it up enough to melt on both hands as a shiny sheen only visible in the ambient light. no pooling of coconut oil; it'll be too much.

Then add a drop of "scented" essential oil of your choice: ylang-ylang, orange blossom, jasmine, grapefruit oil is my personal fave. About 2 drops also rubbed between the palms.

Lean to one side and draw down the hair length; repeat the other side.

THEN detangle.

THEN Boar Bristle Brush. Only ever use on dry hair; and never for detangling. It also flattens the top of head hair, FYI. You have to do topside and underside of hair separately. For most thicknesses, BBBing does not penetrate the thickness. Don't press hard as it can cause damage. This is not a regular hairbrush.

Your hair will be shiny, and have a subtle pleasant aroma.

heidi w.

[HairFaerie]

I use the coconut oil that is meant for cooking. It does not smell like coconut. It smells like oil.
Oil can get rancid after a while. (Jojoba has a really long shelf life though).
Could your coconut oil be getting slightly rancid?

[aisha.christine]

How long does it take for coconut oil to go rancid?
I also have a problem with it coagulating. My house is kept at approximately 78 degrees Fahrenheit, how do people who live in colder climates keep their coconut oil from coagulating?

[HairFaerie]

Mine is solid most of the year. I just scrape some out and rub it between my palms and it melts. It doesn't harm it in any way. This is normal. it's the nature of it.

It would probably take a year or so to start getting rancid. Some oils much longer, some sooner.
It shouldn't smell like anything at all (or perhaps a slight "oil" smell). If it has a weird odor, it might be rancid.