Hair can't breathe when oiled?

[krazykirsty07]

A lot of people here oil their hair, what i'm confused about is, you know when you wear nail polish for a while and then remove it your nails are kinda yellow cos they can't breathe...right? :confused: so when the hair is covered in oil, surely it can't breathe then either? Probably a stupid question but i thought i'd ask anyway =D

[kyandii]

I thought that the yellowing nails is from pigmentation in the polish.

[CurlyZ]

Hair and nails are dead cells. So nothing breaths.
The discoloration on the nail is from pigments in the nail polish.

[Madora]

Oiling doesn't hurt your hair as far as sitting on it is concerned. What can effect your hair is getting rid of the oil..depending on how much you used, and what you use to get it out of your hair.

I learned that a "less is more" approach as far as Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) overnight treatment is concerned, is the way to go.

[jojo]

Hair doesnt have airways or lungs so cannot breath, the follicle is the only living part of the hair, that needs oxygen which it gets from our blood supply.

don't worry oiling is great for the hair and welcome to LHC nice to have you aboard!

[jaine]

A base coat will prevent your nails from yellowing when you wear polish.

[Amber_Maiden]

I don't think so... I think oiling hair is fine.

[NotInPortland]

Hair doesn't breathe, it's dead so no worries.

[ktani]

It is not a stupid question at all. ETA: I do not think any question is stupid. It is not about hair needing to breathe. It is about moisture (water) having access to hair, not just getting it wet and the hair holding moisture but moisture from air too. Skin gets drier too when exposed to indoor heating and air conditioning or climates with no humidity.

It is just that you are confusing sealing wth what an oil can do on the hair.

Nail polish seals the nail suface but your nails grow and while nail polish can make nails more dry with added nail polish layers, the nail polish usually wears off or chips.

The yellow staining is residual dye.

Oil does not seal hair on its own. If the hair has a lot of build-up on it and oil is used over that, less moisture can access the hair from the air.

Water vapour can still access oiled hair which can often take the form of frizz.

Even silicone does not completely seal the hair.

[teal]

A base coat will prevent your nails from yellowing when you wear polish.

This.

Also, if you consider it, your nails sit on the nail bed whereas hair only attaches to the head at the follicle. Nail polish is a sort of shellac, whereas oils are less solid. The two aren't analogous. No amount of oil is going to suffocate your scalp - you'd have to shellac your head to get close and even then it'd probably crack and let some air in. I don't think you've got anything to worry about. :)

[ktani]

True - use a basecoat before nail polish.

I learned that the hard way when I did not and applied a beautiful polish to my toenails years ago. When I removed it with nail polish remover I had what I called nicotine coloured toenails - not cool. The dye seeps into the nail bed otherwise.

It washed out eventually.

[blondie9912]

Like others mentioned, hair is composed of dead cells. The only think that needs to breathe is your scalp :)

Also, the yellowing of nails is typically from dark polish, and is caused by ingredients/tints in the nail polish, not from your nails 'not being able to breathe'. We've all heard stuff like this so I don't blame you for believing this myth, I just think the people we hear this from throw around terms like 'breathe' without really realizing what it means :p

[jojo]

I hate it when nail varnish does this, mine are orange from henna glossing at the moment ha ha!!