Are conditioners penetrating?

[SopphireGem]

Apparently oils such as coconut oil and olive oil penetrate the hair, whilst others like jojoba oil sit on top of the hair.
So I was wondering; do conditioners penetrate the hair, or sit on top of the hair?

[ktani]

Apparently oils such as coconut oil and olive oil penetrate the hair, whilst others like jojoba oil sit on top of the hair.
So I was wondering; do conditioners penetrate the hair, or sit on top of the hair?

They are designed to work only on the surface of the hair.

ETA: http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/kaaug/how_does_hair_conditioner_work/
"The positively charged surfactants in hair conditioner are attracted to the negative charges in your hair, and do not rinse out completely with water. When the hair dries, it is coated with a thin film, which adds weight, makes the hair easier to comb, and prevents static electricity from building up and 'frizzing' the hair."

Any oil that can penetrate hair cannot penetrate hair through conditioner. That is why even coconut oil can cause "crunchy" ends when used to oil hair, on conditioned hair. Coconut oil over used on well clarified hair just makes it oily. Coconut oil can penetrate hair partially on well clarified hair, and completely with heat only, http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.ca/2012/02/more-on-oils-and-oil-shampoo.html, ETA:2 or on well clarified hair added to a non build-up shampoo.

[pepperminttea]

This is going to sound silly, but if conditioners stop things like coconut oil from penetrating the hair shaft, and the most common (I would guess) use of coconut oil on LHC is as a pre-wash treatment, that would mean it doesn't penetrate during those treatments. But what confuses me is it can still produce really nice results - how important is it that it penetrates the hair shaft? Surface conditioning would presumably work on the cuticles which protect the cortex (I think?), which seems like it would still be very desirable. I guess what I'm asking is, what are the benefits of it penetrating the hair shaft?

I'm also curious, is there a typical kind of hair that gets tested on in laboratories, in terms of hairtype? I'm just wondering about the variables between hairtypes; goodness knows I'd have no idea what to do with coarse-stranded curly hair. Do the papers written afterwards ever mention the hairtype used or the source of the test hair at all? :)

[ratgirldjh]

Yes I always found that when I used conditioner that I could still feel it in my hair when I got it wet again (or even smell it or see suds!) no matter how many times I had rinsed after I used it. Same thing goes with lotion on my skin - ick! I hate the feeling of getting my hands or body wet and feeling the lotion still there!

[HintOfMint]

This is going to sound silly, but if conditioners stop things like coconut oil from penetrating the hair shaft, and the most common (I would guess) use of coconut oil on LHC is as a pre-wash treatment, that would mean it doesn't penetrate during those treatments. But what confuses me is it can still produce really nice results - how important is it that it penetrates the hair shaft? Surface conditioning would presumably work on the cuticles which protect the cortex (I think?), which seems like it would still be very desirable. I guess what I'm asking is, what are the benefits of it penetrating the hair shaft?

I'm also curious, is there a typical kind of hair that gets tested on in laboratories, in terms of hairtype? I'm just wondering about the variables between hairtypes; goodness knows I'd have no idea what to do with coarse-stranded curly hair. Do the papers written afterwards ever mention the hairtype used or the source of the test hair at all? :)

I'm guessing that the coconut oil functions like any other type of pre-wash oil and is there to "gunk" up the hair to protect it from getting too stripped from the shampoo. I don't think oil penetrating has much to do with that.

[Littlewing13]

Hair is made up of cells which are mostly water. I dont think we really need oils to penetrate. The funtion of most oils in hair & skincare is to coat those cells to prevent moisture loss