Mineral / coconut oil

[Tawnylioness]

After I shower I dry my hair a little and put mineral oil on, which makes my hair wonderful, can I put coconut oil on over the top of mineral oil or not? I would like to try make my hair stronger :)

[caadam]

I don't see why not. I'm not sure if it would make any kind different effect or anything...

Not to mention coconut oil and my hair hate each other. lol I stick to mineral oil, jojoba oil, and EVOO. They are my friends. Coconut oil is not. :D

[MeowScat]

Hmmm...that's a really good question! Whenever I used both together, it looked way too oily, but I'm prone to that anyway. :( Now I use either one or the other, but not together. But I see a lot of people here combine Oils without looking greasy. I wish I could. If you have a day or two that you don't have to leave the house, that would be the time to experiment.

I think Mineral Oil helps to seal the moisture/water in, like a protective barrier, whereas Coconut Oil penetrates. I could be completely wrong about this. I would try Coconut Oil and then put the Mineral Oil on top of that to seal it in. I think I did the Mineral Oil first, then put Coconut Oil on top of that. I'm trying to remember...

I really wish Ktani was here to answer this. Have you read her Mineral Oil Article?

Great thread idea! I'll be keeping an eye on this one to see if anyone has the answer.

[fridgee]

You definitely can do what you suggested, I frequently add a touch of coconut oil once my mineral oiled hair is dry, but you will only get surface conditioning benefits from the coconut oil rather than strengthening. If you have any coatings on your hair when you apply coconut oil (ie most conditioners, any other oils etc) then the coconut oil is denied access to the hair and can't penetrate it. I don't think it really matters that it doesn't penetrate, it's still a great surface conditioner for moisture retention and shine.

ETA: look at ktani's (I think it's called...) superstar oiling method to learn more about getting coconut oil to penetrate.

[jacqueline101]

I don't see why you couldn't.

[kitcatsmeow]

I can add a little coconut on the ends but usually 3 or 4 days after washing, before bed and in the morning it feels really soft!

[RitaCeleste]

My daughter has fine hair and it seems stretchy when wet so I got her a protein treatment product. Its not an overly strong one, just a 2 min reconstructor. I make her shampoo, do the treatment, rinse, deep condition one or twice a month and this reduces her tangles and makes her hair stronger. If hair ever seems too dry or brittle, we skip it and just oil and deep condition. Coconut oil hasn't really replaced a protein treatment for her hair. A lot of people hear it helps retain the protein and they think it might.

[afu]

in my opinion you would be better off doing it the other way around, coconut oil followed by mineral oil - that way you are more likely to get some of the penetrating effects of coconut as well as the surfaace condition/protection

[Long_hair_bear]

I'm not sure as I use coconut oil as a prewash. Worth a shot though. :-)