The Benefits Of Coconut Oil For Hair : Sometimes the best beauty products are the simplest. Coconut oil can give hair hydration, lustre, and no flakiness, but many find it as effective as even the most expensive products. “During COVID, I started experimenting and using natural products and I was using coconut oil on my hair once a week,” explains famous extensionist Priscilla Valles. “The hydration and shine is beyond amazing.”
The Benefits Of Coconut Oil For Hair
Applying coconut oil to dull hair makes sense. The 100% unsaturated fat oil comes from raw, mature coconuts. Coconut oil’s fatty acids (mostly lauric acid) can help hair when used properly. Coconut oil has limitations, but its naturalness and affordability make it worth trying, especially for people with thinning hair. Celebrity hairstylist Andrew Fitzsimons recommends coconut oil for dry, damaged, or color-treated hair to seal in moisture and prevent breakage.
What Are the Benefits of Coconut Oil for Hair?
Coconut oil works like magic for naturalists. The oil can be applied directly to soothe dermatitis, swished around the mouth to help gums and teeth, and added to a nutritious diet. Naturally, the effective oil has many mane benefits.
Fitzsimons recommends coconut oil for its nourishing fatty acids, which moisturise, prevent breakage, and strengthen hair. Coconut oil lowers protein loss in damaged and healthy hair, research shows. It penetrates the hair shaft to hydrate it, making strands softer, shinier, and more textured.
Coconut oil is a scalp health hero since it moisturises, fights fungal and inflammatory diseases, and strengthens hair. The oil treats fungus and flaking temporarily and may rebuild the scalp’s moisture barrier over time, according to study.
Can Coconut Oil Damage Hair?
Coconut oil can fix many hair issues, however application variables should be considered before applying it.
Illeisha Lussiano, hairstylist and proprietor of New York’s The Way, calls it her arch nemesis because she has fine hair. “Fine hair often becomes brittle and breaks.” Due to natural texture or overuse, coconut oil cannot penetrate hair, causing these unwanted effects. “Be careful not to use it in excess,” Fitzgerald warns. The opposite effect of what you want is coconut oil sitting on top of your strands, preventing important nutrients from penetrating the shaft and leaving your hair dry and brittle.
Coconut oil applied too freely or without strategy can leave hair looking greasy and uncared for, even if breaking does not occur.
Unrefined Coconut Oil versus Refined Coconut Oil
Beauty-ready coconut oil should be unprocessed or virgin. Unrefined, unadulterated coconut oil is made from fresh, chemical-free coconut fruit.
Like green juice, cold-pressed coconut oil is closer to the source and its advantages than dried, chemically-treated coconut oil.
How to Apply Coconut Oil to Hair
It may take some trial and error to get the best coconut oil hair treatment. Start with little amounts and allow time for restyling. One person’s high-shine hack may be another’s hyper-greasy hair day.
Coconut oil should be rinsed off after usage for most treatments, except for a little amount used as a style oil. Try an overnight mask or scalp treatment to observe how your hair reacts. Here are five simple ways to use coconut oil on your hair.
Coconut Oil Hair Mask
Fitzsimons uses coconut oil—or products containing it—as a DIY sleep mask instead of a finisher.
“One of my favourite ways to use coconut oil is as an overnight leave-in to nourish and condition dehydrated locks,” adds Fitzsimons. Take a coconut oil mask and apply a tiny, even amount to your hair and scalp. Leave it on overnight and rinse in the morning. Fitzsimons recommends using it weekly for strong, moisturised hair. When masking overnight, use a shower cap since coconut oil might discolour cloth.
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Pre-Wash Protection
Coconut oil also works for pre-wash hair. Fitzsimons believes hard water and shampooing can strip hair of natural oils and cause dryness and breakage. “Add a small amount of coconut oil to your hair pre-shower to avoid damage and dryness.” By infusing and coating strands, the oil prevents over-absorption.
Coconut Conditioner
Coconut oil works as a detangler and leave-in conditioner, but it must be rinsed out to minimise greasiness and buildup. After shampooing, apply warm (liquified) oil to lengths, wait two hours, and wash again. The double-wash makes this method optimal for thick, strong hair.
Scalp Treatment
Coconut oil massages improve circulation, reduce fungus and inflammation, and strengthen the scalp’s moisture barrier. For natural dry scalp and hair therapy, rub oil into the roots with fingertips or a scalp massager while masking or conditioning.
For Styling
Coconut oil protects against heat naturally. A little coconut oil calms frizz and flyaways, boosts shine, and hides broken ends. A pea-sized amount on wet or dry hair as a shield or finisher (or both!) apply more as your hair allows.
