Is your hair dry, brittle, treated with color, a permanent wave or a relaxer? You might consider using coconut oil for your hair.
Don’t go guzzling down coconut oil in hopes of having healthy hair, because that might not be the best thing. First make sure that you are eating a healthy diet.
Be sure that you include healthy whole fats in your diet. Whole fats consist of: seeds, nuts, avocados, olives and other fruits and vegetables.
You do not have to ingest several tablespoons of coconut oil to reap the benefits of coconut oil for your hair.
The first line of defense for solving hair issues is through your diet. However, coconut oil is an oil that you can use on your hair that has been proven to provide benefits for the hair.
Although hair is technically dead, you can preserve and treat your hair to improve the appearance and health of your hair by using coconut oil on your hair.
What Coconut Oil Does for the Hair
Coconut oil:
- conditions the hair and scalp
- one of few oils that penetrates the hair strands
- has a strong affinity for protein in the hair
- helps strengthen the hair.
Ways To Use Coconut Oil for the Hair
You can use coconut oil for your hair in many ways. Below are some ways you can incorporate coconut oil in your hair routine:
- Pre-Shampoo Treatment – Apply coconut oil to your hair before shampooing. The longer you let oil stay in your hair the better. You can let the oil stay in your hair for 30 minutes to an 1 hour or you can leave it in your hair overnight. Shampoo the next morning.
- Leave-In Treatment – Apply coconut oil to the hair after shampooing and proceed with styling.
- Hair Moisturizer – Applying a small amount of oil to the ends of your hair helps keep the ends of hair moisturized.
The Kind of Coconut Oil to Use
Unrefined and fractionated coconut can be used on the hair. There are differences in these two types of coconut oils.
Unrefined is often referred to as extra virgin coconut oil and it is the most common coconut oil that people use. Probably because it is accessible and cheaper.
Fractionated oil is processed by removing all the long chain fatty acids, while leaving the healthy medium chain fatty acids. This oil remains liquid even in lower temperatures.
Where To Buy Coconut Oil
You can buy coconut oil from your local grocery store, health and nutrition store, some Farmers markets, and online
Final Words
Coconut oil is a good oil for you to add to your hair care routine. You may not notice immediate results after the first use, but keep using it.
Using coconut oil as a conditioning treatment is economical, because it is not too expensive and you only need to use a small amount.
If your hair is dry, brittle or chemically treated, using coconut oil in your hair can help improve your hair. Don’t take my word for it, try it for yourself.
Additional Information
What’s the best way to apply coconut oil to hair? (The Beauty Brains)
Guide to using ingredients: Coconut Oil (The Natural Haven)
What Is Fractionated Coconut Oil (Coconut Oil Facts)
I also like to use it as a makeup remover. I occasionally oil pull or brush my teeth with it.
Hi Erin,
Thanks for sharing how you use coconut oil. I too use it for oil pulling. 🙂
Have a great weekend!
Great post, Evelyn, as usual! I love coconut oil on my hair and sometime I add some rosemary essential oil. I also do oil pulling with coconut oil. Love coconut oil! 🙂
Hi Ms. Carolyn.
Rosemary oil is good, it helps stimulate the scalp and it smells nice too. Coconut oil is a very versatile oil and is used in so many different ways. It’s good all the way around! 😉
Thanks for stopping by and sharing!
You have motivated me to try my coconut oil on my dry, colored hair ends. And Yum Yucky has got me all excited about using it to clear up my one year old eczema.
Hi Kymberly,
Great! Try it, I think you will notice a difference. 😉
Thanks for stopping by!
I use a few drops of fractionated coconut oil on my face each morning. Also recently used it to heal a case of eczema. I had tried Shea butter on my eczema with no success, but the fractionated coconut oil left me symptom-free in only 2 days. I will be trying your hair tips using the unrefined oil, which I also have a home. Thanks for your post!
Hey Lady!
Symptom-free in 2 days, now that is amazing! Gotta get me some of that!
Yes, try it for you hair; you will love it!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing the great news!
Hi Evelyn,
You’re 100% correct. I generally use oil on my hair and scalp at night, then wash it with shampoo in the morning. That certainly a great way to keep your hair healthy and stylish.
HI Bharat,
Thanks for chiming in!
Apparently, I must have the fractionated oil. I ordered it from iherb about a month ago. I have to leave it in the refrigerator until I’m ready to use it or else it liquifies. Thanks for sharing this information. I was wondering why it doesn’t seem to stay solidified. The coconut oils that I have had in the past will remain a soft solid underneath my sink. In addition to using it in my hair, I love to put it on my skin after a shower.
Hi Trinity,
In the warmer months, coconut oil will liquify and you don’t have to store it in the refrigerator, unless that’s something you want to do. Coconut oil usually gets solid in the cooler/colder months. If your home stays warm in the the winter, it might not even get solid. I’m not sure about fractionated, but I don’t think it ever gets solid, only because it is used in other products, like soaps, creams, and other oil mixtures…(I could be wrong, though) Sounds like you have extra virgin coconut oil, which is the common oil that most people find in health food stores.
I love it on my skin too! Makes the skin so soft!