Coconut oil does not penetrate hair........

[abcd09]

Or if you've been using coconut oil problem free and it suddenly started acting up, then maybe it's doing its job a little too well, and you now have a problem with protein overload.

Waiiiit...if you use too much CO it will give your hair protein overload?!?!?! There's protein in CO??perplexederplexed

 

[ZkittyKurls]

^^ i need clarification on this too...protein in co?

 

[~*~ShopAholic~*~]

I know my hair sucks CO right up but EVOO just sits there even when I Use to leave it overnight.

Sent from my Zio using Long Hair Care Forum App

 

[CurlyMoo]

You know something, I would rather coconut oil sit on my hair than mineral oil any day.

 

[Boujoichic]

I personally did not understand why so many other women had problems with coconut oil.I bought Unrefined, Expeller-pressed coconut oil from Whole Foods. The first few times I've ever used Coconut Oil were my last two washes. After freshly co-washing and detangling my hair with conditioner. I cover all my soaking wet hair and scalp in coconut oil,let it sit while I wash the rest of my body, and then I washed out the excess oil. It has left my hair soft, pliable, and stronger. When your hair is wet, it expands and the pores of the strand are open it is during this time when coconut oil can absorb into the core of the hair strand. Inside of the hair is where coconut oil works. I've never had a "crunchy" feel, but I could understand how it can be crunchy. Pure, unrefined coconut oil is solid at room temperature. If you apply coconut oil to hair that is dry or mostly dry when pores are mostly closed, it will sit on top of the hair and harden to it's solid form at room temperature resulting in the "crunchy" feeling.

This I love coconut oil and I have never experienced that crunchy feeling either. My hair is very fine and coconut oil is one of the few oils that I can use w/o my hair feeling heavy and greasy. I use it as a prepoo, sometimes as an oil rinse, sometimes to seal or for shine. I also use it on my skin I used it a lot on my stomach when I was pregnant and it worked great.

 

[westNDNbeauty]

I guess this answers the question of why when I use coconut oil days after I wash, it leaves my hair hard. But when I use it on wet hair, my hair dries soft.

Makes complete sense to me.

 

[Chaosbutterfly]

Waiiiit...if you use too much CO it will give your hair protein overload?!?!?! There's protein in CO??perplexederplexed

There's no protein in coconut oil, but it does keep your hair from losing protein. In my mind, if you're constantly doing protein treatments while using coconut oil, it would be possible for to kind of...contribute to you getting protein overload, particularly if your hair is on the protein sensitive side. Because if you're putting protein in your hair all the time and the coconut oil is keeping your hair from losing any of it, then it just seems like it your hair may eventually accumulate too much protein. Unless your hair loves or is indifferent to protein.
But that's just my theory....I don't think there's any like...real proof of that.

 

[Rae81]

i love coconut oil i use it on my hair when doing braidouts and it leaves my hair very soft, the only time i had a problem with it getting hard was when i went outside in the cold i was terrified that my hair would turn white from the coconut oil solidifying. but i just put on my hood real tight to trap in the heat and all was well.

 

[SEMO]

Thanks so much CB for reading the study and breaking down the findings in such a thorough manner. Much appreciated. It confirms my love of coconut oil is valid indeed.

My favorite parts are in bold.

I'm procrastinating on my homework, so I actually sat down and read the study in question, and this is why we need to question pretty much everything that we read. I think the person who posted this on the other board misinterpreted the findings.
The phrases in bold come from two different sections and are referring to two different things...I'm assuming that they just copy and pasted that stuff together to make their own point.

Firstly, "Coconut oil performed better as a pre-wash rather than a post-wash conditioner" was definitely not the overall finding of the study. The point of the study was to see how mineral oil, sunflower oil, and coconut oil work to prevent hair damage. The overall finding was that for damaged hair, coconut oil was best because it can penetrate the hair strand (due to the arrangement of it fatty acid bonds and it's molecular weight), and that sunflower oil and mineral oil are essentially on the same footing because neither of them can do that. I can't copy quotes because it's coming out weird, but the overall finding can be located on the first page, last paragraph of the synopsis. So that's that....coconut oil definitely penetrates the hair. If your hair is crunchy with it, your hair just doesn't like coconut oil or it's gone and frozen on your hair. Or if you've been using coconut oil problem free and it suddenly started acting up, then maybe it's doing its job a little too well, and you now have a problem with protein overload.

But going back to coconut oil performing better as a pre-wash rather than a post wash conditioner, that was referred to in the section where the scientists were testing for protein loss, not the oil's ability to penetrate. The study says that if you are using coconut oil to avoid protein loss, then it is better to use it as a pre-wash than a post wash. This is because hair loses most of its protein from the inner layers of cuticles as they open and shut. If you use coconut oil before washing, then it can sink in and lubricate the inner cuticles and make it easier for them open and shut stress free. The study also assumed that people wash their hair with hot water, and they used boiling water for their experiments. If you don't use hot water in your regimen, then this may not even apply to you, because your cuticles wouldn't even be opening so much. But anyway, using it after washing is less effective because by then, the cuticles have already opened...putting oil on them at that point is kind of a little too late. If you look at the chart, it will still be good, but just not as good as putting them on before. All of that can be found on pages 11 and 12.

And as for, ""In post-wash application the oil film is on the surface with no penetration into the fiber", that quote wasn't even about coconut oil specifically. It applied to all oils in the study and came from the section where the study talked about water retention index (WRI), or how much water is in the cortex (how swollen it is) when these oils are applied pre-wash and post wash. According to the study, for damaged hair, you don't want that much water in the cortex. If the strands are constantly swelling and shrinking, your cuticles are under constant pressure and stress, which only damages them more.

The study says that when it comes to reducing the WRI, it is better to apply your oils before you wash instead of after. This is because some of the oil (the study called it "oil film" or "residue", and all oils make it) sits on top of the hair, and keeps moisture from getting out. Lol, we call this sealing.

But if you apply your oil before you wash, then it's there when the cuticles open, and it's a possibility that some of the hydrophobic molecules can get through the cuticles and keep too much water from getting into the cortex. But this part is full of "mays" and "possibles" and "must bes", so it's clear that the researchers aren't even sure of how that really works.

The bottom line is that if you don't want your cuticle all waterlogged, then pre-poo with oils. If you look at the diagram, then all the oils are effective to an extent. But coconut oil is obviously the most effective, as the hairs that were treated with it have the lowest water retention index. This is presumably because it is easier for coconut oil to penetrate the hair than it is for the other oils, so it's easier for it to keep water out. And all of that is on pages 14 - 15.

The only thing I see this study saying is that coconut oil is magical stuff. Which many people knew already. And I'm sorry for the novel lmao, but someone should tell that other person to sit down. I hate when people twist stuff up to fit their own conclusions or beliefs or whatever.

 

[virtuenow]

I'm procrastinating on my homework, so I actually sat down and read the study in question, and this is why we need to question pretty much everything that we read. I think the person who posted this on the other board misinterpreted the findings.
The phrases in bold come from two different sections and are referring to two different things...I'm assuming that they just copy and pasted that stuff together to make their own point.

Thank you for combing through the entire article and giving an in depth review. When I read the thread topic I knew something was wrong and that someone had to be mistaken. I read several articles on oils and their penetrating abilities and coconut oil always came out on top. I knew there had to be more to this and you revealed it. I did a serious coconut/alovera juice pre-poo for the first time this weekend, and now I feel more confident that I am on the right track. Thanks again!

 

[Krystle~Hime]

I personally did not understand why so many other women had problems with coconut oil.I bought Unrefined, Expeller-pressed coconut oil from Whole Foods. The first few times I've ever used Coconut Oil were my last two washes. After freshly co-washing and detangling my hair with conditioner. I cover all my soaking wet hair and scalp in coconut oil,let it sit while I wash the rest of my body, and then I washed out the excess oil. It has left my hair soft, pliable, and stronger. When your hair is wet, it expands and the pores of the strand are open it is during this time when coconut oil can absorb into the core of the hair strand. Inside of the hair is where coconut oil works. I've never had a "crunchy" feel, but I could understand how it can be crunchy. Pure, unrefined coconut oil is solid at room temperature. If you apply coconut oil to hair that is dry or mostly dry when pores are mostly closed, it will sit on top of the hair and harden to it's solid form at room temperature resulting in the "crunchy" feeling.

every hair is different, you are very pleased with coconut, and I myself gave a try to CO and seriously, if I have to list the baddest hair experience ever, i would say : Coconut oil. i put this on my hair(wet), did a prepoo and i had so bad breakage instantaneity nono:
I had to DC every 2 days during one week for save my hair.
it's the same for some friends and my SO.
some hair likes it, some other don't.

 

[shtow]

Hmmm. My hair hates coconut oil. I haven't used it in a year and my hair has been the best it has ever been. I use my remaining oil to take my makeup off lol

 

[Embyra]

thanks for the responses guys

the other board i posted the info is here some interesting responses one sum up...


Just to spice things up a bit, I forgot I had a study abstract in my research stash.

To recap

2003 Study - coconut oil does not penetrate hair post-wash although it outperformed sunflower oil and mineral oil in both post-wash and pre-wash tests for protein loss.

2005 Study - coconut oil showed evidence of partial penetration of hair after 24 hours with no heat. Page 9

2005 Study, abstract only, http://www.ingentaconnect.com/conten...a25o.alexandra
"On the other hand, monounsaturated oils, such as olive oil, with more compact molecular structure seem to penetrate readily into the hair fiber."

Olive oil did not do well in the other 2005 study. Pages 3, 4, 10 and 11. http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc2...283-p00295.pdf Facinating!


Coconut oil does not penetrate hair........ - The Long Hair Community Discussion Boards

 

[Fine 4s]

I've always preferred using CO on damp hair. In fact any oil for that matter. When I pre-poo, I dampen the hair first and then apply the oil, hopefully it penetrates despite the residue that might be on the hair prior to washing it.

It also helps me detangle during the cleansing.

 

[islanchile]

every hair is different, you are very pleased with coconut, and I myself gave a try to CO and seriously, if I have to list the baddest hair experience ever, i would say : Coconut oil. i put this on my hair(wet), did a prepoo and i had so bad breakage instantaneity

Thanks for posting this. I'm not a fan of coconut oil in my hair. Whenever I tried to use it as a sealant it would leave my hair super - yes - crunchy. And I used expeller pressed, unrefined coconut oil. After reading this thread I thought I'd give it a try as a prepoo figuring maybe I'd get a different result. But after reading your statement, maybe I should just come to terms with the fact that my hair just doesn't like coconut oil. The end.

 

[Vashti]

Yeah, different strokes for different folks I guess. I never use it when the weather is cold because it's hard but I use it all the time in warm weather in my hair and it leaves my hair almost shiny and glossy. I use it to seal in moisture usually right after a shampoo and deep condition.

 

[SpyCats]

Coconut oil doesn't love my 4b hair. It leaves my hair crunchy and when I prepoo with it or oil rinse, I find that my hair is difficult to detangle while soaking wet with conditioner.

Any 4b's having the same issue with CO? Any 4b's that have no problems with CO, could you please tell me what you are doing...I may be doing something wrong.

 

[chasturner84]

every hair is different, you are very pleased with coconut, and I myself gave a try to CO and seriously, if I have to list the baddest hair experience ever, i would say : Coconut oil. i put this on my hair(wet), did a prepoo and i had so bad breakage instantaneity nono:
I had to DC every 2 days during one week for save my hair.
it's the same for some friends and my SO.
some hair likes it, some other don't.

Hmmm. My hair hates coconut oil. I haven't used it in a year and my hair has been the best it has ever been. I use my remaining oil to take my makeup off lol

Coconut oil doesn't love my 4b hair. It leaves my hair crunchy and when I prepoo with it or oil rinse, I find that my hair is difficult to detangle while soaking wet with conditioner.

Any 4b's having the same issue with CO? Any 4b's that have no problems with CO, could you please tell me what you are doing...I may be doing something wrong.

I'm right there with you guys. I purchased EVCO earlier this year and my hair HATED it. It left my hair feeling like straw on both wet and dry hair. I really wanted to like it so I tried it different ways: as a pre poo , a hot oil treatment , mixed with conditioner . On the other hand, EVOO makes my hair feel like butter. We shall never part.

 

[Junebug D]

I don't like it either. The only time I find it good to use is as a pre-poo or as an oil rinse somewhere between washing and conditioning. For day-to-day sealing, I find avocado oil to be much more pleasant and effective. 4b, cold winters.

 

[teacherjess]

I add about 1 oz of EVCO to my moisturizing deep conditioner and then get under the dryer; it works great. My hair always comes out very shiny, soft, and extremely manageable. This is the only step in my routine where I use the coconut oil but this has proven to be the most beneficial

 

[Irresistible]

Coconut oil

 

[AfroKink]

Coconut oil doesn't love my 4b hair. It leaves my hair crunchy and when I prepoo with it or oil rinse, I find that my hair is difficult to detangle while soaking wet with conditioner.

Any 4b's having the same issue with CO? Any 4b's that have no problems with CO, could you please tell me what you are doing...I may be doing something wrong.

I'm a 4b and my hair seems to like it. I use it on dry hair around my edges and I use it to 'seal' after moisturizing. I've never tried it as a pre-wash, but now I plan to.

I wonder how this research applies to someone with 4b hair because our cuticles then to naturally be more raised that people with natural straight hair (Indians).

 

[Priss Pot]

I've tried coconut oil a few different ways. The best for me has been overnight, before shampooing. I just did that this morning, and my hair was so soft after shampooing, yet still felt clean. I believe it does penetrate the hair.

I have tried using it as a "conditioner" sort of, like right after a shampoo but it didn't have any slip (whereas I've tried this method before with EVOO, and it worked).

I do love putting coconut oil in my hair when it's straightened also, makes it soft and non-greasy. It also serves as a great moisturizer in the summer-time when butters are often too heavy.