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How To Use Coconut Oil As Hair Conditioner + 3 Reasons Why You Should
If you're looking for a deep hair conditioner that's chemical-free, look no further than virgin coconut oil. It's one of the best hair conditioners and if it's virgin and organic, it's chemical free and natural. Coconut oil is one of the best natural treatments for hair. It's been used by indigenous people around the world, from South America, Africa, India and Asia. It brings back the softness to your hair thanks to its bountiful medium chain triglycerides (or fatty acids).
So why might you use it in the place of your normal conditioner? While other conditioners work from the outside in, coconut oil is able to work from the inside out. It's an excellent conditioner and helps in the re-growth of damaged hair as it stimulates blood circulation in the scalp. Here's why—with an easy explanation of how at the bottom.
Coconut oil keeps your hair full (and won't make it fall out).
It's well established that coconut oil is high in antioxidants, which helps to prevent free radical damage to the body, including heat and environmental damage. Most conditioners on the market use processed vegetable oils that actually create free radicals and are completely stripped of their original antioxidant power, causing hair to lose protein and fall out over time. One of the reasons behind hair loss is microbial action on the scalp and hair roots.
So, to protect hair against them, what we need is an antimicrobial agent. Lauric acid1 in coconut oil is one of them. It's basically a triglyceride which yields a monoglyceride called Monolaurin, an excellent antimicrobial.
Coconut oil provides relief from dandruff.
Coconut oil nourishes the scalp because the oil is a natural antifungal, antimicrobial, antibacterial and has soothing properties. It can also offer relief from dandruff conditions. Dandruff is often caused by an internal fungal condition that reaches the scalp, called candida overgrowth. With regular use, coconut oil can kill the fungus in the scalp and dandruff issues can be eliminated.
Coconut oil is readily absorbed into the skin and when applied to the scalp, it is absorbed into the blood for a quick dose of a powerful natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial which builds immunity. For additional benefits, the oil can be applied to the entire body instead of using chemical-based lotions. Just apply a teaspoon or two from head to toe after your shower, rub it in, and let it absorb a few minutes before toweling off.
Coconut oil provides deep conditioning.
Coconut oil's fatty acids have a unique molecular structure that penetrates easily into the hair shaft2. A hair is just like a hose or a tube. It is hollow from inside. Coconut oil fully penetrates this hollow space (the hair shaft). This allows the nourishing oil to penetrate your hair's shaft—and literally brings deep conditioning from within reducing the loss of internal moisture.
How to use coconut oil as a conditioner:
For deep hair conditioning, use a teaspoon or two of unrefined (virgin) coconut oil on damp hair and leave it in as long as possible. Coconut oil is solid at room temperature so warm it to liquefy it. Make sure to massage the scalp to allow blood circulation. Once you have saturated all of your hair, wrap a towel or something around your head and leave it for one to two hours to see results right away.
Then fully rinse you hair and wash with shampoo. Note that coconut oil can stain fabric, so be sure to protect your clothes and bedding if sleeping with it on your head overnight. This deep conditioning can be done as often as once a week and you may need to wash your hair a couple times to remove all of it.
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