Due to its ability to moisturize and nourish hair and prevent protein loss, coconut oil is a great go-to ingredient if you want a natural remedy for dry, brittle, damaged hair. One of the best ways to pamper your hair with coconut oil is by making and applying a hair mask.
You usually can't fully fix fried hair overnight. Depending on how damaged your hair is, your best bet may involve trimming away the damage and split ends and waiting for it to grow back. Still, you can help your hair's appearance by using moisturizing products and avoiding further damage.
It's best to section your hair off and apply the coconut oil in manageable sections to be sure that every hair is coated. Allow the oil to sit on your hair for 20–30 minutes after application. If your hair is very dry or porous, you can leave it on longer; some people like to use it as an overnight treatment.
Denis recommends keeping your coconut oil hair mask on for at least 30 minutes for a quick moisture restoration. If you feel like your hair is damaged or in need of a more long-term repair, you can sleep with it overnight too.
Do you put coconut oil on wet or dry hair? If you plan on just using a little (and only enough to smooth out flyaways), you can apply coconut oil to dry hair. Otherwise, if you want to use it as a conditioning treatment, apply it to damp hair, so it can better absorb the oil.
You can leave coconut oil in your hair for up to 30 minutes. If you have thin or highly porous hair, 15 minutes is likely enough time. If you want to use coconut oil as a hair mask or a scale treatment, and your hair type allows, leaving it in overnight occasionally shouldn't cause problems.
Using products that are designed to nourish the scalp and hair can definitely speed up this process, but on average you'd be looking at six months to a year to fully see a difference in your hair's condition.
Leave-in protein treatments with yogurt, honey, and olive oil can help restore the natural bonds in your hair so that damage is less obvious. Conditioning sprays rich in keratin can also soothe broken bonds in the hair follicles.
Fortunately, in the vast majority of cases, you can eventually grow the damaged hair out as long as the follicle itself has been preserved. The most common causes of damage are below. Damaged hair can still grow eventually, but routine damage can result in negative consequences for your hair.
Is it bad to leave coconut oil in your hair overnight? No, putting coconut oil in your hair is not bad. Coconut oil stays in your hair and penetrates into the scalp and the shafts, making it stronger and luscious. Hence, it is always good to leave it overnight and then wash it off the next day.
Does coconut oil have any negative effects on hair? Coconut oil is generally considered safe to apply to your skin and hair ( 13 ). However, using too much could cause a buildup of oil on your hair and scalp. This could make your hair greasy and dull, especially if you have very fine hair.
There are a lot of products out there — conditioners, serums, shampoos — that promise to heal and restore dry, damaged hair. Sadly, there's really no way to heal damaged hair. Hair is not a living tissue with regenerative abilities, so it can't heal. It has no nervous system, blood, or living cells.
For the most part, hair damage is permanent because hair is actually a collection of dead cells, making them beyond repair. The only real cure is time, a pair of shears, and taking steps to prevent new damage.
Rough or changed texture
Heat damaged curly hair may lose its spring and not bounce back the way it did when your hair was healthy. Damaged straight hair can go from feeling smooth and silky to feeling rough and coarse. You may even describe heat damaged hair as feeling frayed or singed at the tips.
Moisturizing dry hair and scalp
Most oils sit on the surface of the hair, but research shows that coconut oil penetrates more deeply into the hair shaft, which may lead the hair to feel softer and smoother. The oil helps fill the hair shaft, making dry and damaged hair look healthier.
Ways to Incorporate It Into Your Routine
7 Try applying coconut oil about 15 to 30 minutes before you wash your hair, focusing on the midsection and ends of your hair.
"The reason some people experience dryness with coconut oil — especially when using it alone as a treatment — is that it can penetrate the hair cuticle, taking up space within the strands," says cosmetic chemist Ni'Kita Wilson.
You can leave coconut oil in your hair for up to 30 minutes. If you have thin or highly porous hair, 15 minutes is likely enough time. If you want to use coconut oil as a hair mask or a scale treatment, and your hair type allows, leaving it in overnight occasionally shouldn't cause problems.
Harsh shampoo, hair treatments, styling products, and excessive brushing contribute the most to poor hair health. However, other culprits include: overconsumption of alcohol. low-calorie and crash diets.
"Once the hair is fried, it loses natural moisture and elasticity, and sometimes the best solution is to stop the damage, grow out your hair, and cut off the damaged hair," she notes. But if it can be saved, you might want to invest in a hair treatment, or at the very least, an extremely rich shampoo and conditioner.
Everything depends on where exactly your hair is damaged. “If you have split ends, you're better off getting them trimmed immediately as the hair fibers have become separated and will never return to their normal self.
"If you don't cut your hair, it may appear to stop growing," said Vitale. This is because as the ends get older and split, those splits begin to travel up the hair and cause breakage. So those with long hair may feel like it stays the same length, due to the ends breaking at a similar point."