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.
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.
Coconut oil may have several benefits for your hair and scalp. Using it as a hair mask and leave-in treatment may help moisturize and seal hair. This can help prevent a dry, flaky scalp and dandruff, as well as split ends and hair breakage.
Coconut oil offers intense hair treatment the longer you leave it on your hair, especially if you want to hydrate and moisturize your hair. Of course, you cannot leave coconut oil in your hair for several days, but overnight is acceptable.
Leaving oil on your hair everyday for too long can cause product build-up on your scalp. It may also clog your pores, attract dirt and accumulate dandruff. Oiling your hair everyday also means that you have to wash it with shampoo everyday. This is not ideal to achieve healthy, lustrous and soft hair.
How long should you leave it on for? While some leave oil in their hair overnight, but usually one-two hours should suffice. “If you apply more oil than you need, thinking you need to coat every strand of your hair with oil, you will need the same amount of shampoo to get it off.
In general, it is not recommended to leave oil on for more than 6-8 hours, as that might make things tricky. The oil can attract a lot of dirt, dust, grime and get them to stick to your hair!
Coconut oil may clog pores and cause irritation for some scalp types (just as it does on certain skin types), and is best used directly on the hair and not the scalp (of those with the right type of hair).
Prewash protector: When applied before shampooing, coconut oil can stop your hair from soaking up too much water, which helps stave off damage and dryness. 7 Try applying coconut oil about 15 to 30 minutes before you wash your hair, focusing on the midsection and ends of your hair.
For a hair mask, you'll want to apply coconut oil to your hair before washing, being sure to shampoo, condition and thoroughly rinse out all oil after masking.
You can leave coconut oil on your hair for a minimum of 30 minutes. For maximum benefits, you may leave it overnight. Washing it off too early may not let the hair and scalp soak its benefits, and keeping it on for days may attract dirt and cause buildup and hair fall.
Coconut oil can cause protein buildup for these hair types, blocking your hair from much-needed moisture which makes your hair even drier, stiffer, and less elastic. And less elasticity means more breakage when combing or styling.
“Saturated fats, often found in meat and dairy products as well as coconut oil, can increase LDL levels in your blood,” says Dr. Russell. “This in turn increases your risk of heart disease, peripheral artery disease and stroke.” Eating foods that contain coconut oil can increase your risk for heart problems.
Allow the coconut oil to sit on your hair for 20 to 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.
The moment your hair is left to soak in oil for more than 12 hours, your scalp collects dirt and mixes with your scalp's natural oil. Leaving oil on your hair overnight can make it greasy and sticky, and it will also attract dust from your pillow and bed. As a result, it can lead to hair loss and other hair problems.
For a quick deep-conditioning hair treatment, apply your coconut oil before shampooing and conditioning your hair like you normally would. Simply leave it on for 30 minutes, then wash your hair like normal. Or, for an extra-hydrating hair mask, leave your coconut oil hair treatment on overnight.
Avoid leaving oil in overnight
The longer, the better — that may be true for some hair treatments but not for hair oiling as the oil can block your hair follicles. Unless an ayurvedic doctor or expert has asked you to leave a medicated oil overnight, wash out the oil within 3-4 hours.
It depends on the result you are seeking. Applying oil on wet hair means less shine, but there are other benefits, such as detangling and heat protection before blowdrying. On dry hair, the shine factor is higher and you will get better frizz, UV and pollution protection.
And, overdoing the oil can result in an excessively oily scalp.It can also obstruct the pores of your scalp, causing folliculitis or boils. Furthermore, if you have dandruff on your scalp, oil will worsen the issue. Finally, too much oil can weight down the strands, making them limp appearing.
As a regular practice, it is natural to reach out for your comb right after oiling your hair to remove tangles. But this is a common mistake and you should avoid it. After a good oil massage, you scalp becomes relaxed and fragile, combing your hair immediately after can cause hair breakage and hair loss.
It can be used as a cooking oil in the kitchen, to treat damaged hair, and even as a moisturizer for the skin on your body; however, I do not recommend using coconut oil on your face. Coconut oil is highly comedogenic, which means it clogs the pores on your face.
However one study found coconut oil to be comedogenic, which means that it clogs pores. It may not be the best choice for people with darker skin or oily, acne-prone skin.
While the promises of coconut oil's benefit sound great, the research is less clear. A few studies have looked at the benefit of coconut oil on weight loss, and results have been mixed. While some studies have reported a decrease in participants' body mass index (BMI) and waist size, others have not.
It should be common sense but, if you do suffer from oily hair or oily skin, an overnight coconut oil hair mask might not be for you. Adding more oil to your hair or skin, especially overnight, is unlikely to improve the problem and may only make things worse.
She adds, “This makes the oil highly comedogenic. If you leave coconut oil on your face all night long, there is a good chance you might wake up to blackheads or whiteheads due to sebum and impurities getting trapped in your pores. If you have oily or acne-prone skin, coconut oil may even contribute to breakouts.