If you know you have protein-sensitive hair, it's best to avoid coconut oil or perform a patch test to see how your hair reacts. Overly dry or damaged hair: While coconut oil can be beneficial for moisturizing and protecting the hair, it may not be sufficient for severely dry or damaged hair.
Coconut oil is not good for low-porosity hair because it will prevent water from moving out of the hair, so it doesn't allow water to move in and out of the hair. It will become dull and dry. Just the opposite, high-porosity hair is more open to moisture flowing in and out, thus having room for both.
Coconut oil can weigh hair down: It can make fine hair appear limp, flat, and greasy. Overuse can make coarse hair stiff: It's essential to avoid buildup and rotate use with other oils. Clogged pores: Do a skin test before use to see how your skin will react.
Coconut oil used on its own tends to work well for people with curly or straight thick, coarse, or very dry hair. If you have medium-thickness or fine hair, using pure coconut oil may be too heavy for your hair. We'd recommend that you try our hair serums, which are made with coconut oil, moringa oil and argan oil.
While leaving oil on your hair may seem beneficial, prolonged exposure can have adverse effects. If hair growth oil is left on for extended periods, it can attract dirt, clog pores, and lead to dandruff and itching. Over-saturation may also weaken hair strands, making them prone to breakage.
It Won't Change Your Colour. One of the biggest concerns with natural hair care products is that it can sometimes fade or alter the color of your hair. It can make blondes look brassy and faded which isn't ideal. Instead, coconut oil protects color while it nourishes your hair and scalp.
It dries out the hair
I personally used coconut oil for years, and then I watched my clients use it as well. And let me tell you, it dries out the hair. It doesn't give shine or brilliance or any of the things we've been promised.
“For less porous types, coconut oil can prevent moisture and make hair feel a bit more like straw.” If you have very fine hair, opt for an oil that stays liquid at room temperature, like argan or jojoba.
Yes, coconut oil can go bad. On the plus side, coconut oil has a long shelf-life of around three years when stored properly. That means you have plenty of time to enjoy its many benefits before it goes bad. That said, the shelf life of coconut oil greatly depends on its form.
Use the right amount
“Applying excess oil can clog hair follicles, leading to hair fall and dandruff. Similarly, applying it to dirty hair can cause scalp infections,” shares Dr Smita Naram, co-founder Ayushakti.
Coconut oil repels moisture, which is essential for your hair. The more you use it, the drier and brittle your hair becomes, leading to more breakage. Coconut oil should never be used on dry, coarse, or brittle hair because these hair types are particularly vulnerable to breakage from coconut oil use.
Some claim coconut oil offers benefits like healthier gums, plaque removal, and even whiter teeth. But before you make oil pulling part of your morning routine, it's important to ask, “Does coconut oil really whiten teeth?” It turns out that oil probably won't offer you significant oral benefits.
We recommend that you use the hair oil in wet hair as a finishing, nourishing treatment after washing your hair with shampoo and conditioner. By applying the coconut oil to wet hair, the hair gets an extra moisture boost and is left soft and shiny all day.
Mineral oil and synthetic fragrances top the list of offenders, creating a barrier that blocks moisture and nutrients. Similarly, silicone-based and some vegetable oils offer fleeting shine but ultimately dry out hair.
Dr Catherine Borysiewicz, consultant dermatologist at Spire Healthcare, explains that when you leave unrefined oil on your roots and scalp for too long, it's absorbed into your scalp, which can cause your hair growth to slow down.
Yes!
It's a fantastic natural treatment for many different types of hair. We've gone over some of the scientific evidence which supports its use for hairstyling. Coconut oil is rich in fatty acids, nutrients, and health properties.
If you have low porosity hair, which has difficulty absorbing moisture, coconut oil might not be the best choice. Instead of being absorbed, it can sit on top of the hair, potentially leaving it greasy and lacking the hydration it needs.
Myth: Coconut oil is a heart-healthy cooking alternative.
The reality: Coconut oil has been shown to raise cholesterol levels — the good and the bad kinds — more than other plant-based oils like olive or canola. And in truth, medium-chain triglycerides make up only a small amount of the fatty acids in coconut oil.
“It often causes fine hair to become brittle and break.” These undesirable results occur when coconut oil is unable to penetrate the hair, whether due to natural texture or too much of a good thing. “Be careful not to use it in excess,” cautions Fitzsimons.
“For blondes, this discoloration will be more noticeable than for other, darker hair shades.” That means oils that have slight tints, such as yellow or bronze, can mess with your color.
Due to this, pure coconut oil may not be beneficial to this porosity type. This is because whilst the oil acts as a sealant to stop hydration leaving the hair, it also works in the opposite way, preventing moisture entering. This could leave you locks in protein overload, feeling dry, brittle, and prone to breakage.