Have people spent years telling you that coconut oil is good for hydrating your hair and keeping it strong, healthy and looking beautiful? Well, don’t listen to them. It seems that this common mindset doesn’t actually have much truth to it.
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And in order to separate the truth from the myth, Glamour UK magazine called on a hairdresser from the UK named Ross Charles. And his response was not what they were expecting at all.
If you have a habit of smothering your hair with coconut oil before going to bed so that it’s supple and smooth in the morning, you need to stop. Although your heart is in the right place and you just want to give your hair a treat, you’re actually suffocating it. If your hair is dry, it’s because it isn’t getting enough moisture. But by using coconut oil, you’re actually layering a fatty substance on top of a fibre that is dying of thirst. Why does this suffocate it? Well, science can explain that. Oil and water don’t mix, and after you have used this oil, water is subsequentlyunable to penetrate the hair shaft.
The hair specialist explained to the magazine:
Hair oils – and especially coconut oil – tend to seep into every tiny hole in your hair shaft and disguise the real problem to act as a quick-fix. This won’t help your hair in the long-run and is one of the main reasons I advise against using oils in your hair.
Therefore, if you want to hydrate your hair, you should instead use hydrating treatments that you may even already have at home. The best moisturising agents are as follows: honey, yoghurt, heavy cream, applesauce, aloe vera gel and flaxseed gel.
You could even make your own simple hair mask at home if you want softer and stronger hair:
· 1 tablespoon of natural yoghurt
· 1 tablespoon of honey (diluted in a bit of hot water)
· 1 tablespoon of applesauce
Apply this mask to damp hair and squeeze out any excess water. Then let it work its magic for a good half hour keeping it wrapped in a hot towel (so that your hair follicles open up and the inside of the hair can get some of the moisture as well), thenrinse and shampoo afterwards.
