Oiling Hair

[Jessi_ca]

Hi I have been reading a fair bit about oiling hair and I was wondering the benefits of doing this and alos some other questions about it.

What do you use? Is Olive Oil alright (100%)
How often?
Where do you put it?
How long till you rinse?
Do you need to shampoo after...?

Could you please tell me how YOU oil your hair and anything else you think I should know about it.

Any better oils to use would be great.

Thank you

[Fia]

From my own experience:

* Olive oil is far to heavy for my hair - fine strands, normal volume, stick straight. The only exception would be for a really heavy duty deep conditioning treatment.
* Jojoba oil is a much better oil for me. Some people also use and like coconut oil or sweet almond oil - I've never tried those.
* A little goes a long way. Daily oiling is just turning the bottle upside down in my palm and using what's left after this. Just a dot of oil, worked into the palms and then stroked along the length. I might use just a little bit more on the very ends (last two inches). This will only soften the hair, not make it look oily. You have to play around with the amount to find what's right for your hair as it varies.
* For deep conditioning (which I very seldom do with oil) you just use more, enough to create the piecy, stringy look all over.
* It wasn't until I was at shoulder length that oiling started working for me. Before that I only got oily, stringy results whenever I tried.

/Fia

[Mop]

1. I like jojoba best. My hair is fine and curly; heavy oils weigh it down. In order of heaviness (based solely on my own experience): olive > coconut/monoi > sweet almond > jojoba.

2. Daily.

3. Everywhere. I mix it with conditioner and water (1 part 50/50 oil /conditioner, 10 parts water), and apply about a 1/2 tablespoonful throughout wet hair. I prefer to oil wet - the theory being that oil will help moisture stay in the hair. I seldom apply oil straight from the bottle anymore - for some reason it gave me the crunchies.

4. I don't. If I put on too much, I call it a deep conditioning treatment.

5. Only if I get overexuberant (see 4).

[leia]

Hi Jessica,

It really depends on your hair type. For me, olive oil is the BEST oil, and it makes my hair feel WONDERFUL, while others find it too heavy or it makes their ends crunchy.

I wash my hair twice a week, and I use do a pre-wash oiling most of the time.

Since I have a dry scalp, I massage oil into my scalp, and then squeeze some on my length. I use about a tablespoon for my scalp and length together, and most of it goes into the scalp massage.

It really depends how long I leave it in. Sometimes it can be as little as 10 minutes before I rinse, most of the time it's 30 minutes, and sometimes I leave it on for more than an hour.

About the shampooing. A lot of people use just conditioner on their length and it washes out the oil fine, and this was working with me too. But my hair just isn't absorbing the oil for some reason, so these days I have to shampoo it out. If I don't use that much oil, my hair doesn't feel conditioned enough, so the oil is obviously doing some good though it isn't being completely absorbed. So, you CAN shampoo after, but you don't neccessarily have to.

Good luck!

[Shelly]

The benefits of oiling:
Oiling your hair helps with the moisture. It keeps the moisture up which in return helps prevent damage and so on. I do oil my hair using Ginseng Miracle Wonder 8 Oil and a few other oil products at least 2 to 3 times weekly from the ear lobes down. The only time I wash the oil out is my normal weekly washing session. There are a few great oils out there that I have heard works really good. Jojoba Oil, Coconut Oil, Manoi Oil, some do use Extra Virgin Olive Oil, just to name a few. In my opinion, you need to find which one benefits your hair the most.

[Dulci]

and just to make it more confusing for you, some people's hair can't handle oils at all, their ends get 'crunchy'. Here is a poll you may find interesting: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/viewtopic.php?t=6653

Oiling is one of those things that you will have to experiment with and evaluate whether or not it works for you.

[LiLi]

I like to use both Jojoba and Olive oil, depending on what I'm going for. I'll usually use olive oil as a deep treatment, put about a tablespoon or two on the length and then cover with a shower cap and leave on for about an hour, then CWC as usual.
I use jojoba oil very sparingly (usually 3-4 drops), right after I wash on wet hair. I find it calms my frizzies and weights my hair down just enough that it's not poofy. I have fairly thick, fairly dense wavy hair, and if I don't put something "heavy" in it, it gets very 80s, very fast
HTH!

[_banshee]

My hair doesn't handle oil well when I use it on dry hair but I use Weleda Rosemary Hair Treatment for deep conditioning. It consists of several oils (peanut I think, rosemary of course and others) and lecithin. I leave it in for at least three hours and my hair really seems to soak it up. I don't know if you can get that where you are but it's highly recommended!

[TXcuralgal5]

Daily I use jojoba or a mixture of jojoba oil, shea butter and conditioner. I only use olive oil for a deep treatment, but I too mix this with conditioner before I apply it to my wet hair.

I have found that it's a matter of experimenting. I want to try sweet almond and coconut oil next.

[RoseHannah]

About once every 2-3 weeks, I mix some Miracle 8 Ginseng Oil and carrot oil, heat it up, wet my hair down, and soak that oil in.
Then I braid it and pin it up, slap a sleep cap over the whole shebang, and go to sleep.
In the morning, I wash as usual.

This helps keep my hair soft and tangle-free-er, and I think it helps keep the splits down....

[Accolady]

.
.
For my hair, olive oil was a disaster and smells funny.
I even tried extra virgin, but found it was much better with bread.


Monoi gives the best slip when detangling before the shower,
so when my hair is a giant rat's nest, I coat it in a good helping
of Monoi, thoroughly comb through and shower as usual.
When I use it too often, I get crunchy ends, so I've learned not
to use it on the ends of my hair. A gentle amount rubbed
between your hands and boar brushed throughout clean and
dry hair produces excellent shine without the oily streaks,
not to mention the unique scents available in Monoi oil.

Jojoba is nice and light. I can use a small portion of it
throughout all of my dry hair when I bun without the heavy
greasy look. The trouble is, some jojoba oils are 100% pure jojoba and
some labels like to trick you by stating "Contains pure jojoba".
Contains means nothing. It could be a small portion.

Coconut oil is superb and does all of the above for my hair.
I really like Starwest brand from Kirk's Drug...4 oz. for about $4.00.

I've seen, but not tried, the other oils such as carrot and castor,
though I do use a leave-in shine spray and a sun protectant in
the summer which contain castor oils.

You might experiment with various oils and methods,
both while wet, dry and also for pre-shower detangling.
Just don't use too much or too often.

[g_michelle]

I see there are as many ways to oil hair as there are individuals who responded! I've been oiling for almost 3 years. I started with Monoi Oil. Weekly, I would oil my hair on a Friday night or Saturday, when I knew I would be washing the following day. My hair is tail-bone length, thick and wavy. I do divide my hair into several sections, parted into top and bottom layers. My oil was poured from its original glass bottles into small, flip-top travel size plastic bottles I bought at Wal-Mart for safety of handling with oily hands as well as keeping the remaining oil fresh. I oiled heavily. I poured it by the tablespoons into my palm and applied to all sections. I then detangled and braided in a single braid or two pigtails braided. If this was at night, I would sleep with a towel over my pillow. If on a Saturday, I would go all day about my housework. The oil washes out completely with only one washing with one of Aussie, Suave Daily Clarifying or L'Oreal Vive. After washing, I apply only a small amount of conditioner and rinse out. I don't oil in this manner every week anymore, as my hair is in excellent condition. For occasional daily wear, I oil with Jojoba on dry hair. Jojoba is lighter, has no fragrance and, if applied just right, will not have an oily appearance. I use a lesser amount and apply to my dry hair and twist up into a bun. This works very well. During the time I've been oiling with Monoi and Jojoba, I have not one single split end, and the last time I trimmed was in May this year. Both Monoi and Jojoba give satisfactory results with no unpleasant effects for me. When you begin oiling your hair, you will find a routine that is customized just for you. Experiment with types of oil, amount applied and frequency of oiling. Your hair will love this tender loving care and respond in kind!

[Brenda]

What do you use? Is Olive Oil alright (100%)

I've found olive oil to be a bit heavy. I use a mixture of coconut, almond and sesame oils.

How often?

I usually either dap a tiny bit on the ends after I shampoo, or really drench it (about once a month)

Where do you put it?

Shoulder height to the ends.

How long till you rinse?

It depends, I usually only drench it when I can afford to look like a grease ball for a couple of days (ie. I'm just planning on puttering around the house.), or I'm planning on doing something which could be hideous for my hair...like spending the day at the beach or water park. If I just use a dab on the ends, it generally doesn't need to be rinsed out.

In either case, it usually just stays there until the next time I wash my hair. (Once or twice a week)

Do you need to shampoo after...?

See above

I hope that helps