In this article, we look at the benefits of coconut oil hair.
Coconut oil is a very versatile health and beauty product.
Use it for everything from cooking and cleaning to moisturizing your skin and removing makeup.
Others often use coconut oil to help improve the health and condition of their hair.
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Daily grooming can damage your hair
Everyday grooming like washing, combing and styling can damage your hair and make it look frizzy, split and dry.
To better understand why this happens, we need to know more about the structure of hair.
Your hair is made up of three layers:
marrow. This is the soft central part of the hair shaft. Interestingly, thick hair contains a large amount of medulla, whereas fine hair has very little medulla.
cortex. This is the thickest layer of hair. It is high in fibrous proteins and pigments that give hair its color.
epidermis. The cuticle is the tough, protective layer of hair.
Washing, styling and dyeing your hair damages the cuticle and leaves the center of the hair shaft unprotected.
This results in the loss of some of the fibrous proteins that make up the cortex of the hair, making it thin, brittle and prone to damage.
Why Coconut Oil Is Better For Hair Protection Than Other Oils
Coconut oil is said to be the best oil to use on your hair to reduce protein loss and keep it healthy.
Given the current popularity of coconut oil, it’s easy to dismiss this as a trend.
However, there is some evidence behind this claim.
An older study published in 2003 looked at the effects of applying coconut, sunflower, or mineral oil to hair before or after washing.
To find out which oil is best for protecting hair health, researchers measured the amount of protein in hair lost after each of these treatments.
They found that coconut oil, applied before or after washing your hair, was better at preventing protein loss than mineral oil and sunflower oil.
Coconut oil was the best in all of their studies and reduced protein loss in undamaged, bleached, chemically treated, and sun-exposed hair.
On the other hand, neither mineral oil nor sunflower oil had this effect and were not found to be effective in reducing protein loss from hair.
The chemical structure of coconut oil is thought to be behind its extraordinary ability to protect hair.
Lauric acid, a medium-chain fatty acid, makes up the majority of coconut oil.. This gives the coconut oil a long, straight structure that makes it more easily absorbed deep into the hair.
Sunflower seed oil is mainly composed of linoleic acid and has a much bulkier structure, so it is not absorbed well by the hair.
This means that oils such as mineral oil and sunflower oil can coat the hair, but are not well absorbed by the hair.
Applying oil to your hair before or after washing helps prevent damage.
There are several ways to apply oil to prevent hair damage.
First, applying oil to your hair before washing will help reduce damage you receive while washing and while wet.
Interestingly, hair is most susceptible to damage when wet. This is due to subtle structural changes that occur when water is absorbed.
When your hair is wet, the thick central cortex absorbs water and expands, which’s changing the cuticle’s structural makeup.
The hair cuticle consists of flat, overlapping scales that attach toward and point toward the root end of the hair.
When the hair’s cortex absorbs water and swells, these scales are pushed outward and become stuck. This makes wet hair much easier to damage, especially when combing or styling.
Applying oil to your hair before washing can reduce the amount of water your hair shaft absorbs and the degree to which cuticle scales “stick”. This way they are less likely to get damaged when wet.
Secondly, if you apply oil after washing your hair, it will make your hair soft and silky. This reduces the amount of friction caused by styling, reducing the chance of hair snags and breakages.
One of benefits, Coconut oil can make your hair grow longer by:
Many people desire to have long, lustrous, silky hair.
The weather, pollution, styling, and daily wear and tear can all harm your hair.
Moisturizes and reduces damage to hair
When wet, it protects hair from any losing of protein and damage.
Protects hair from environmental damage such as wind, sun and smoke
To get the most out of coconut oil, you probably need to include it regularly in your beauty regimen.
Other Benefits of Coconut Oil for Hair
Coconut oil may also provide other benefits to your hair. However, many of them have not been investigated in adequately controlled studies.
Possible benefits include:
prevent this. One small study found that when used with anise in a spray, coconut oil was 40% more effective at treating head lice than the chemical permethrin.
sun protection. A UV filter can help protect your hair from sun damage. Some test-tube and skin studies have shown that coconut oil has a sun protection factor of 8, so applying it to your hair can be useful.
Dandruff treatment. Dandruff can be caused by an overgrowth of fungus or yeast on the scalp. Although no studies have specifically looked at coconut oil, it has antibacterial properties and may be useful in treating dandruff.
hair loss prevention. Excessive grooming can damage the hair shaft and, in extreme conditions, can lead to hair loss. Coconut oil can help keep your hair in good condition and prevent it.
They also claim that consuming coconut oil can benefit hair health due to the nutrients it provides.
Does Coconut Oil Negatively Affect Your Hair?
Coconut oil is safe to apply to skin and hair.
However, using too much can cause oil to build up in your hair and scalp.
If you have really fine hair, in particular, this might make it oily and lifeless.
To avoid this, start with a small amount and start rubbing coconut oil from the middle to the ends of your hair. People with very fine hair may want to avoid applying coconut oil to the scalp.
Also, while it is normal to lose about 50-100 hairs per day, many people report a lot of hair loss when using coconut oil.
However, coconut oil is usually not the culprit. Just applying the oil can shed hair that has already separated from the scalp.
How to Use Coconut Oil for Beautiful Hair
Here are a few ways to use coconut oil to help improve the health of your hair.
As a scalp treatment. Massage a small amount of coconut oil into your scalp before bed. Leave it on overnight and wash it off with shampoo in the morning.
as a hair mask. Apply coconut oil to your hair and leave it on for a few hours (or overnight) before rinsing.
as a conditioner. Shampoo your hair as usual and comb through coconut oil from the middle of your hair to the ends.x
As a detangling agent after washing. After shampooing and conditioning your hair, rub in some coconut oil to protect it while combing.
As a hair protectant before washing your face. Rub coconut oil into your hair before washing your hair.
This technique can be used regularly or occasionally (depending on your hair type) to give you beautiful, healthy and shiny hair.
The amount of coconut oil you need will depend on the length and type of your hair. Most people only use enough to cover their hair from mid-lengths to ends to prevent it from becoming greasy.
The best way is to start with the lowest amount you think you need and increase it gradually.
If you have short or very fine hair, you may need about a teaspoon. However, people with long, thick hair are advised to use a couple of tablespoons.
There are many different types of coconut oil. Some people prefer to choose virgin (unrefined) coconut oil because they also use it in their diet.
However, there are no specific studies on whether one type of coconut oil is better for hair than another. Additionally, coconut oil’s moisturising qualities are the same whether it is refined or not.
summary
Coconut oil is an excellent moisturizer for hair.
It can be used both before and after washing your hair to prevent hair damage and keep your hair shiny and healthy.
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