In my ongoing quest be a more well-put-together woman, I have recently been straightening my hair on a regular basis- this after years of laziness in response to the impossible thickness of my hair and the daunting nature of the task of straightening it. As far as beauty goes, my hair has easily been the most neglected area of my appearance until about a month ago. Because of the drastic change in my hair styling routine, I decided it was necessary to add some nourishing and intensive treatment to mitigate the additional damage of regular heat-styling.
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| My recent hairstyle. Worth the 45 minutes it takes to blow-dry it straight? The jury's still out... |
I had heard about coconut oil hair masks for several months. And by heard, I mean that several people on YouTube mentioned it, described how to do it, but never demonstrated it. Being a visual learning, I needed a tutorial before I was about to try what sounded like a potential greasy mess. I also hesitated because, much like the oatmeal face-cleansing, I couldn't quite visualize how the process should go. Should I coat my hair root to tip? How much should I use? How would I get it out? Would I be eternally condemned to smell like a coconut?! Thankfully, one of my favorite YouTube gals, TheSilverLining80, finally answered my silent wishes and posted a tutorial showing exactly how the process works.
I tried it for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and from that experience I developed one tip that I can already give everyone: wash your hair thoroughly, including your tips! I neglected to this, ending up with tips that looked like they had been dipped in Crisco- but roots that looked like ebony silk (who compliments her own hair in such poetic terms? This girl! Ugh, what a douchebag I am :-P).
If you want to try a coconut hair mask as a natural, intensive treatment, you will need a spoon, comb, hair clip or ponytail holder, and, of course, the coconut oil. I found mine at Trader Joe's.
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| Trader Joe's Organic Virgin Coconut Oil ($5.99). I've also been using this as an eye cream lately (why not?) because it's so moisturizing. Make sure you get virgin coconut oil that is solid at room temperature. Smells so yummy! |
As you can see, coconut oil is solid at cooler temperatures. I keep mine in the refrigerator, because I had heard that it would be easier to work with as a solid. I agree with this point, as removing liquid oil from a jar somehow seems like more work than I want to do. The solid state of coconut oil is the reason a spoon is needed; it is used a scoop to remove the coconut oil from the jar.
Here's how you use this mask:
1. Comb Through Your Hair
Since you're going to be running a product through your hair, it's best to eliminate any tangles to avoid pain and hair loss due to excessive pulling.
2. Section Off Hair
I do this from bottom to top, meaning that I start by sectioning the bottom fourth of my hair and tying the rest up. Then, as I finish coating each section in the oil, I bring down another section (consisting of about another fourth of my hair). This just makes it easier to ensure that I coat my hair thoroughly and evenly.
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| The bottom fourth of my hair sectioned off and coated in coconut oil. |
3. Apply the Oil
This is the fun part! I dip my spoon into the jar of oil and scoop a good spoonful out. It's actually more like scraping a spoonful out, because the consistency of the solid oil is more flaky than congealed (if that's the right juxtaposition...science geeks?). I drop the scoop from the spoon into my hand, because the warmth of my hand melts the oil, turning it into a liquid within a few seconds. As it liquifies, I rub the oil between my hands and start running it through my hair, from the roots to the tips. I like to take a little extra and rub it right into my tips for each section. Because my hair is thick and my brain is obsessive, each section takes me between 5-10 minutes to coat to my demanding satisfaction. Thoroughly coated hair should look wet.
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The solid coconut oil in my hand. It melts within seconds.
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4. Wash the Oil Out
For my hair, it takes several washes to get all of it out. Last time, I shampooed my hair three times. As I mentioned before, I really focused on my roots; keep in mind that is important to focus on all of your hair. Once I was satisfied that I got all of the oil out, I followed with a regular conditioner. You can then style you hair as you usually would. I apply a straightening balm and blow-dry my hair straight with a round brush.
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| Here is what my hair looks like after washing the coconut oil mask out and straightening my hair. Unfortunately, this picture was also taken after pulling my hair back for a mini-facial, hence the slight hair dent :-( |
That's it!
My hair definitely dries more smoothly after this mask, but, strangely, one of the more striking things I notice is that the color of my hair looks richer. This is a surprising, and pleasant, result. If anyone else has tried this, or does after reading this, I'd be interested to know about your experience, including whether it had any effect on your hair color. From my experience, the coconut oil mask doesn't completely transform my hair, but it does make it feel healthier and more hydrated. Plus, like so many of these natural, at-home treatments, it's just a lot of fun, so, why not?
Thanks for reading and hope this was informative!
-Melissa
POP CULTURE ARTIFACT OF THE DAY: NONE, because I spent my day reading about autism and neuroanatomy, in addition to smearing coconut oil in my hair and clay on face. Hopefully, your day was a little more eventful than mine...
Cool! I may try this :)
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