Hair can be a very delicate issue-I have done my fair share of damage to mine. Coloring your hair can wreak havoc on the hair as well as heat. Even bad hair cuts can make your hair look out of sorts! I discovered the benefits of coconut oil for the hair last summer-I enjoy laying in the sun, in moderation, of course-I realized that while the sun was beating down, it was drying my hair out. I started to apply coconut oil while I sat outside, then I would shower as usual and my dry, damaged hair would be miraculously transformed. A natural hot oil treatment was born. You will be shocked at how smooth and shiny your hair will be!
Coconut oil contains Vitamin E (an essential nutrient for skin and hair), lauric acid and capric acid. These chemicals all help to promote protein regrowth in the hair, by penetrating deep into each hair, making it stronger. Coconut oil is full of fatty acids. Fatty acids bind to the protein in hair and protect both the roots and strands of hair from breakage. Many store bought conditioners coat the hair shaft giving the appearance of smoother hair, but in reality they offer very little repair. Coconut oil will actually repair damaged hair protein. If you’ve read my post on Coconut Oil, you’ll know how unbelievably healing coconut oil is for the skin. It’s the same for the hair. Coconut oil is packed full of healing nutrients. Coconut oil can actually penetrate the hair shaft, protecting against environmental impurities and excess heat.
Coconut oil not only repairs damage hair, but it also addresses issues with the scalp. A dry scalp will actually make the hair look greasy and limp. Conditioning the scalp with coconut oil will restore balance. Dandruff is a fungal issue-because coconut oil is anti fungal it is an extremely effective treatment. By rubbing coconut oil into the scalp, blood circulation is increased-which boosts nutrients and oxygen to the hair. Massaging coconut oil into the scalp and pulling it to the tips of the hair will be a hugely effective hair treatment!!
Always use virgin unrefined coconut oil. I prefer to get mine from Healthy Traditions-hands down-it’s the highest quality coconut oil you can get. It is tested for glycophate contamination which is important when it comes to coconut oil. It is also wet milled which preserves the huge antioxidant content as well as the amazing healing properties!
DIY Hot Oil Treatment Ingredients:
There are several essential oils that promote healthy hair. I choose to stick with two that are common but highly effective. Rosemary essential oil is known to stimulate hair growth. It smells wonderful and provides a tingling sensation that feels so good on the scalp! Lavender essential oil helps to balance skin and also moisturize. It also helps with itchy scalp. Other options are Eucalyptus for dandruff and Cedarwood for hair loss and dandruff. Lemon or Lemongrass are excellent options for oily scalp.
Extra oils I like to add are Macadamia nut oil and Castor oil. Castor oil is known to stimulate hair growth. For more information on the effects of castor oil on hair check out my post on a Lash Lengthening Serum and a Brow Thickening Serum. Macadamia nut oil is very moisturizing. I only add it when my hair is extra dry.
DIY Hot Oil Treatment
- 1/2 cup Coconut Oil (find it HERE)
- 1 TBSP Castor Oil (find it HERE)
- 1 TBSP Macadamia Nut Oil (find it HERE)
- 15 drops Rosemary Essential Oil (find it HERE)
- 10 drops Lavender Essential Oil (find it HERE)
Directions:
- Add all ingredients in a bowl.
- Whip for several minutes.
- Transfer to jar.
- Apply to scalp and hair for 10-30 minutes before you shampoo your hair. You can use a shower cap and blow dry for a very effective hot oil treatment. I usually just apply and put my hair in a pony tail for 10 minutes.
- Shampoo and Condition as usual.
**UPDATE** I don’t apply this to my scalp because I am oily but Tina, a JRC reader, let me know that it was really hard to remove all the oil from your hair unless you shampoo your hair DRY first, then proceed as usual. THANKS SO MUCH TINA! Read Tina’s comments below-she has thoroughly explained her process with this hair mask!
xx, Jenni
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PIN IT!!
I can’t wait to get home and try this!!!!!!!
Thanks Aimee!!
Best advice for avoiding chlorine green hair…wet hair THOROUGHLY before getting in pool. For added protection, add a conditioner and comb through. This keeps your hair from soaking up the high concentration of chlorine! Always shampoo/cleanse hair IMMEDIATELY after swimming.
Yeah, and if you are in a public pool, you are rinsing your conditioner into the water, possibly giving someone else health issues depending on the ingredients…
There is a reason you are supposed to shower before entering pool: to rinse off all things you put on your body/hair so you don’t wash it off in the pool!
If you are in a private pool, you are giving your filter a huge workout and possible maintenance issues from all the oils …
Is there anything besides castor oil that might work?
Karen, You can omit castor oil if you’d like-It is known to help hair growth but not really for nourishing the hair.
I have a heck of a time getting the coconut oil out of my hair, today I shampooed twice and thought I was fine but I definitely didn’t get it all out. Luckily my hair is very curly so it hides it!! I love using this mask though! I was just curious if anyone else, or you jenni, had this problem?!
Michelle, I try to use a small amount because a little goes a long way. In fact, I put a little bit on my scalp and massage it in, then I put a little on my ends, let set for 10 and then wash. I don’t mess with the hair in between because it’s pretty healthy. I’m not sure but the coconut oil might build up if you use it too often and too much. Thanks!
When it’s time to shampoo oil from hair, DO NOT WET HAIR …. if you put the shampoo in the palm of your hand, add a few drops of water, rub hands together and get a good lather, then apply to hair. Massage scalp, starting with the hair line, then the rest of the scalp. Rinse it, then repeat.
Great idea! Thanks Tina
Tina-why don’t you wet hair? I do. Did it not all come out?
I find it removes the oil a whole lot better if you don’t wet the oil first. The first time I tried the oil, it like to have never come out. I ALMOST give up on the whole “oil in the hair” deal!
That’s great-thanks for sharing!! I don’t use much coconut oil because my hair tends to be oily so I never had an issue with not being able to wash it out. If you don’t mind I’m going to add this tip in the post!
That’d be good if you posted it. Alot of people would probably use it more if it worked better!
When I’m ready to rinse the oil out, I get a pretty big squirt of shampoo in my hand and add a little bit of water to make a good lather, then put it in my hair and gently massage all around the hair line, then the scalp, for a minute or two. (not the ends) Then rinse, and get a pea size drop of shampoo, massage the scalp again briefly, run fingers through the whole length of your hair, then rinse! My hair is never oily this way. If I wet the oil first, 5-6 shampoos won’t take it out, and the oiliness makes me break out under the back of my hair line. Hope this helps everybody out. It’s very aggravating when you know something is good for you, but it seems to make things worse off.
But what about those who are following a “no-poo” method? Should the baking soda I use as my “poo” still be applied before rinsing?
Britt-I have never experienced the no poo method so I’m not sure. I think you will just have to experiment. I’m afraid this could make you way too oily if you aren’t using a soap to wash out.
What can I substitute macadamia nut oil with?
Dina, Absolutely! You can omit it or use any other oil-olive oil is very nourishing to the hair.
Jenni, is it ok touse this for kids age 7 . My son have very dry hairs .
also can i do ACV rinse for him 🙂 i’m not sure it is safe for kids but he want to grow his hairs long.
Shazna-Absolutey use it on your son! It is very nourishing!
I have long wavy hair, which tends to be dry at the ends and a bit oily at scalp. Try Shielo’s Hydrate or Smoothing Conditioners – they smell good without being over-powering, and give a level of moisture that is neither too light or too heavy for me. Anyone interested in more organic hair products should give these a try.
If I have trouble with the oil not washing or rinsing out, I have dumped a nice conditioner over head before washing (right over the coconut oil treatment when that time is up) and wrapped in a towel for a half hour to an hour or so. Then, when I wash my hair as usual, all the oil comes out! It was a very useful trick I discovered on Internet!
Also:
If, like me, you can’t take the scent of coconut, I found a really good scentless/neutral scent coconut oil at Whole Foods: Jarrow Formulas Certified Organic Coconut Oil for a reasonable price in the vitamin department of the store (not the food section – for some reason, they carry C O of various makers in both sections) .
I am definitely going to give this a try tonight my only question is do I have to wash my hair first to apply the mask, the hair needs to be completely clean, wet or dry?
Narci-No, I don’t wash my hair first, just after! Sorry to take so long to reply! Christmas got the best of me!! I hope it worked out well!
Hi Jenni,
If i wanted to add cedarwood oil to the above recipe…..what is t portion size that you recommend???
I’m not too familiar with the smell of cedarwood or what it does but I would say a good rule of thumb is to add 5 drops at a time for something like this. Less is more with essential oils so go easy and smell as you go.
I find that mixing one cup of coconut oil with one tablespoon of glycerine works well. Other essential oils can also be added and this combination is so good for skin as well! Also, to get it out conditioner only washing with Suave Naturals (no cones) works very well. Just wet your hair and use the conditioner as a shampoo. After showering you can use one drop and massage it into your scalp then another through to the ends. That is all that us neede and it completely cured dandruff and split ends.
Could you use a small amount of baking soda in the conditioner to cut the oil?
Carol-I’m not sure, I haven’t tried it. Is the coconut oil too oily for your hair type? It is for mine so I use such a tiny amount. Otherwise, it seems to travel to my roots and even after a shampoo, I’m greasy.
I added app 1 tsp of baking soda into the shampoo in my hand and washed as normal. When my hair dried, it was shiny and I think fluffier (which I like as I am still stuck on “Texas Hair–where everything is bigger!!) Carol
i have the castor oil from the mountain rose herb site that you recommended for the eye lash length serum. would that work also for this recipe?
Jane-Yes, I think it would be great. Just be aware that castor oil can be a bit drying so just pay close attention and discontinue if you think it’s defeating the purpose. It certainly could stimulate your roots to get growing!!
awesome thank you, another question. if i wanted to add eucalyptus to the mix…this is in additon to the rosemarry and lavender correct? how much eucalyptus do i add? can this recipe be used throughout the body also? thanks jenni your the best 🙂
hi jenni,
what do you use to measure the amount of drops for the recipe? do you purchase it from somewhere? Also i’m purchasing the ingredients…. i want to add eucalyptus to the mix…do i add that on from addition to the rosemary and lavender?
Jane-Are you talking about drops of essential oil? The essential oil bottles will have a built in dropper so that you can count. Ahhhh, eucalyptus would be so invigorating on the scalp-great idea! I would just add it in addition to the other two.
yay thank you so much. your the best jenni!!!
Hi! I’ve been testing recipes for natural conditioner but can’t seem to find one suitable for my hair.. I’m going to give this a try, but you use it occasionally if I understand right? And when you say “shampoo and condition normally” what conditionner do you use? ☺️ I am dying here to find THE hair conditioner as I am allergic to things that are found in pretty much all hair (and skin) products
Jenni! Loveee your recipes! I just bought everything to try it. Question:
Do I wet my hair to apply the mask or put it on dry?
Thnx!
Nadia-You can do it dry! Thanks!