Coconut oil is one of the most incredible treasures that nature has bestowed onto humanity. It has so many applications! You can use it to cook, it has medical and health benefits, and there's a coconut oil product for just about anything. Coconut oil softens and nourishes hair, relieves dry skin, whitens teeth, moisturizes chapped lips, and so much more. 

Coconut oil works especially well on color-treated hair. This is particularly useful because many of us enjoy dyeing our hair to freshen up our appearance and make it more fashionable. However, hair color creams and lighteners can cause severe adverse effects and damage to our hair; but with coconut oil, you can prevent that. That is because coconut oil can keep your hair healthy, without interfering with the way your hair dye works.

Table of contents:

• Benefits of coconut oil
• Hydration
• Controls frizz
• Protection from chemicals
• Preventing protein loss
• Applying coconut oil before coloring your hair
• Guide to applying coconut oil on hair before coloring

Benefits of coconut oil

Coconut oil has a number of fantastic benefits for your hair. But what makes it so good for color treatments is that it reduces hair protein loss, which is vital when bleaching and coloring, because these processes rob your hair of its natural oils and protein, leaving your strands more vulnerable to damage.

Hydration

Coconut oil moisturizes and nourishes your hair and scalp, helping seal-in moisture in the hair shaft. In addition, we use coconut oil for its antibacterial and antifungal qualities that can aid with mild dandruff. The best part is that it doesn’t have the side effects that you can encounter with many dandruff shampoos that can, in time, damage your hair by stripping natural oils and causing frizz and dryness due to the harsh chemicals in their composition. 

Controls frizz

By flattening and sealing the hair cuticle, coconut oil helps prevent and reduce frizz and tangles, while enhancing shine and hair manageability. 

Protection from chemicals

What's more, coconut oil penetrates your hair and helps prevent chemical damage, which is why it is recommended to use coconut oil before coloring and bleaching. Coconut oil penetrates deeply into your hair strands and helps prevent hazardous chemicals from entering your hair and damaging it. 

Preventing protein loss

Coconut oil is rich in fatty acids, such as lauric acid, who penetrate the hair shaft and create a protective barrier that prevents protein loss.

Applying coconut oil before coloring your hair

Applying coconut oil is an excellent step to take in the days leading up to hair coloring. It's a great technique to avoid over-bleaching your hair, which, as you well know, may cause a lot of harm. 

Coconut oil has the following benefits when applied to your hair before dying it:

• Using coconut oil improves your hair’s capacity to retain moisture;
• Helps hair retain its natural proteins, reducing the risk of breakage, dryness, and damage;
• It helps counteract the natural drying effects of bleach and hair dye by creating a protective layer around the hair shaft.

These benefits of using coconut oil are quite valuable in the long run. The damage produced by the chemicals in hair color treatments is one of the most serious difficulties that people face when they bleach or color their hair. When you apply coconut oil as a preventive treatment, your hair will remain lightweight, glossy, and (at least somewhat) healthy, despite the severe chemical processing.

Guide to applying coconut oil on hair before coloring

Step 1: Wash your hair thoroughly

If you start with clean, healthy hair, your hair color will last longer. A sulfate-free shampoo is ideal, since it does not dry out the scalp and is gentle on the hair. Cleaning your hair with a gentle, clarifying shampoo, removes product build-up, allowing you to get a consistent hair tone while coloring it. You can skip the conditioning step, as you will be applying coconut oil next.

Step 2: Apply coconut oil the night before the day you color your hair

Apply coconut oil generously to your hair before going to bed the night before dyeing your hair. Warm the coconut oil until it melts completely, as this will make it easier to apply. Apply 3-7 teaspoons of coconut oil to your hair, depending on the length of your hair, gently rubbing it in from the roots to the tips.

Step 3: Dye your hair

Do not wash the coconut oil out of your hair before dying it. While the coconut oil is still in the hair, apply the hair color. The coconut oil should not affect the dye's efficiency, but it will keep your hair looking sleek and natural after you've colored it.

Step 4: Wash

After you've finished coloring your hair, you can wash off the dye with shampoo and water. To protect your hair color, make sure to continue using a sulfate-free shampoo, as sulfates can lift the cuticle and strip the color. 

A gentle, nourishing shampoo that you can use, and which is in line with your newly found hair care discovery, is:

WOW Coconut Milk Shampoo

With this shampoo, you will continue to reap the benefits of coconut. Coconut milk is a well-known nourishing ingredient for hair and WOW Coconut Shampoo will help hydrate your hair and bring out its natural luster. 

To sum it up, there are plenty of advantages of applying coconut oil to your hair, even before coloring it. It can be used as a pre-dye treatment, as well as a daily leave-in conditioner. Taking proper care of your hair with the best natural ingredients, such as coconut oil, can be of great help in avoiding the long-term harm you’ve heard about from those bleaching-gone-wrong horror stories.