Coconut oil is a staple in many households, from cooking to skincare and haircare. You’ve probably heard some of the hype surrounding coconut oil. It is also used as a health supplement to help with weight loss, heart health, or brain function, or even cleaning teeth! However, studies related to these benefits are inconclusive at best. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a proven benefit of coconut oil, look no further than your hair!
What Is Coconut Oil?
This magical oil is produced by pressing out the fat from the white inner portion of the coconut. It is widely revered as a superfood for its multipurpose benefits. This is thanks to healthy saturated fats like medium-chain triglycerides or MCTs. These fats can work wonders for your hair and skincare routine.
What Does Coconut Oil Do for Hair? Benefits of Coconut Oil
Fix your hair woes with the power of nourishing coconut oil! Here are a few ways that this active ingredient can help your hair:
- Hair growth. Since coconut oil is so rich in vitamins and fatty acids, it can nourish and strengthen your hair barrier so it can fight against outside irritants that stifle hair growth. That damage causes thin, dry, and unhealthy hair that won’t grow like it's supposed to. It is able to remove sebum build-up from your hair follicles that are also impeding hair growth. Adding coconut to the mix helps to thicken, nourish, and strengthen your hair to help it grow like never before!
- Conditioning. Coconut oil is probably one of the best all-natural conditioners out there, as it’s rich in lauric acid. This gives it the ability to deeply penetrate into the hair shaft and provide it with a much-needed boost of moisture. Using natural conditioners like WOW Skin Science’s Coconut Milk Conditioner is a great way to provide your hair with natural moisture without leaving behind build-up and residue that can end up harming your hair.
- Fight flakes. Coconut oil can act as a natural way to address flakes thanks to its soothing and cleansing properties. Since coconut oil is so moisturizing, it can easily quench and soothe a dry, irritated scalp from itchy dandruff. The cleansing properties remove build up that’s clogging your hair follicles, another cause of itchy scalps.
- Repair damage. If you deal with dry hair, split ends or frizz on a regular basis, coconut oil could be your holy grail! That’s because coconut oil can smooth the cuticles on your split ends so they lay flat, giving you less frizz. Even though this isn’t a permanent fix for breakage and damaged hair, continuing to use coconut oil on your hair can help keep your hair nourished enough so that pesky split ends don’t come back in the future as a result of heat treatments and styling.
How to Use Coconut Oil for Hair
If you think that there’s just one way to use coconut oil on your hair -- think again! Depending on what your goal is, there are several different ways that you can effectively use coconut oil on your hair to achieve your hair goals.
Here are multiple uses for coconut oil in your hair routine:
- Pre-shampoo treatment: Harsh chemicals and ingredients in your products can easily strip away the natural oils of your skin and hair. Massaging coconut oil into your hair will nourish and protect your hair from your stripping shampoo!
- Protect your hair: Coating your hair in coconut oil is an effective and natural way to protect your hair from the chemical-laden water at the pool or the salty ocean water. Chlorine and saltwater really dry out hair and leaves it limp and stringy, like the seaweed. Coconut oil protects your scalp to help moisturize and fight against the impending dryness.
- Hair mask: Get a targeted treatment to your strands with a hydrating hair mask! All you need to do is apply a generous amount of coconut oil to your scalp and length of your hair. Use a dry comb to apply it to the entire length of your hair from root to tip. For the best effects, leave it on overnight so that by morning, you can have soft and luscious hair that will give you the ability to say that you really woke up like this! Then, rinse it away with your typical shampoo and conditioner routine.
- Styling oil:
- The last way to use coconut oil is as a fast and easy hair oil for smoothing down frizz, flyaways, and split ends. Just apply a bit of coconut oil to the ends of your hair to seal split ends and nourish breakage, while coating strands to de-frizz and boost shine. As a result, your hair will be silky smooth without a flyaway in sight!
How to Find the Best Coconut Oil
There are so many coconut oil products out there that it can be hard to figure out which one to actually buy. As a rule of thumb, it’s best to purchase from reputable companies that feature all-natural ingredients in their products, like WOW Skin Science. Also, make sure to check the customer reviews of a product before you buy it to make sure that it works as intended.
Now you know the multitude of uses for coconut oil, and what it can really do for your hair. Reach your hair goals, naturally with the power of nourishing coconut oil!
Explore the WOW website for more natural hair care products. From our all natural sulfate, silicone and paraben-free hair care collection we recommend Apple Cider Vinegar Shampoo and Red Onion Black Seed Oil Shampoo. And if you would like to learn more about apple cider vinegar's benefits or onion oil's benefits check out our ultimate guide on how to use them on your hair.
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