Test Driven::: Raw Coconut Oil as Moisturizer

Photos: Me of my jar

There's been lots of talk around the blogosphere about Coconut Oil and it's benefits for your skin and hair. I read about it on various beauty forums, and other blogs all the time.  I even bought myself a jar at Trader Joe's a while back...and then it sat on my counter because I could not convince myself to try this out.  Well, I finally did over the last two weekends...and it was interesting!

I decided to make my maiden voyage be as a hair treatment, because it's one of the few oils that actually penetrates the strand and has the ability to "repair" the hair from the inside out, in terms of repairing moisture levels and my hair can always use the help.  

As a primer, I made sure that I read a few tutorials and watched a few videos on YouTube about how to make it work best in the hair before I started out.  The best video I saw for breaking down the best way to do it (which I wish I had found in my first batch of videos!) was this one by the lovely blogger behind MakeupProgression:::

The biggest trick I think she clarified for me compared to my first round was simply to heat it first.  The first attempt I made I did not heat it first into a liquid, not that it takes much, since it essentially melts on contact with your hands. See photos below, that literally was instantly melted when I touched it.  But heating it to a liquid and dipping the ends did make it so much easier to spread and work into the hair.  And you use significantly less than if you work with it solid to start with.

I JUST picked a tiny glob up here...and like I said it melts like immediately...

And this is not even 2 seconds later.

Of note::: I did NOT get it to the root the first time I did it, on purpose, as my hair color was fairly fresh. The second time I did it, was at the end of a color cycle, so I was less concerned and I felt my scalp was happier when I colored because it had been more moisturized that time.  After working it through the hair well, definitely clip it up and put on a shower cap or plastic bag to trap the heat and allow the oil to absorb.  I left it in my hair the first time only about 10 minutes, which was fine for a fresh color, but the second time I left it in closer to an hour. The time difference was significant, and my hair absorbed much more of the oil this time than last time, leaving less to worry about when I shampooed.

Since I don't use a sulfate free shampoo, due to poor experiences with them, I didn't have much trouble getting it out after I shampooed. The biggest thing I paid attention to was that I just made sure I used warm water and that kept the oil liquid enough to keep it from solidifying in the drain pipe. I also didn't need a lot of conditioner after rinsing the shampoo, and my hair was much easier to detangle. And of course, it smells like heaven. Pure beachy heaven...

This is not something I would do regularly. I read that some people do it at least once a week. For me, this might be a right before I color kind of project, so probably every 2-3 weeks?

I also decided to try this out on my skin (not face!) and learned that it's pretty insanely moisturizing on the skin, and that it doesn't leave you feeling like slime, if you don't overdo it anyway. I tried it after using KP Duty and it was amazing how soft I was even two days later, not even using it or any other lotion again after the showers in between, or even after using it the first time.  It leaves a nice sheen on the skin, too, but absorbs very well. And again, smells incredible.  You need very little, so keep that in mind. That amount I have shown above would easily do both full arms. It melts on contact, so a teeny little swipe is enough for a good area of skin.

I am glad I finally tried this. I have not so far experienced any buildup on my hair, thankfully, and I like that it's totally natural and unprocessed.

Have you tried coconut oil on your skin or in your hair? What did you think?

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