Raw Food Forums

On Friday 16 November 2007 under “hair beauty tips” - I wrote this about coconut oil…………

"On the rare occasions I have used it in my hair; it has always been a bit of a disaster.

As despite washing and re-washing my hair, I have found the oil very hard to remove - even though the label on the tub says it’s ideal for hair.

So my questions are:

1) How much oil do you use?
2) How long do you leave it on?
3) Do you apply it to completely dry, wet or towel dried hair?
4) How do you remove it? With water? With Shampoo? Or do you just leave it in your hair?

I have left it in my hair before, as I had problems washing it out. My hair did not look healthy and thick; I just looked like Elvis on a greasy bad hair day.

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Well in the four months since my original posting, I have tried coconut oil in my hair hundreds of times BUT I still look like Elvis on a greasy bad hair day.

WHY WHY WHY???

I have been on thousands of coconut oil / natural beauty websites and they all say the same thing:.....

“Achieve beautiful, gorgeous, silky, soft, shiny and healthy hair”...... by applying coconut oil.

Well, it aint working for me.

It still looks like I have stuck my head in a bucket of KFC.

WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?

AHHHHH - PLEASE ADVISE.......

.

I put it on to straight dry hair and forgot to mention even after i wash my hair when its a little wet oil is easier to put on, then i plate my hair in tiny little dread locks and go to bed. I dont use that much oil. I use as much to cover the ends and leave my scalp a little drier. Ill only dab bits hear and there for the scalp as i have this problem with getting oil off my scalp. So concentrate on the ends more as the oil fuses itself to your scalp through your hair shaft. Put some on your scalp as you would hair straightening cream. Rub it in your hads and rub your fingers through scalp(play with it like gelling). Your whole scalp does not need all the scalp oiled. You will still see the same end results.

Then i wash it out twice the next day and blow dry and my hair is soft and silky, not to mention shiny as the blow dryer heat fuses the shine. Not many people like to use blow dryers as it can damage the hair but eh i dont mind.

Some people do better dampening their hair a bit first, just misting it with some water.

The problem could be in the amount your using, less is definitely more with oil. I agree with putting it on your ends, not the scalp. When i use it i only use enough to create a sheen on my hands, basically i rub some into my hands first and when its fairly well rubbed in i run my hands along the ends of my hair. It doesnt seem like much but its enough to care for your ends.

Thank you.

From reading both your posts, I think I must be using too much.

I have been using a teaspoon full but I will try just getting a thin coating on both palms.

Will also only do the ends and avoid the scalp.

Will give the hairdryer a go, as normal air dry naturally.

.

Hey KittyK

I've found the trick to removing the oil is to apply shampoo to your hair without water (instead of wetting the hair first and then applying the shampoo).  Work it through your hair as much as you can, rinse and then shampoo again if you need to. 

This has always worked for me, and I used to use olive oil which is much thicker.  And my scalp was very dry before raw, so I used heaps of oil from the scalp to the ends. 

This works well - thank you very much for the tip. It felt very weird doing it though, just so odd. However, my hair has had a really soft feel and shine since doing it. So I may do it everytime, not just when I am using coconut oil.

.

Does anyone use coconut oil as a skin moisturizer? I've used it in the tropics no problem - beautiful, soft, springy skin. But back home in Melbourne I break out with millia and my skin just gets drier and drier, as though osmosis is taking place and the oil is just sucking my natural skin oils out!

What experiences does anyone else have?

Thanks, Niqi :battle: :battle: :battle:

According to Ayurveda, coconut oil is a drying oil, it feels rich, but it mainly sits on the skin rather than nourish it. It work a bit like mineral oil in that it puts a protective coating over the skin, which is great if your skin is well hydrated and has a good lipid balance, it keeps it like that; but if your skin is dehydrated or lipid dry, it can aggrevate it.
People think it is hydrating in hot climates because it helps to keep you skin super hydrated by keeping the sweat under the coconut oil layer, reabsorbs into the skin = super hydrated; in cooler weather, without the sweat, it really isn't the best oil to be using.

I use and recommend jojoba. This is about the cheapest place you can get it www.jojocare.com.au  jojoba is almost the same composition as the skin's own sebum, it's the best sebum regulator out there, great eye makeup remover, great cleanser (put on dry skin rub in, rub a bit of water in, it will looosen up all the grime, rinse off), great as a moisturiser,  great for exzema, great for cradle cap, great for fur balls for cats, great for dry itchy skin, great for oily skin, great in hair as a conditioner. Easily washes out, because everything thinks it is the skin's own sebum. You don't need to use much, a little goes a long way.  You just get a sheen on you from jojoba, not that slimey oil slick you can get with other oils (mainly because it is a plant wax rather than an oil) It doesn't got rancid, so MUCH longer shelf life than oils.


Using shampoo before adding water you HAVE to do after a lot of Ayurvedic treatments - trying to get the oil out after a shirodhara treatment is serious work if you put water in first. (that usually uses sesame oil, but can be buttermilk etc, depends on what it is treating, but generally most people need an oil shirodhara)

I use it on my hands, but only occasionally, and i put it on straight after a shower, maybe the moisture in the bathroom helps it work better, it seems to help.

Thanks Melb - that certainly nails down the tropics vs home experience! Thanks also for advice on jojoba - really interesting!

Cheers,  :laugh:

Perhaps I shouldn't be putting coconut oil on my skin afterall, will look into jojoba.

Maybe it is the brand you are using?

I am currently using coconut oil as a cleanser and evening moisturiser.

I have tried four or five different brands, with varying degrees of success.

The brand I am currently using is the very best I have ever used -  and it tastes really yummy too - I got it from this website:

http://www.raw-pleasure.com.au/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,620/category_id,29/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,49/ (http://www.raw-pleasure.com.au/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,620/category_id,29/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,49/)

It is far superior to any brand I have used in the past.

I am using it as a cleaner, moisturiser, as a hair conditioner, as massage oil, spread on date scones, in green smoothies. Even my cats like the taste.

How does this work?

Do you rub it on your cats fur or add it to their food?

Many thanks

for fur balls, just get a syringe (without the needle) and squirt it in, they don't appreciate it.  Seems to work better than any any of the mineral oil based ones the vets have available, the paraffinum ones tend to loosen things up for longer than required, jojoba seems to just loosen up the hairbball then back to normal.

 :yahh: :yahh: :yahh:

To everyone lovely who talked about jojoba oil. Wow! I went to my local health food store and bought a small bottle as an experiment. Whoohoo! This stuff is INCREDIBLE! I have tetchy skin to say the least, so am always a bit wary of trying new stuff, whether conventional, organic or the organic stuff that is filled with conventional products... [!!]

Jojoba oil is amazing. It doesn't sit on the surface, it doesn't dry my skin out, it doesn't leave my skin tough or sticky. It sinks right in and softens my skin - all over, even the dry bits on elbows and heels. It doesn't feel like I'm drowning in oil, I'm not shiny or drippy. It doesn't sting, itch, make me red, whatever.

But the most incredible part is how soft my skin is. It hasn't been this soft for a very. very long time. (Anyone remember the 80s???! LOL!)

THank you thank you thank you Melb, you were absolutely right.

I'll stop raving now!

xxx Niqi
 :yahh: :yahh: :yahh:

I absolutely love jojoba oil and I was using it everyday to cleanse my skin, then moisturise it. I was also using it in my hair.

Then about six months ago, I just could not seem to buy it anywhere. There are only three shops that sold it anyway and these three shops just did not have it anymore (despite my constant requests)

I thought scarce supplies may have something to do with the drought, so I swapped over to using coconut oil instead. 

There is only one brand I really like and it is so long since I could buy it, I can’t remember the name of the brand now. :(

Rave all you want! People are scared of it because it is not cheap, the more raves, the more people will try it.  Gives me an excuse to rave about it more :)  I'm glad you've found it works for you so well :)  I haven't found anyone it hasn't worked for yet (if they actually bother to use it)




The only supply problems I've had with jojoba was when I was getting it directly from small farm - their storage drums were outside so during winter they couldn't get any out of the storage drums because it solidifies - after the first winter I encountered that problem, I ordered enough in summer to get me through the rest of the year. Now I get it from a bigger supplier (the afore mentioned website) they don't seem to have any problems at all.

Yep - I'm a stubborn git and I am reading Elaine Hollingworth's book again; she swears by coconut oil, so I thought I'd experiment AGAIN and give it another try. It worked beautifully for a week (again) until I started to dry out (AGAIN). Some people never learn or like to experiment again and again just to make sure. A bit like tasting wine just to see if you get drunk or not.  :uhuh: :uhuh: :uhuh: !!!

So the merry-go-around. I stopped the coconut oil -- although I am still eating it --and went back to jojoba. Yes, jojoba is great. Yes, it is with great regret that I can't put coconut on my face. Yes, I am a silly git. Mea culpa!

I can't really give this a rational explanation. Coconut oil works for about a week on me and then I need to recover with jojoba. I think the experiment now will be how long I can work with jojoba before I get bored again! (My issue, not the delightful jojoba seed's!!!)  rofl

But as we are speaking of experimentation, I will say that the jojoba oil does work well as a cleanser too. I have gone over your posts again Melb to see how you explained it before and have been trying that; rub it in, massage with water, wash off with face cloth. It does take a lot of dirt off.

So begging your pardon for being inconsistent!

hugs and shrugs, Niqi

Well the "drought" in Jojoba oil seems to have lifted and I am buying it on a regular basis again.

Still can't find my favourite brand or an organic brand but I am buying unrefined cold pressed GMO free oil from The Natural Oil Workers.

I am actually buying pure base oil. You get twice as much for roughly the same price and the naturopath in the shop tells me they are exactly the same thing. One is advertised as a face moisturiser and one is advertised as base oil but basically they are the same thing just different advertising. 

I put a small amount in the palm of my hands and rub on and into my face, I then wipe off with a damp cotton wool pad. In the evening after work it removes loads of grime and dirt, a quick wipe with a damp face cloth removes any final oil traces and then I moisturise my face with the Jojoba oil…..and that is pretty much my regular morning and night beauty routine.

Tonight I will try Melbs suggesting of massaging it in with water before removal.

The only thing I don’t really like about my routine is the cotton wool pads. The ones I use are from Coles and the cotton would have been heavily sprayed. However, Coles cotton wool pads are $2.50 and Macro organic cotton wool pads are $7.00, so for now I will stick to the non-organic.

I like using the pads, as I like to see how much grime is coming off my face. It is a crazy psychological issue I know, but if I can’t see the grime on the pad I don’t feel my face is clean, that’s why I stick with the pads even thought I am slightly concerned about the cotton used in the product.

I know what you mean about seeing the grime come off. Especially how it makes me feel like my skin is cleaner too! Crazy psychological  thingo or just liking to get the yukky dirt off? Dirt just makes the pimples & wrinkles grow IMHO!!!!

I've found that face cloths are good for washing the face - don't say 'well durh!!!' LOLOLOL!!!
 rofl rofl rofl rofl rofl

Coconut oil still beats everything else I've tried for cleaning.

Thanks for posting more on this Sweetpea!

 :laugh: :laugh:

Niqi

coconut oil is phenomal for skin and body,inside and out...i am a convert its incredible amazing nectar of zee goddesses....x

I had to stop using it because it was drying my skin too much. Great for the first few weeks but then it would start to dry out. A few people on here have mentioned this problem too.