Natural Hair Conditioner… Use Organic Coconut Oil!
Last week, while we were preparing for our niece’s wedding, Rob took a picture of me with Katie and Ricky (bride and groom) at the wedding venue. When I saw the picture, I said, “What is that on my head that’s supposed to be my hair?!” Granted, it was very humid that day, but I looked like Phyllis Diller had stuck her finger in an electrical socket!
I set off on a mission to change that and ended up in the hair care department of my local drug store. I was desperate. What I found was stuff that cost at a minimum $35 – $40.00, and I would only use it once and throw it away. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and as a rule, I wouldn’t even consider using chemical junk on my hair.
Ultimately, I left without buying anything. I just couldn’t bring myself to buy the expensive poison.
Back at home, I searched on the net for a natural hair conditioner and came up with coconut oil!
I worked a tablespoon of Cold Pressed Organic Coconut Oil into damp hair and combed it through. I then put a shower cap on and left it that way overnight. I was quite the vision of loveliness, but again, desperate times…
The following morning, I washed my hair to get the oil out. The instructions said to shampoo twice to remove all the oil, but I shampooed once. To my amazement, my hair was soft and shiny; not frizzy. Phyllis had left the building…
It was such a dramatic improvement that someone in my office the following day commented on how shiny my hair looked. Unsolicited, I swear.
I forgot to mention that after I shampooed my hair, I put a pea-sized drop of the oil on my hands and worked it through my wet hair, combing it through thoroughly and concentrating on the ends for a leave-in conditioner.
I’m sold on this easy to do, healthy and not at all expensive method to condition my hair. Give it a try; I think you’ll be as surprised as I was!
Here are the full instructions so you can try it too! Let me know what you think!!
Pour some very warm to hot water into a small bowl.
Scoop 2-3 tsps. of coconut oil out of the jar (depending upon the length of your hair), using a clean spoon, and put it into a glass cup.
Put the cup of oil into the bowl of warm water. Leave the cup in the bowl until the coconut oil melts. Pure coconut oil is solid at cold temperatures but melts quickly at 76 degrees F or above. If it’s summer and the environment is warm, you may not even need to include this step. The oil may already be liquid.
Massage the oil into your hair. Again, if your hair is long or very thick, you may need to use an additional amount of the oil. Apply the coconut oil to dry or damp hair, whichever you prefer. The oil is easier to distribute if your hair is damp.
Comb your hair for a few minutes to evenly distribute it and to work it into your hair and scalp.
Put a shower cap on your head, and tuck all of your hair inside of it. Leave the oil on your hair for one hour or better yet, for overnight. The longer you leave it on your hair, the more it will condition.
Shampoo your hair once or twice to remove the coconut oil completely (depending upon the level of dryness you are trying to remedy).
Melt a pea-sized amount of coconut oil in the palms of your hands by rubbing your hands together, and apply it lightly throughout your hair for extra conditioning, concentrating on the ends of your hair. Skip this step if your hair doesn’t need extra conditioning. You can do this on a regular basis to keep your hair shiny and soft.
It’s important to purchase pure, unrefined organic coconut oil. Pure, unrefined coconut oil is processed without chemicals; it’s the chemical processing that destroys the oil’s valuable nutrients. Unrefined coconut oil is sold in health food stores. I just used a bit of the coconut oil I keep on hand for cooking. Perfect!