Coconut Oil Moisture Treatment
December 13, 2011 by Lara
Free $10 credit from Vitacost who carries coconut oil!
You know how much we love coconut oil around here (if you don’t, see this post). We found a brilliant new way to use it. The best part, we have also found a coupon to make it dirt cheap {yes that is a $10 off coupon we just found for it. You are welcome 
}. Or you can find it there for a great price.
We are all dying to have beautiful, healthy hair right? Hair can feel brittle with the dry winter air. Plus, looking our best for the holiday parties can do some serious heat damage to our lovely locks!
I have a cure; a secret that I stumbled on this year!
I have been using coconut oil in my personal skin care since I was 16. I use it on my kids as a replacement for lotion! I knew it was good for cooking and skin, but I had no idea how GREAT it was for my hair as well!
Scoop out a handful of organic virgin coconut oil. My hair is very thick and long so my scoop has to be extra big. The oil will begin to melt at the touch of your skin, there is no need to heat the oil before application. It will melt as you massage it into your hair.
Flip your head upside down and slowly spread the oil through your hair. Saturate your hair completely, focusing on areas that are dry.
Once your hair is soaked with oil, twist your hair into a bun or ponytail. You can clip it in place by grabbing some hair from your scalp and part of the bun, or use a hair tie to keep it in place.
Cover your hair with a shower cap. You can choose to apply heat or not. Applying heat will open the cuticle of each strand so the coconut oil can penetrate the core faster. Leave the coconut oil on your hair for at least 30 minutes without heat, or 15 minutes with heat. You can use a hair dryer to apply heat over the shower cap. I like to rig a little system so I can sit on the floor and read or play with my kids! If I am busy and need to do other things I will leave the oil on my hair without heat.
Once your time is up wash and condition your hair as you normally would. You may need to wash your hair twice to rinse away all of the oil. I really focus on my roots and try to shampoo my ends as little as needed. Style your hair and be amazed at your soft, smooth hair!
* I (Missy) have to break in here to tell you I tried this on my daughter’s long, very long hair and even after one treatment I can’t believe how soft it is!!! Thanks Lara for this fabulous tip! Just what I needed, one more reason to love this stuff. 
Oh and do wash twice…when I tried it on my own hair and only washed once (because my kids had just all showered and took all the hot water) it was too greasy. When I washed again later – it was perfect! I also am LOVING coconut oil because it is an awesome carrier oil for these. Don’t forget you can try coconut oil for almost free by ordering through vitacost with your $10 credit. Enjoy!
{We’re linking up to these parties!}
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Another way to get heat is to put a heating pad on your head and wrap a towel around it:)
I decided to try this after I forgot which decade I was living in and went overboard with curling irons, teasing, and hairspray. So I bought some organic coconut oil and liberally applied to my hair, allowing it to absorb under a dryer. And voila! My hair is disgusting. It’s more confused than a kid going through puberty. My roots look like those Coming to America “Soul Glow” commercials and my ends are clumps of straw. So here I am cruising around with a tremendous headband to cover my grease monkey roots and a pound of styling oil on my ends. Verdict: if you have split dry ends, the only thing that’s going to help them is a hair cut, and coconut oil is a great alternative to Murphy’s Oil!
you are not to put regular coconut oil on ur hair. use virgin coconut oil. 10x better…
Hi! Love this and do it often.but just wondering if.i can.use it on coloured hair? I.dye my hair an off shade.of.my natural colour which.is.dark brown, all I am.wondering is.if it.will.fade.my.colour quicker or.harm the colour? Tha.ks!
I’m not sure how I feel about the link to the refer a friend program from Vitacost for the $10 coupon. It seems a little self-serving and makes me questions the validity of this page.
If you want people to take your word at face value, don’t attach strings.
I just applied it. It was legit and I did get the $10 off, which is amazing and that site has really great prices for coconut oil anyways. It’s really expensive. Of course it does help out those who referred it too, but still. $10 off!
I just used the vitacost $10 discount and it was a great saving on my order. Thank you for posting it.
I would like to know what shampoo and conditioner you use!
trying this tonight!Hope it works
Can I use a plastics grocery bag instead? I don’t have shower caps.
i can not find the extra virgin organic coconut oil anywhere, do you know if plain organic coconut oil will work the same way?
No. Must be unrefined organic virgin coconut oil. You’ll know the difference the moment you open the jar and smell! I once used unrefined organic coconut oil and I’m not real sure why, but I had major fallout for almost a week. I’ve got a ton of hair so wasn’t too worried, just made me not want to use on my horse, which I also put it in her mane and tail
i use Loann natural pure coconut oil that i found at walmart. lol i started with tangly hair, that was falling, and now my hair is much more managebale. i know everyone here is suggesting organic, but this is working for me. if you find it organic and can afford it, great. but i had this in my house, and its working amazing for my hair. i use it one a week.
I use this brand & get it from Costco, it’s extra virgin cold pressed organic for $25 for a 1/2 gallon! Don’t wet your hair with water before you wash it put soap right on the oil & massage in the wash out with water. Wonderful stuff coconut oil is & their are so many uses for it!
How long does it take to see a difference in the health of your hair after first starting?
I notice a difference once I wash it out and dry my hair.
I tried this tonight, bc my very thick very long hair was headed for a pixi cut. It was just worn out from all the brushing, drying, and flat iroining not to mention my 9 month old loves to pull hair! I applied the oil and hopped in the shower. After shaving and washing and basic showering it was ready to be washed. I heeded the advice from previous posters and put the shampoo directly on the hair w/o water. Scrubbed my scalp and rinsed. I did wash a 2nd time bc I have a ton of hair. I conditioned, combed through and rinsed a final time. I’m soooo over the moon happy with the results. My hair is sooo silky and my natural curl is beautiful. I used the oil that was running in my face to get off my make up and now my skin looks amazing too!
I do have to say that it was a total mess saturating my hair. I don’t know if I used too much but I don’t think I could have used a shower cap to keep the oil in and off my clothes.
Thanks for posting!!!! I’m going to continue using this on weekends until my hair is healthy again!!! Thanks so much for getting my hair back to “normal”!
I have been doing this for a while, but I leave it in all night. I have fine hair and am always looking for more volume. The next morning, I wash twice and my hair is much more voluminous and the curl holds better too. I haven’t tried applying heat, though. Will do!
This treatment turned my naturally curly hair into a hot mess! It’s been freaked out for a week now! Not quite sure why…very strange! Also, been using straight coconut oil (exact brand you are promoting) on my skin right after each and every shower and it is actually DRYING my skin out. Could be that I’m sensitive to it???
Mine, too. I’ve no idea why. Dried my naturally curly hair out so badly that it looks like a rat’s nest. Used unrefined, extra virgin coconut oil.
I have the exact brand as well. It was drying my skin out too, but I found out that coconut oil is a humectant and holds in moisture. Once I started putting it on my skin while it was still wet, it made all the difference. My skin is in much better shape now. I haven’t tried it on my hair yet, but thinking about it.
I LOVE LOVE your shower cap/blow dryer rig!!!
Thank you for this idea, I had a tub of coconut oil that I bought to make massage bars but never got around to it. Tried your tip but had no shower cap so my boyfriend just used the blow dryer on my hair for me. It worked my hair feels amazing!!! Works so much better then hot oil from the drug store and I need two boxed for my long hair,and saves me so much money.
i want my hair to long shiny my hair is already curly.
Is it bad to use just regular coconut oil?
I have a problem with oily hair and kinda dry ends, I only wash my scalp when I shower witch has to be daily because other than that my hair becomes gross and it looks like I have not washed my self for a wile, I know eww, and I only condition the hair not touching my scalp, I know this has nothing to do with coconut oil, but I do use it for my skin so idk if you have some thing that could help me out.
This is awesome! Thanks!
I tried this with top quality organic coconut oil and got horrible results. I’ve washed my hair 4 times and still have not got the oil out. Worst thing I’ve ever done to my hair. Perhaps it affects different hair types differently. My advice would be to try this on a day you don’t have to go to work or out in public.
A tip on getting the oil out easier, add your shampoo to your hair before getting under the water. It’s simple science really, the oil repels the water making it hard to wash out, but by adding your surfactant to the oil first the water is able to do it’s job.
I learnt this one dealing with nits in my stepdaughter. Coconut oil used in the same way you did for conditioning is the best non-chemical treatment you can use, it un-glues the eggs so you can comb them out and suffocates the live ones.
Your link for the Hair Care Product Ingredients link is bad. It just leads to the Vitacost 10.00 off coupon. Where can I find info about the bad ingredients in hair products?
A few tips from a coconut oil fanatic I wanted to share with everyone! First make sure it’s extra Virgin! To avoid a clumpy nasty mess, whip your cold pressed coconut oil with an electric hand mixer, it turns it into a soft butter that is much more managable. When applying it on your skin, the best time to do it is right after you exfoliate in the shower after you get out. Your pores are still open and your skin easily digests the oil so it will not cause acne
I found it worked miracles on my eczema 
hopefully this helps all the first timers!
I am so happy to Coconut Oil being used in this way. Its such an amazing oil for hair. We may only be discovering this now in the West, but in countries like India it has been in use as an important hair for a very long time. Nice tips on how to get the most out of this oil and really make it work for you. Thanks for the share.
You won’t have to wash your hair twice if you use a trick that I use when I put oil of any kind on my hair. DO NOT PUT WATER ON YOUR HAIR right after putting the oil on. First, put your shampoo on your hair and work it into the oil and hair real good. Now would be a good time to massage your scalp a little. Then you can put water on your hair and the oil and shampoo will wash out together leaving no greasy feeling in your hair. I usually shampoo my hair twice anyway but you would not have to because all of the oil will be gone.
great tip! I will try that next time – thanks!
I never have to wash my hair twice, I just lather it for a long time before washing it out. This is a great tip as well! Thanks for sharing!
I remember years ago there was a popular shampoo that always advertised as having coconut oil in it. Also, I use coconut oil for skin care for my husband who is a wheelchair full-time- it is better than all the expensive lotions . For somebody who sits for over 12 hours, he does not have any skin break-down. I buy it at the bulk food store.