Misting Hair And Reapplying Oil As Often As Every Day To Add Moisture To It

This topic came up in several emails regarding coconut oil and mineral oil use. Coconut oil was and still is being used as a pre-treatment before conventional dye with peroxide, to prevent damage. For that purpose, to condition hair during dyeing, the better feeling of the hair (compared to without using it) after dyeing and dye uptake, it is working very well.

Mineral oil is being used right after and in between dyeing the hair, to moisturize and condition it and it has proven to do so better than coconut oil, when the two oils were assessed for those purposes. While it has also been working very well, mineral oil now works even more effectively because more of it is being used and its distribution throughout the hair after washing has been improved. The hair has not become heavy or greasy.

Coconut oil used as a pre-treatment needs to saturate hair well and that means coatings on the hair are best removed to allow that. Washing the hair can remove mineral oil easily. It can remove enough conditioner too, as long as there is not a lot of residue present. It is best though, to wait a day or so before washing hair and dyeing it. Why? It is about the scalp, not the hair. The day or so allows natural oil from your scalp to recover sufficiently after being removed, to offset conventional dye ingredients and less irritation can result. That is why dyeing is often done on hair that is not freshly washed.

Hair stylists often recommend that you do not deep condition your hair before dyeing it. Deep conditioners usually contain more coating ingredients. It is about the dye taking evenly and well. Coconut oil used as a pre-treatment can increase dye uptake by chelating copper and iron, as well as protect hair from peroxide damage and condition it. Argan oil can do the same things.

The solution to conditioning hair during the waiting time before a coconut oil pre-treatment can be to use a small amount of coconut oil alone, on damp to wet hair if the hair is dry and then adding more coconut oil for at least an hour before dyeing the hair, or other conventional processing like using peroxide alone or bleach.

A problem can occur when reapplying more coconut oil and did, when waiting more days between the initial wash and dyeing the hair and is applicable to using more of any oil frequently on your hair to keep it moisturized. The hair in this case is dry and is made more so from frequent but not too frequent (once a month) dyeing of the roots. The hair became greasy and heavy and not more moisturized, even though misting had been done. In fact, even though oily, the hair felt drier. Needed water had evaporated and had not been replaced during those few days.

When oil is applied to hair, it can reduce the amount of both water vapour and water absorbed by hair.

Misting hair lightly enough to dampen it and applying more oil can be counterproductive in 2 ways.

1. Enough water to moisturize your hair is being restricted by the oil already on or in your hair.

2. Adding more oil can make your hair greasy and increases the chances of build-up, by it not completely being washed out with a mild shampoo or other cleansing methods. That possibility is increased with the use of heavy oils and especially drying oils, that often need repeated clarifying to be completely removed. Some conventional dyes when rinsed out can effectively remove coconut and argan oils, leaving the hair clean and one did remove the coconut oil, for this person.

When I have written about the reapplication of mineral oil, I have referred to enough of it being not been used during the initial application and needing more, to be added to areas of your hair that have been missed. It is about making up the difference in the total amount used, not a full reapplication of it. If enough mineral oil is used on your hair the first time and evenly distributed throughout your hair, more should not be required until after your next hair wash.

See Also
This blog post
and this one
Update 3/4/13
and this forum thread post "[0009]" on conditioners. The information in patents is most illuminating and free of marketing hype.