If you are an owner of curly locks, you are definitely well aware of what it takes to tame those tresses and make your crazy mane look neat. And even though nowadays we have plenty of styling products that can help us to deal with almost any issue regarding our strands, ladies still prefer using natural and the least harmful means of care.
This is why using coconut oil before straightening hair is still so popular! They say this organic product is a perfect remedy for the wild , but is it really so?
In this article, we will try to investigate how to use coconut oil as heat protectant and whether this method is effective at all.
How to Use Coconut Oil to Straighten Hair
To make use of coconut oil for straightening hair, you will need to undergo a simple procedure.
- First of all, start with combing your locks to separate the tresses, otherwise, after applying quite an oily product, you may get a clomp of tangled and greasy-looking strands!
- The next step is to simply take several drops of the oil, warm it up in your palms until it melts, and distribute over the mane using your fingers to go through all the strands thoroughly.
At this stage, be cautious: do not let the oil get to the roots! If it happens, your whole head will look greasy and the mane will lose most of its volume.
- After the oil is evenly spread over the chevelure, let it stay for a few minutes, not more, and then you can start applying the flat iron. You will see how surprisingly smoothly and easily the tool slides on the surface of your locks!
Because of the simpleness of application, coconut oil is rather popular as a heat protectant. However, there is another great benefit of using this stuff: it is completely organic and natural. Being a nature-born product, coconut oil contains no chemicals which makes it safe to apply on our strands. Moreover, it is extremely useful for any mane!
What Makes Coconut Oil So Good For Our Hair
We assume that quite a few people know that coconut oil can be used not only in culinary but also for taking care of our locks. And even though we all saw this product being mentioned on the ingredients lists of various hair care products like shampoos or masks, it is still not that common to find a bottle of the pure oil somewhere in a store.
Nevertheless, this gift of mother nature is definitely worth being tried out!
- The oil makes our manes grow longer, stronger, and healthier
Let’s agree, that is quite a perspective! All women want their locks to look shiny, strong, and thick, and this is exactly what coconut stuff can help us out with easily. First of all, it makes our hair grow and that is the proven fact.
Second, it is stuffed with vitamins and fatty acids which makes it a perfect remedy for treating our scalp to make it moisturized and nourished thus making the state of the hair better, too.
To get the most of its power, apply coconut mask onto your tresses to let it reach the very cuticles and do its job.
- Use it as a pre-shampooing remedy
This is not a secret anymore that most of the regular shampoos can rather damage our manes than do any good to them, all because of the harsh chemicals they contain.
So if you ever noticed your locks turn dry, lifeless, and frizzy after each wash, consider applying a bit of coconut oil prior to cleansing the mane with the shampoo.
The oily “shield” will protect the strands from being stripped of all the nutrients and natural oils they still have.
- Pre-dyeing protection
If you color your hair often enough, we would recommend you thinking of applying some coconut oil onto the locks before the next color-changing procedure. See, during some extremely aggressive procedures, such as bleaching or highlighting, our hair undergoes a huge stress and damage. Applying even a little bit of coconut oil will help to protect the strands from the damage that bleach causes.
- Tame the frizz and cure the split ends
Frizzy locks with the split end is not the best spectacle, let’s be honest. And of course, this problem must be taken care of professionally in a salon. However, if you need to act right now and there is no time to visit a hairdresser, grab some coconut stuff!
The oil will smooth the cuticles of the split ends and will eventually leash the frizz. By the way, if your hair gets frizzy all over the head, go for coconut oil, too!
- Summer leave-in treatment
In summer, our hair suffers from heat and dry air which results in damage. The best way to prevent that is not wearing hats but apply some coconut oil onto the mane. Like that, your strands will be reliably protected from drying out and turning brittle.
- Anti-dandruff effect
Did you know that coconut oil helps to fight dandruff? Simply apply it onto your scalp and leave for a few minutes right before washing hair with your regular shampoo. You will see how fast the result will appear!
- A great detangler
Instead of spraying your mane with chemical detanglers, opt for some coconut remedy. After applying it, the brush will slide through your locks smoothly like sleigh on the snow!
- Make it shine!
Coconut oil is a well-known remedy for adding shine to our strands. So if you notice your chevelure turns dull, don’t hesitate and make use of this wonder method.
Will Coconut Oil Damage My Flat Iron
Ladies are often worried about using such oily stuff on their tresses before applying a flat iron. They think that, when straightening hair with coconut oil, it will somehow damage the tool and make it burn or leave the sticky traces.
However, everything depends on your caution here. See, if you take a little bit of oil and distribute it evenly throughout the locks leaving no residue on their surface, then using your flat iron will not cause any harm neither to the tool nor to the mane.
Is Coconut Oil Good For All the Hair Types?
One of the biggest concerns regarding the use of coconut oil is whether it will suit any type of hair. Well, basically, the product can be safely used on any hair type if we take a little bit of it.
However, it will work the best if applied on soft and fine or thick and medium locks. On the other hand, be careful if you have dry, brittle, stiff or coarse hair since they may not tolerate the regular use of coconut stuff that well!
Coconut Oil Mask For Hair Straightening
When we want to protect our hair from being damaged by the heat from a flat iron, we usually apply some coconut oil right before the procedure. However, there is another way to make use of coconut oil as heat protectant, and for that, we need to make a homemade mask.
Such a procedure needs to be taken the day before you are going to straighten the mane so that the hair could stay oiled during the night for better effect. The scheme is simple:
- Apply an even layer of the product onto the locks remembering to avoid the roots.
- Put on a shower cap and go to bed. It would be better if you cover the pillow with a towel to protect it from any oily traces just in case.
- That’s it! When you wake up, your locks will be ready for the straightening procedure!
Repeat this procedure once or twice a week, and you will see how well your tresses react.
However, if you are too lazy and don’t want to undergo the same process many times, hair straightening with coconut oil and lemon juice is definitely your option!
- Take three big spoonfuls of lemon juice and the same amount of cornstarch, two spoons of olive oil, and one cup of coconut oil.
- Now you mix olive and coconut oils, add three spoons of each lemon juice and cornstarch, mix it all thoroughly and apply onto your hair.
Such a mask will permanently straighten the locks leaving them shiny and perfectly nourished and moisturized.
What Is the Best Oil For Straightening Hair?
Apparently, coconut oil is not the only hair heat protectant! If for any reason this is not the right oil for hair straightening for you, try out argan oil instead.
Argan oil can also be used before flat iron, and its qualities are no worse than its more exotic cousin. Besides, this product has several undeniable benefits:
- it is filled with vitamins including vitamin E
- it is a rich source of antioxidants and minerals
- it is lightweight (unlike coconut oil) and leaves no sticky residue on the locks
- it is perfect for making your mane manageable for the styling session
So if you think coconut oil is not the right choice for you, shift to argan, it will not fail you!
Now you are informed about the nuances of straightening your hair with coconut oil, and you know what other remedies to go for in case this product will not suit your needs.
