this post was submitted on 13 Jul 2023
7 points (100.0% liked)

Curly Hair

733 readers
1 users here now

This is a community about all things curly hair! Looking for advice, posting your best curly hair pictures, reviews, memes, tutorials, resources, curly hair commentary, you name it! All genders, races, and hair types welcome :)

Basic Rules:

  1. Treat everyone with respect.

  2. No spamming.

  3. Try to keep on-topic, it's ok if it is something more curly hair adjacent as long as it is not something completely off topic

  4. No porn

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 
  1. Shampooing every day is bad for your hair

Not all hair types can handle shampooing every day but it isn't bad for everyone. Shampooing is meant to cleanse the scalp. It prevent yeast from causing inflammation, dandruff, and hair loss. This buildup needs to be removed.

  1. Shampoos will make my hair grow

No such thing as a shampoo that will make your hair grow. Make sure that you get rid of the oily buildup with shampoo but there are no ingredients that can grow your hair. Medicated shampoos don't grow hair or affect the hair cycle, they help reduce inflammation. Shampoos with protein marketed for thin hair can make hair appear thicker but it is not getting thicker.

  1. Dry hair needs moisture

Moisture (water) makes hair frizzy and brittle and prone to breakage. Humidity can cause breakage because of all the moisture (water) content in the air. You want instead products that help coat the hair and keep it smooth and prevent it from absorbing so much moisture. You need conditioning products for hair. Wet hair is very delicate. Coconut oil can help reduce hygral fatigue when you apply before your shower.

  1. You need to trim the hair every 6 weeks for it to grow and avoid split ends

It's not right for everyone. Trimming ends does not affect how much hair comes out of your follicle. If you have split ends, you will need trims to avoid breakage. Trims don't prevent split ends, trims gets rid of them. Use deep conditioning products and avoid too much heat to prevent split ends.

  1. Your hair gets used to your shampoo and conditioner

Products have ingredients that make them unique for a specific outcome. Your hair does not get used to it. Your hair might need a change if the product isn't giving you results because of the change in environment, etc. But it is not because your hair gets used to it.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[โ€“] curlygirl 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I use coconut oil with success but it is true that some people's hair reacts badly to it. I just quoted the video but maybe should have added a warning to the advice. It felt weird for me to correct a doctor lol

Coconut oil's "miracle ingredient" is medium-chain triglycerides, a variety of fat or oil. Human sebum (skin oils) only contains around 35% triglycerides in general, and far less (maybe 10-15%) are shorter to medium-chain triglycerides.

In addition to the somewhat unique medium-chain triglyceride content, coconut oil is also high in saturated fats (those which solid at cooler room temperatures). Saturated fats tend to penetrate hair well also. This is another characteristic of coconut oil which may create a problem for hair. The oils produced on our skin contain some triglycerides and saturated fatty acids. But not as much as coconut oil contains.

Coconut oil is so good at penetrating the hair because the medium-chain triglycerides are both small enough to seep between cuticles and they have polarity (a charge) that attracts them to the protein in your hair. Coconut oil is actively drawn to the inner portion of your hair whereas other oils need to seep through slowly. This is unlike most other plant oils. The saturated fats with short carbon chains can slowly soak in to hair as well. No wonder coconut oil can behave so strangely!

https://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2014/06/coconut-oil-makes-my-hair-stiff.html

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Oh wow, thanks for the information, I never knew the science behind it.

And for the record, I don't think it was wrong of you to post it like that. It works great for many people. The mention just triggers my personal coconut oil trauma and I thought, I'd warn others :D