Questions About Oils
Printed From: HairBoutique.com
Category: Long Hair Happenings
Forum Name: Long Hair Support
Forum Description: Growing it long takes commitment and support.
URL: https://talk.hairboutique.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=30555
Printed Date: September 30 2024 at 6:34am
Topic: Questions About Oils
Posted By: The Asian Invasion
Subject: Questions About Oils
Date Posted: May 08 2005 at 11:51am
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Okay, so I'm planning to buy various oils to test out on my hair, but I had a lot of unanswered questions. 1) What kind of scent does Jojoba oil have? Shea Butter? 2) If coconut oil is solid, how long would it take to melt? And if you don't melt it before you apply to your strands, would the white cream be visible in your hair? Or is liquid coconut oil more recommend? 3) Can Shea butter be used on your hair, or just your scalp? If so, same questions apply for shea butter as coconut oil. 4) I hear a lot of how great these oils are for your skin; is it okay to apply the natural oils do your skin, or do you need to melt it with other oils to make an actual lotion first? 5) What's the recommended dilution rate for essential oils in carrier oils such as jojoba or coconut? Speaking of which, how would it be possible to dilute essential oils in a solid, such as shea butter and coconut oil? 6) What's the difference between essential oils and fragrence oils? Can fragrence oils also be diluted in carrier oils? 7) Adding oil to your hair is just like leave in conditioner, right? If I start using oil on my strands, shoud I stop using leave-in conditioners (ie- Nexxon Anti-snap)? Overall, what oils are recommended for your hair? What have you had had good/bad experiences with? Thanks! -Mary |
Replies:
Posted By: DaveDecker
Date Posted: May 08 2005 at 12:25pm
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Hi Mary! It's nice to know your "real" name.  1) Jojoba oil has no scent. I dunno about Shea butter. 2) Depends on the air temp (or temp of your hands). Whenever I tried to use coconut oil, I'd take a bit on my fingertips and rub my hands together - the heat (from hands and friction) melted it so it was no longer white. I never saw any white specks on my hair after applying it. If you do buy coconut oil for use in your hair, I'd recommend one that is liquid at room temperature. 3) I dunno 4) I see no reason why you couldn't use them as is. I dunno how beneficial they are as compared with hand lotions made specifically for skin. 5) Not sure; it may depend on the EO. A 90% dilution (1 part EO to 9 parts carrier oil) may work well. If the oil is solid at room temp, you could melt a quantity of it at very low heat on a rangetop and blend in the EO. 6) I dunno. (Seems there's a lot that I don't know.)  7) Not necessarily. Conditioners contain mostly moisturizers, and some also contain smaller amounts of proteins, silicones, fragrances, and maybe oil. Oil is just oil - 100%. Hair condition benefits from some of most of the above. You get to decide what proportions are right for you. I don't see why you couldn't use leave-in conditioner and oil simultaneously. You may want to clarify occasionally to remove excess build-up. I occasionally (rarely) use Aveda's beautifying composition. Works well for me! Hope this helps... ------------- |
Posted By: shiverpale
Date Posted: May 08 2005 at 12:27pm
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ohhh, i cant wait for your questions to be answered asian invasion! all of them are what ive been wanting to find out! only i didnt know how to word it and everytime i tried i got confuzzled! lets hope they are answered sooooon! btw, if that is you in your icon pic, you have gorgeous hair! i love the shape of it! could you tell me please, is the shape you have classed as a U shape, or V???
------------- "The hair is the richest ornament of women." |
AsmaraPosted By: eKatherine
Date Posted: May 08 2005 at 1:30pm
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I'm just going to try to answer the questions where I have something to add to what Dave said.
1) What kind of scent does Shea Butter have? I bought some unrefined shea butter a while back. It smells wicked gross and greasy to me. I tried to cover the smell with rose fragrance, but that even that was insufficient. I'm not sure how the refined smells, as I don't intend to buy any to try it out. That’s not the only issue I had with shea butter, read 3) below. 2) If coconut oil is solid, how long would it take to melt? And if you don't melt it before you apply to your strands, would the white cream be visible in your hair? Or is liquid coconut oil more recommend? Unless your hands are very cold, coconut oil melts immediately. Actually, you should be applying so little that there's no way it can show. If I use coconut butter for a heat treatment, I melt it in a dish, apply generously, then cover my head with a shower cap before the heat cap. I have liquid coconut oil, which I use as a carrier oil. 3) Can Shea butter be used on your hair, or just your scalp? If so, same questions apply for shea butter as coconut oil. The shea butter I bought did not melt at skin temperature. It was a waxy solid. When heated, it melted easily and applied in a thin coating on the skin that didn't feel greasy. But, as above, it smelled really bad. And I really didn't want a waxy solid in my hair. These are just my experiences, I haven't heard anyone else say these things about it. Cocoa butter is less waxy and smells better. I used it to weigh down my staticky flyaways in the winter. 4) I hear a lot of how great these oils are for your skin; is it okay to apply the natural oils do your skin, or do you need to melt it with other oils to make an actual lotion first? Lotions and oils are completely different things. You can buy plain, unscented lotion to doctor up, or you can blend different oils together if it suits your fancy. I don't use lotion anymore, I use oil both alone or blended. 5) Speaking of which, how would it be possible to dilute essential oils in a solid, such as shea butter and coconut oil? You melt them together in a dish set in a pan of hot water. They will separate when they cool, as the lower melting point solids crystallize from the mixture first. Reheating the container will reliquify them. 6) What's the difference between essential oils and fragrence oils? Can fragrence oils also be diluted in carrier oils? An essential oil is extracted from a single source, which is its name. A fragrance oil can be compounded from many sources, and may not contain any of its namesake. Either can be diluted in a carrier oil. In fact, you'd better dilute your fragrance oils, as they can be powerfully odorific. ------------- 
Just looking for a few good hair slaves - is that too much to ask? |
Posted By: shiverpale
Date Posted: May 08 2005 at 1:42pm
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sorry if this is yet another silly question from me can you use the coconut oil that you can also use for cooking? the solid one??? or tinned??? which is more or less like a thick cream.
As xxx ------------- "The hair is the richest ornament of women." |
but -Posted By: eKatherine
Date Posted: May 08 2005 at 1:49pm
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That sounds like coconut milk or cream, shiverpale. -------------
Just looking for a few good hair slaves - is that too much to ask? |
Posted By: shiverpale
Date Posted: May 08 2005 at 2:13pm
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good job i didnt go to my food cupboard then and start melting the coconut oil block to use on my hair! heh
------------- "The hair is the richest ornament of women." |
Posted By: The Asian Invasion
Date Posted: May 08 2005 at 2:34pm
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Wow, thanks for answering my questions, eKatherine and Dave! *hugs* Shiverpale, my hair in the picture has a deep U-shape, but there were also layers cut into it. Anyways, are essential oils and fragrence oils more recommended? I mean, I heard that essential oils were very harmful because they are used more for 'healing' than the scent (I always had watery eyes when I didn't dilute them enough). Would frangrence oils be more safer in that case, or are they as strong as essential oils? What scents are your favorites for oils? I plan to get liquid oils for my hair. What kind of a container can I store oils in? I want to mix different fragrences, but I'm afraid of storing them incorrectly. Thanks a bunch everyone!! |
Posted By: eKatherine
Date Posted: May 08 2005 at 5:45pm
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Some essential oils are said to have medicinal properties, others you just use for the fragrance when making blended oils and other skin and hair care products. Fragrance oils do not have beneficial properties aside from smelling nice. Fragrance oils are of unknown composition and should only be used for their nice smells in the diluted state.
Most essential oils and all fragrance oils should be diluted for use unless you have specific information to the contrary. If something bothers you, don't use it. Don't assume that because something is "natural" it is safe for any and all purposes. Orange oil on the skin can cause sensitization to sunlight, for example. Some essential oils are quite expensive, and fragrance oils use a variety of chemicals to simulate the desired scent affordably. I've bought tea rose scent, which is very nice, but I could never afford to buy rose otto. Keep any fragrance or essential oils in the container they came in unless they come with instructions to store them differently. I store mine on the bathroom shelf. -------------
Just looking for a few good hair slaves - is that too much to ask? |
Posted By: chgurlsng
Date Posted: May 08 2005 at 8:59pm
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Thanks for posting all this great info! I have a q. Do you know of where any of us can find some recipes from other people who have already done experiments with oils? What is the cheapest way to buy them? -Char |
Posted By: eKatherine
Date Posted: May 08 2005 at 10:12pm
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Question 1, not really sure. Most of the time I see a recipe, it's a person's only recipe, or one of a few. I've never seen any sort of clearinghouse of EO recipe information, though if there was a book, I could easily have missed it.
Question 2, the cheapest way to buy them is over the Internet. Try http://www.essentialoil.net/ - Camden-Grey Essential Oils . There are lots of other dealers, but I've only dealt with them. -------------
Just looking for a few good hair slaves - is that too much to ask? |
Posted By: AnaisSatin
Date Posted: May 09 2005 at 12:36am
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Mary- Most oils are fine for room temp storage (jojoba, coconut, whatnot) but certain oils will have to be refrigerated--among these are flaxseed and unrefined hemp. I've heard that flaxseed is WONDERFUL for our hair type. Jojoba oil does have a very mild scent in some cases, but it's a very light nutty scent.. actually it depends on the batch of jojoba, or which variety you're buying. The lighter the golden color, the less likely you'll have a scent. Also, if you mix oils, the one with the longest shelf life (likely jojoba) will extend the shelf life of the entire mixture as a whole. A bonus! Shiverpale, the stuff in the tin may be coconut milk, but the solid block is coconut oil. If it's a "solid block", it's likely to be the 92 degrees variety (melts @ 92 degrees). You might want to find a softer variety, otherwise it could make hair difficult to manage. There's a 92 and a 76 degree Fahrenheit. Then again, coconut milk also makes a really nice "hair soak".I guess you'd kind of do it like henna. Another wonderful supplier: http://www.mystifyyoursenses.com - http://www.mystifyyoursenses.com ETA: Refined shea butter (white kind) has very little scent. It's the kind that comes in white chunks that are gooey-er than coconut oil but harder than vaseline. I prefer this over the yellow unrefined, which is often the color of yellow play doh. IMHO the unrefined also smells like crap HTH Anais ------------- http://anaissatin.livejournal.com">  my LJ , 40 inches long
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Posted By: chgurlsng
Date Posted: May 09 2005 at 7:52pm
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How do you guys learn all this stuff? How long did it take to research? So cool! -Char |
Posted By: eKatherine
Date Posted: May 09 2005 at 9:04pm
We never stop cruising the web for hair info.  -------------
Just looking for a few good hair slaves - is that too much to ask? |
Posted By: AnaisSatin
Date Posted: May 09 2005 at 10:36pm
LOL, and a lot of trial and error and experimentation too. That's the only way to find out what oils work for your hair. ------------- http://anaissatin.livejournal.com"> my LJ , 40 inches long
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chgurlsng wrote:Posted By: The Asian Invasion
Date Posted: May 11 2005 at 5:21pm
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Anais, I ended up purchasing a bunch of oils from the site you recommend me, Mystify your Senses. I'm still reeling from how cheap everything from that site it. Also, I can't wait for them to arrive. Using USPS, it should be here tomorrow or Friday! Oh, I'm so excited! I can't wait to share the results with everyone! Wish me luck! |
Posted By: AnaisSatin
Date Posted: May 12 2005 at 12:09am
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WOW! That's awesome to hear Soooooooooo...... SPILL! What oils did you order? Anais ------------- http://anaissatin.livejournal.com"> my LJ , 40 inches long
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Posted By: The Asian Invasion
Date Posted: May 12 2005 at 5:38pm
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I ordered: $1.55 1 1/2 oz Cucumber Melon FO I bought a bunch of different fragrence oils because I wanted to test around with diluting a scent into my oils (maybe I could even skip the whole perfume thing if it works out!). Then I purchased some castor oil due to all the rave I hear about the benefits for your eyelashes. Then I got some fractionated coconut oil (liquid) because I thought it would be less messy to deal with a liquid than a solid. And then I got jojoba oil for how amazing it's supposed to be. And tea tree oil based upon the many recommendations and mentions there are. They're already in town, and supposed to be here tomorrow with the mail! Ohhh, I'm so excited!! |
Posted By: AnaisSatin
Date Posted: May 13 2005 at 4:54pm
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I finally splurged on more oils and butters I think you'd be surprised that solid oils can be easy too. I made shea butter leave-in last night, and it is so easy to transport. I put it in a 2 ounce tin:
All it takes is a scrape over the fingernail, rubbed between the palms, and used in the same way as regular oil. I tried this shea leave-in for the first time last night. It looked greasy on loose hair (used too much) but it's GREAT for braiding. Anais ------------- http://anaissatin.livejournal.com"> my LJ , 40 inches long
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