What comes after coconut oil? - September 2018
Adding coconut oil to my life was not the only change that I had to make, it was just the first change I made. Khyanna and I are the only curly haired people in our household yet her needs are quite different to mine. The ends of her hair were always so matted and tangled, dry and course looking that it was impossible to get a comb through it, we would just have to trim the ends off – which meant that she couldn’t grow long hair.
After I oiled my hair that first time I sat her down with me the following week and we did it together. She hated it. She complained and flinched and cringed at me just as I did with my Granny. I felt for her and her scalp, I really did, but I persevered. One year on, we have gotten ourselves into a routine of that deep coconut oil, detangling, sore scalp treatment once every week or so depending on how the hair is feeling (not looking, feeling).
Initially, it could take all day because we would put the oil on in the morning, tie our hair up into a top knot once it was fully coated and de-tangled, then later in the day we would wash it out.
Two years on, we no longer take all day, my daughter still dislikes having to detangle and oil BUT she now can do it herself and she does appreciate the fact that she finally has long, healthy, curly hair. The crucial thing for me is that we are using oil. Just oil. It is not a serum or a cream containing coconut oil; it is not coconut oil that has been taken and processed into something and then processed into something else and then something else. I would imagine that hair products containing coconut oil are probably better for you than the ones without but, for me, nothing beats the pure, unprocessed stuff.
As well as the coconut oiling thing, we made a few other changes and I think most of them would benefit everyone, no matter the hair type.
Satin pillowcases – Satin (or better still, silk) does not absorb the moisture from you skin and your hair as much as cotton does. Therefore, changing your bedding means that the moisture that we busily, and expensively, apply to our hair and skin by day will not be removed as we sleep at night.
Cold rinse – Hot water can be quite damaging so we try and use only cold water for the final rinse on our hair. I live in the UK, so of course I am NOT taking cold showers but after my normal warm shower I wrap myself in a robe, flip my head over the tub and use cold water through the shower attachment only. Yes, it’s a shock to my scalp but so much better for my head and hair.
T-shirt towel - The whole point of using a towel is to absorb all of the moisture – that’s why we use them! It can be kinder on your hair, especially delicate hair, to use a micro-fibre towel. I didn’t have one in the beginning, so I just used an oversized t-shirt, which works very well too.
Detangling – If you don’t have curly hair then for you it maybe an alien concept to leave the house without combing your hair but, if you have curly hair, then you know as well as I do that combing/brushing your dry hair is not an option. Therefore, determined detangling has been a major change for both Khyanna and myself in the pursuit of healthy hair. Fingers are first coated with coconut oil or argan oil then gently pulled through the hair, detangling as needed. We only ever comb our hair – with an actual comb - when it is wet.
Pineapples – When our hair has been washed, treated and dried to perfection it seems such a shame to sleep on it and squish all of that effort. We now pull it all up into a pineapple ie a high, loose ponytail on the top of the head. It means that as few curls as possible lie between my head and the pillow when I am sleeping. Most of the hair that is in contact with the pillowcase is the hair that lies underneath. The next day, generally, I can pull the hairband out, comb my fingers through, and I am done.
Caked coconut oil, satin pillowcase, cold rinse, tee-shirt towel, pineapples and detangling – these were some of the first changes we made. It has been a learning curve and we have not yet figured out swimming, beaches, holiday hair, but we have rebelled against what the media tells us and it has worked wonders.
None of those changes were expensive. The most difficult was the coconut oil issue because of the time factor and the smell [gag] however, we have sped up and got used to the smell. We have both been so much happier with our hair, almost from day one, that it has all been worth it and the changes keep on happening……!