Coconut oil: hair benefits and uses- Part 2

Unless you’ve been living in isolation over these past few years, you’re likely very aware that coconut oil is the go to product for everything at the moment, from cooking, to cleaning, to oil pulling (look that one up if you’re unsure, and prepare to feel grossly intrigued). But the reason why we’re talking about the stuff is, of course, to share its hair-health benefits with you. We’ve already shared a part one to this post, so if you’ve missed it, it’s worth scrolling down to read that one first. Let’s continue with the less common uses of coconut oil that you need to try:

Coconut oil to protect from sun damage

If you don’t fancy actually applying greasy, oily sunscreen into your hair (and we don’t blame you), coconut oil is a brilliant alternative that actually smells and feels nice. You should apply coconut oil on sunny days, especially those where you plan to be outside all day. Simply rub your hands together to warm the oil and make it easier to apply, then add it to your hair, focusing especially on your roots, as this is where the sun will have the biggest impact. Make sure you don’t apply too much, as you don’t want your hair to look heavy. Then brush and style as you usually would, and voila: your hair is protected for the day.

Coconut oil to protect from chlorine

There’s nothing worse than that horrendous way your hair feels after you’ve taken a dip in a swimming pool. No matter how hard you will against it, chlorine leaves hair knotty, stiff, dry and damaged- and impossible to brush. Coconut oil is far from the solution to this (chlorine is just too damn harmful to fight against) but applying coconut oil to your hair before a swim should mean that you have a natural barrier against the water, to some degree, making it easier to tame post-dip.

Coconut oil to tame frizz

If brushing your hair gives it the resemblance of a poodle, you’ve probably gone through your fair share of hair products to try and tame the frizz. If you’ve never tried coconut oil but fancy a natural alternative, you should definitely give it a go, as its unique fat composition makes it especially beneficial for thicker, frizzy hair types. Have a go using a small amount in your hair for instant control, making sure you apply it evenly so all flyaways and frizzy strands are covered.

Coconut oil for hair growth

We’ve added this point in at the very end, because there seems to be some debate about whether coconut oil is actually powerful enough to make your hair grow, or whether you’re best sticking to a product specifically designed to get that hair growing if you want to see results. According to some sources, the vitamins and essential fatty acids naturally found in coconut oil nourish the scalp and help to remove sebum build-up from hair follicles, which provides a natural formula for hair growth. From what we can understand, it seems that which coconut oil isn’t a miracle hair-growth solution, it’s certainly going to help keep your hair healthier, which is going to help with hair-growth as a result.