Coconut Oil For Hair Growth: Does It Really Work?

Coconut Oil For Hair Growth: Does It Really Work?

In the beauty industry, coconut oil is treated like liquid gold; it is the ultimate go-to to fix everything thanks to its enriching benefits for hair, skin, and nails.

But what about hair growth?

You probably heard the endless benefits coconut oil has for nourishing, strengthening, and growing your hair; people swear coconut oil for hair growth.

Can you really have strong, nourished, shiny, and long luscious locks in no time? Or is it too good to be true?

Well, it is slightly exaggerated, but it is true.

While coconut oil doesn’t directly promote hair growth, it has been proven to strengthen and repair hair strands, causing them to look thicker and fuller. When your hair is healthy and loved, this can also help promote hair growth, but coconut oil doesn’t ‘make hair grow.’

But don’t let that put you off; there are some serious benefits of using coconut oil in your hair care routine, which helps with hair growth and healthy hair. 

Stay tuned for all the benefits of these precious coconuts. 

Benefits Of Coconut Oil:

Here are a couple of reasons to incorporate coconut oil into your life right away:

Seals in moisture:

Coconut oil works by sealing in water in your hair strand, preventing it from evaporating. This means your hair is more hydrated and the moisture barrier restored.

It also helps seal split ends and strengthens hair to prevent breakage. The high vitamins and essential fatty acids penetrate deep into the hair strands to moisturize the hair.

It leaves hair looking shinier and stronger for longer.

Full of fatty acids:

Fatty acids are crucial to the health of your hair. It can help improve the health of your hair from the inside; they are full of nutrients and proteins, which help strengthen the hair strand and even reduce hair loss.

Coconut oil really benefits those suffering from hair loss; despite it not directing hair growth, it helps protect the hair and slow the process of hair loss and strengthen brittle and weak hair, so hair appears thicker.

Anti-fungal:

Coconut oil has anti-fungal and antiviral properties, which means it helps to keep away viruses and fungus that may live on your hair. This can be especially beneficial for those with problematic scalps such as dandruff.

It has antimicrobial and antibacterial properties, too. Hence, it works against bacteria to keep your scalp clean and clear, which can be key in preventing fungal infections, dry scalp, or dandruff.

Anti-inflammatory:

If you suffer from skin conditions or have sensitive skin, then you’ll love coconut oil. It has anti-inflammatory properties that help to soothe irritated skin and reduce inflammation.

It won’t irritate the scalp, so it is ideal for those with a sensitive scalp in need of a strengthening treatment.

Help your hair grow longer:

While coconut oil isn’t directly linked to hair growth, it can help aid hair growth as it nourishes hair and leaves hair healthy.

The day-to-day wear and tear caused by styling, grooming, the weather, and pollutants put a real toll on your hair. This damage makes hair growth really difficult.

The longer it gets, the more brittle it gets. Your hair becomes very worn and tired if you don’t use coconut oil.

Using coconut oil on your hair can have some serious benefits on hair growth. It protects your hair from protein loss and damage when wet; it moisturizes your scalp to reduce breakage.

It can also protect your hair from environmental damage like wind, sun, and smoke. If you apply coconut oil frequently in your hair care routine, then you can really reap the benefits of it.

How To Use Coconut Oil On Hair:

There are many ways you can use coconut oil on your hair; you can either use it as an extra virgin coconut oil hair mask to help nourish and hydrate hair or as a leave-in conditioner.

Coconut oil hair mask

Coconut oil can help lock in moisture on the hair shaft. If your hair is particularly dry or prone to hair breakage, then you can use coconut oil in a DIY hair mask treatment.

I have a full guide of my top recipes here.

If you want to use coconut oil as a hair mask, you can blend coconut oil with other ingredients like argan oil, shea butter, aloe vera, etc., and apply it all over your hair after washing. 

Working your way from the bottom of the hair shaft to the roots and combing through as you go, so it evenly covers your hair. You can then leave it on for 30 minutes to an hour and then rinse with cool water. 

Or using coconut oil alone acts as a brilliant hair mask. To create your own DIY coconut oil hair mask, apply a generous amount of coconut oil to the ends of your hair and scalp, tie it in a bun for a few hours and rinse out.

If you have low porosity hair, you can also wrap your hair in a shower cap and use a steamer to help open up the cuticle so the coconut oil can penetrate deeper into the hair shaft.

Coconut oil leave-in conditioner:

Using coconut oil as a leave-in conditioner is seriously beneficial for both your hair and scalp. If you have particularly thick, coarse, dry, damaged hair with split ends, you can apply coconut oil once you’ve washed and conditioned your hair.

Many people with thick, coily, or curly hair know that coconut oil can help nourish their curls and provide a brilliant leave-in treatment.

You can either mix it with other ingredients (check out my recipes here) or use it alone. 

The benefits of coconut oil are particularly known in the curly girl industry. You can apply a small amount of coconut oil to the ends of your hair after showering, and it will act as a heat protectant along with nourishing the ends of your hair.

This may not work for fine hair as coconut oil is quite heavy and may make your hair appear greasy at the root. 

Negatives Of Coconut Oil:

In all honestly, there are hardly any drawbacks to using coconut oil on your hair. All in all, it is brilliant; it is deeply moisturizing and can be used on sensitive skin. 

It has crazy benefits for both hair and scalp health. 

The only drawback of coconut oil is that the oil may build up on your scalp, leading to your hair feeling and looking greasy. This only really happens on fine hair. 

If you decide to use coconut oil for fine hair, just be sure to focus it only on the mid-lengths and ends. 

If you have quite thick, coarse hair, this shouldn’t be an issue as your ends will soak up all the moisture and leave a greasy residue on top. 

Just try to avoid the scalp the best you can.  

Summary:

While coconut oil doesn’t have direct benefits on hair growth, it can help improve the health of your hair, strengthen your hair, prevent hair breakage and prevent hair loss which all aid in hair growth.

Coconut oil really is liquid gold; it has major benefits for both hair and skin; it even has heat protectant properties to protect your hair from heat styling. However, I wouldn’t recommend replacing your heat protectant with it.

Whether you have curly, natural, coily, or straight hair, moisturizing your hair with a small amount of coconut oil with every shampoo wash will make your hair stronger and fuller.

Who knew that coconut oil had so many benefits for your hair? It is a worthy product in your hair care routine!