A lot of parents change their behaviors and product choices once they have children because we start to think about our health a lot more. Growing up I wasn’t allowed to color my hair or use any chemicals until I was about 16, but once I hit that age I took it overboard.
I’ve been blonde (yes…I just said blonde), I’ve relaxed my hair chemically and I’ve straightened and blow-dried my hair more times than I can count. All that wear and tear left my hair in a dry and desperate state.
I had heard about all the wonderful things one can do with coconut oil in terms of cooking and skin care, and when it comes to hair care I know a lot of YouTube vloggers have sung the praises of coconut and/or jojoba oil for hair care as well.
Jojoba oil is quite expensive, and I’m a chronic ‘product over-user’ so I decided it just wasn’t for me.
I watched a lot of videos and read a lot of articles about natural hair care and then reached out to Tropical Traditions because out of all the blogs I’d read their brand name came up quite a few times.
Although you can use regular coconut oil for your hair, Tropical Traditions has a line of coconut oil specifically for hair. It’s organic and what makes it different is that there’s a slightly higher amount of protein in it and that protein is essential to healthy hair!
The findings clearly indicate the strong impact that coconut oil application has to hair as compared to application of both sunflower and mineral oils. Among three oils, coconut oil was the only oil found to reduce the protein loss remarkably for both undamaged and damaged hair when used as a pre-wash and post-wash grooming product. Both sunflower and mineral oils do not help at all in reducing the protein loss from hair. This difference in results could arise from the composition of each of these oils. Coconut oil, being a triglyceride of lauric acid (principal fatty acid), has a high affinity for hair proteins and, because of its low molecular weight and straight linear chain, is able to penetrate inside the hair shaft. Mineral oil, being a hydrocarbon, has no affinity for proteins and therefore is not able to penetrate and yield better results.
[--info from the Tropical Traditions website]
I’ve used the Tropical Traditions coconut oil hair treatment on a weekly basis for the past few months and seen an incredible improvement in the texture and health of my hair.
You can use it in several ways, but my favorite thing to do is this:
- Once a week, before I hop in the shower I part my hair and rub the coconut oil into my scalp all over.
- Then I massage it in and proceed to finger comb it through the rest of my hair (and I apply extra to the ends).
- I then put a shower cap on and let it absorb for about 30 minutes.
[Tip: Use your 30 minutes wisely! I like to also was my face and put on a face mask during that time. Super attractive, I know.]
- After 30 minutes I hop in the shower and rinse it out and then wash my hair as usual.
[One thing to remember is that this is oil so make sure you rinse it out of your hair very well otherwise your hair will still be oily after you wash it.]
I did this process weekly (and consistently) for about 4 weeks before I noticed any major results but let me tell you….it has been wonderful!
Before using the Tropical Traditions coconut oil for hair I was so desperate with the state of my dry and brittle hair that I contemplated cutting it all of (aka “the big chop”) but this has saved me from that last resort.
The best compliment I’ve gotten on my hair was from a stylist at the Robert Cromeans salon in downtown San Diego. She blow-dried and straightened my hair and as she was running her fingers through it she exclaimed: “Oh my gosh! Your hair is soooooo soft!!” She actually even called over another stylist to feel! I was beyond elated!
As women, we put our hair through so much damage (especially those of us with unruly curls) but it’s NOT necessary! At the very least, if you regularly straighten your hair, I recommend this coconut oil as a weekly deep condition.
You’ll be pleasantly surprised!
You can check out all the wonderful organic products available at TropicalTraditions.com and follow them on Twitter @TropTraditions to find out when they’ve got a deal or giveaway going on!
xoxo,
[hehe]
