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By Jc of The Natural Haven

It can take a long time to search and find your perfect staple conditioner and becoming a product junkie is very easy especially in the first two years of being natural. This is a trial and error process and you can end up with many products in the ‘do not work’ section. You could choose to re-purpose them as a softening cream for shaving your legs (seriously!) or you could choose to discard them. However, before you choose the discard option, you could try to fix the conditioner using products that are easily found. This would help you to use the product up instead of letting it gather dust in a corner and can reduce the pain of disappointment if the product was purchased as a splurge. Here are a few tips and tricks.

1. Not moisturizing enough: Honey or glycerin fix.

If a conditioner that you bought is not moisturising enough, humectants such as honey or glycerin may help fix this. The ideal process is to place the conditioner you want to use into a separate jar and then add 2 tablespoons of honey or 1-2 teaspoons of glycerin.  You can add both honey and glycerin but be aware that if you keep it on the hair for long it can be overly softening (some will not mind this but others will). If this does not fix the conditioner and you still have more, then attempt to add a penetrating oil (for example coconut oil or olive oil) in addition the next time. Moisture is not just about water and humectants, oils also have a key role in enabling the water to be trapped within the hair shaft.

2. Not enough slip: Coconut oil, jojoba or olive oil fix

If the conditioner  does not have enough slip (i.e hair strands do not easily separate when coated with conditioner and combed ), the ideal fix is a light oil that flows easily. Melted coconut oil, jojoba oil (which is a liquid wax) and olive oil are good options. The amount you add depends on how much slip you would like. As a general guide 1-2 teaspoons added to a portion that you intend to use should suffice. You can test the slip by applying a small amount of the mixed up conditioner to your hair and seeing how well the strands separate when finger combed. Add more oil (teaspoon wise) to the mix and test again until you get to your ideal level.

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By Jc of The Natural Haven

How long does it take for an oil to penetrate hair?

In scientific studies, the method used was a copy of the traditional Indian women’s technique where coconut oil is applied to hair the night before the wash (Journal of Cosmetic Science pg 169-184,2001). This overnight time period is useful as oils do require much more time than water to penetrate hair. Water is very small in size and can therefore easily pass under or even through the cuticle. Oils on the other hand need to twist and bend (the scientific term is reptate) in order to slide underneath the cuticle.

Which oils penetrate hair?

The only oil proven to penetrate hair so far is coconut oil. Scientists do suggest that due to its composition, olive oil may also penetrate hair but there are currently no studies that fully confirm that. Many more oils and butters may also penetrate hair (Journal of Cosmetic Science, pg 169-184, 2001). The suggestion is that saturated and monounsaturated oils are more compact in size and therefore can maneuver around and through the cuticle (for example avocado oil, castor oil, shea butter and even ordinary edible milk fat butter). However oils rich in polyunsaturated oils tend to be larger and therefore cannot manoeuvre around or through the cuticle easily (for example sunflower oil, soybean oil and corn oil).

How can you remove a penetrating oil from hair?

If you used coconut oil or a similar penetrating oil and did not like it, how can you get rid of it? There are no studies on this but logic implies that the same path that the oil used to get into hair is the same path that it can use to get out. If you want to get rid of a penetrating oil, simply stop using it and wash your hair as normal using shampoo or soap which can dissolve the oil on the surface. The amount of oil that can be taken up by the hair is very little so I would guess that you will be close to 99% free of the oil within 2-3 washes.

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