hair treatment mask!

my hair's feels scratchy dry lately and been curling all over the place.

so i decided to do a simple hair treatment mask. and given my recent 'DIY instead of buying commercial stuff', naturally I grabbed the coconut oil I bought from iherb a couple of months ago. It's simple plain 100% coconut oil.  it's in liquid form cos' our weather's really warm, so if you store it in the fridge or are in a cold climate, it becomes a solid.  thought you might wanna know.

[caption id="attachment_1681" align="aligncenter" width="547"] Cococare 100% coconut oil - bought from iherb (as usual! heh!).  there's a raised level in the container - so it looks more than it really is![/caption]

if you want better quality coconut oil - either for cooking or skin care, you may wanna consider cold-pressed, hexane-free, organic versions instead.  supposedly cold-pressed retains more nutrients.  and if you are particular about chemicals, make sure it is not processed with hexane.  though the ingredient is listed as 100% coconut oil, I suspect it's very likely processed with hexane. at only USD 3.41 - I don't expect much.

So - back to the hair mask - what I did was spoon a few tsps onto my palm, worked it into my hair thoroughly and then put on a shower cap and left it for a good 2-3 hours while I busied myself with other stuff.

[caption id="attachment_1682" align="aligncenter" width="438"] shower cap from my recent hotel stay sure came in handy! if you don't have a cap - a warm towel wrapped around your hair also works.[/caption]

Shampoo-ed it off in the shower, and it seems to work pretty decently. A little work to get the oil out, and i didn't bother to get it out squeaky clean.  Just made sure I washed away most of the oil else I'll get a pillow case stain!

I wouldn't say it came out as soft as i would like but it's still a good way to try to tame down the dryness. besides, it's inexpensive and simple! woot!

 

UPDATE @ 14 Feb 2013

I did the mask a couple more times, and I have to say - it does help reduce the straw like texture, and my hair is now way more comfortable than before.  much softer too! and a really cheap great way to moisturize!

Saw an article here about ditching conditioners for coconut oil.  Here's the link if you are interested!