Detangle with less breakage
Applying oil to your hair before washing it will help you detangle your hair before it gets wet in the shower. Wet hair breaks more easily than dry hair, so it's better to get through as many tangles as you can before you shampoo. After you wash your hair, you might not be able to tell that there's any oil left, but there will be a small amount left that will help you detangle your hair when you put the conditioner in.
Get more out of your conditioner
Most conditioners for dry hair are made with natural or synthetic oils. If your hair becomes too clean from a harsh shampoo, the oils in your conditioner are more likely to go down the drain when you do your final rinse. A pre-shampoo oil treatment will give the oils in your conditioner something to "hold on to". That means you'll get to experience more benefit from your conditioner.
Updated March 17, 2012
I use the Nutiva coconut oil before my washes like instructed above or sometimes I wash my hair and then do a "conditioning" with coconut oil (and plastic cap for a couple hours or overnight) and then rinse. The biggest benefit is when I oil treat and then wash my hair before getting it pressed. The pressed hair is much healthier and more flexible and has a great, natural shine...I don't need to apply any oil after the press. Even my stylist notices the difference and told me to keep it up.
The only important thing to remember is that if you plan to get your hair pressed, be sure to do the coconut oil treatment BEFORE the wash. If you do the coconut oil "conditioning" after the wash, then you will have to do a full shampoo wash (not just a rinse) again before the press. Double washing is very bad for your hair.
When I plan on wearing my hair natural and not pressed, the order of the oil treatment doesn't matter for my hair and I can do a simple rinse after an oil "conditioning" step and be ok. But my hair is very thick so results might differ for finer textures or looser curl patterns.
Also, the Nutiva coconut oil is excellent and really, really cheap through the Hair Liberty store...cheaper than the products that claim to be made with coconut oil.
I bought some coconut oil a few days ago. I can't wait to try it! :D
Is there such a thing as conditioning the hair too much??? I have 4C hair and it gets extremely dry and to complicate things further,I have Aloepicia around my hairline and a spot near the crown of my head. The Rogaine that my restorative hair doctor put me on has alcohol in it that makes my drying problem even worse. I co-wash 3-4 times a week and deep condition about 2-3 times a week. I already use the Shea Moisture Restorative mask and the curl smoothie, but have yet to try the shampoo and conditioner. I use virgin coconut oil, pure shea butter, lavender oil and argan oil after I wash my hair, in addition to Jane Carter's conditioning products such as the nourishing conditioner and the leave-in de-tangling conditioner spray. Any other suggestions??
Hi Starkitty50!
No, you can't condition your hair too much. Especially 4c curls, which are very fragile and dry. However, it is possible to use too much or too many products. The more products and oils you apply after you wash your hair, the more likely they will build up into a stiff coating. Kind of like a shirt that's been over-starched. Limit yourself to 2 products (or oils) and experiment with different amounts. In my personal experience, coconut oil is best as a pre-wash oil. If I use it as a leave-in, my hair feels rough and stiff. I hope that helps! Please update us after you do some trial and error :)
Thank you for this article! I bought some coconut oil and am looking forward to trying this today.
I recently purchased Lisa's Hair Elixer from Carol's Daughter. Has anyone ever used it before. I've used it a few times before I shampooed and it left my hair really soft. I found this article very helpful because I wasn't using the oil quite right. Thanks!
I can't do pre poo's anymore because it drips all over the place even if I just use a little bit and cover it if I just add the oils to my deep conditioner will I get the same benefits? Or should I just deep conditioner before I wash my hair.
Hey Jordan,
Adding oil to a store bought conditioner is the next best thing to a pre-wash oil treatment. Have you tried pure coconut oil? It doesn't drip as much as olive oil (for example) bc it's solid at room temperature.
I have done it with coconut oil in it but not just coconut oil I will try just the coconut oil thanks
You're welcome Brittney! I'm glad it was helpful.
I tried this the day after it posted on Twitter and saw huge results. Thanx for sharing detailed info...
This helps a great deal! I will continue to do an oil treatment prior to each wash. I use coconut oil and what great results!
This article is very informative. I have very thick 4b natural hair that seems to just absorb moisture. I used to do a hot-oil treatment with olive oil every once in while but found it to make my hair extremely greasy afterwards even after I washed it out thoroughly. Since then, I stopped doing them unless my hair felt really dry. Maybe I will add this to my regime to see how it goes. Is any oil better than the other?
Your feedback is so helpful, ladies! Thanks so much!
QueenaD - There are slight differences in the oils, but nothing that would truly change the outcome for your hair. To avoid having greasy hair after you wash, make sure to rinse your hair for a few minutes before you start with the shampoo. For the best results, follow the wash/condition instructions linked above in Step 6. I hope that helps, let me know how it goes!
I'm going to do this today. I try to be consistent with it. I can almost hear my hair calling out for this treatment! lol
I use coconut oil all the time ... I allow it to sit in my hair for about an hour to decrease breakage as I am transitioning... :)
oh I use EfaGold Coconut oil
I use the Vitamin Shoppe's brand of evco. I have noticed with increased hair oil use, my face is breaking out more. What do you suggest?
Hey Candace,
Keep the oil off of your hairline. It's really your ends that need the most help anyway. Also, when you do the oil treatment, just leave it on for an hour or so, unless you see a drastic benefit from longer treatments. I'm acne prone too and those are some of the things I do to keep from breaking out. Let me know how it goes!
This is very helpful info. I started doing pre-wash oil treatsments and notice the difference right away.
I absolutely love pre-poos! My hair is so much more easy to detangle when I do a pre-shampoo oil treatment before I shampoo my hair.
This article does not indicate whether hair should be wet, dry or damp when doing an oil treatment. I assume the article is telling us to do this on dry hair. Step 5 says to comb your hair to remove tangles. Personally, I would never comb my hair dry, even when saturated with oil. I would be too concerned about causing more breakage. I have done a similar treatment before, but I always spray my hair with water so that it is damp when I apply the oil. So does it make a difference in effectiveness if the hair is wet, dry or damp?
Hi Fatin, yes, the treatment is meant for your dry hair. Dry hair is better than damp or wet hair because any water in your hair will repel the oil and keep it from penetrating. If your hair is saturated with oil (and you've been keeping up with regular trims) gently detangling should not be a problem...but tweak the instructions as you see fit.
Thanks for the clarification, Nicole.
I hadn't read the wash instructions link in Step 6 before, but I did just now and I noticed that it says to detangle hair gently with your fingers before you shampoo. I think this is a much better idea, especially if you are supposed to detangle again after you put conditioner in your hair. Seriously, not to be nit picky, but you may want to change the instructions in Step 5 here where it says to use a comb, so that folks don't think they are supposed to do a full on detangling. I think it is an important distinction, using a comb vs. using your hands and it will make a difference for folks who try to follow instructions to to T :-)
Thanks for the info and for the product recommendations!
Thanks for catching that, Fatin! I just changed it. :)