Coconut oil to prevent damage from peroxide/bleach

There is one thing I am curious about though: This thread is very old now, so do we have any verification on the *long-term* effectiveness of this technique?

I recall a good few times where my hair actually felt much, much nicer and silkier *initially* after having bleached it... but after some weeks, it started to feel damaged. Does this not apply to those who have bleached their hair using this coconut method? What does hair feel like after some weeks / months is what I am now curious about and would no doubt conclude the effectiveness of the test!
 

Any evidence we have will likely be anecdotal, but I have been doing bleaches WITH coconut oil for the last year (largely root applications) and I did a single box dye application on most of my hair WITHOUT the coconut oil.
The bulk of my hair and my fringe have had the same number of chemical process's, however for the bulk of my hair one of those was a box dye - the hair dyed without the coconut oil takes considerably longer to dry than the hair that has only had coconut oil on during the bleaching process
(hair takes longer to dry when the structure of the hair is damaged as it fills up with water more)

So from my point of view, apart from my hair being in good condition when it likely wouldn't be without the coconut oil, I think part of the reason my hair was so damaged by the box dye was not using coconut oil during the process.
But I wouldn't not use it now so I don't know if it's coconut oil or just luck 🙂

I recall a good few times where my hair actually felt much, much nicer and silkier *initially* after having bleached it... but after some weeks, it started to feel damaged. Does this not apply to those who have bleached their hair using this coconut method? What does hair feel like after some weeks / months is what I am now curious about and would no doubt conclude the effectiveness of the test!
 

The most likely reason for your hair feeling silkier after an initial bleaching is that you've bleached out silicone build-up and your conditioners can sink into the hair again hiding the damage. After a while, the build-up comes back so you don't notice the silicone slip in the same way. Even though you didn't feel the damage until weeks later, most of it is already there.

There might also be some more damage as the hair ages, especially if it has been processed repeatedly and in general, bleached hair - coconut oil or not - loses protein faster than normal hair from things like washing and brushing as it is not as strong as virgin hair. Coconut oil overnight treatments will help to rebuild some of the lost protein.

Coconut oil will prevent some of the damage from bleach in the first place, but if you are feeling damage in the following weeks from the above reasons, it will be reduced but may not be eliminated completely.

Any chance of this information being put together and put on the stickys?

There is so much good information in here and it's only going to get longer and longer.. 

For example how to use the oil, what kind of oil (and how you can tell it's the right kind) as well as the science behind it all.. as well as over use of the oil? Did I read somewhere that it will make your hair dry?

That's a good idea!

I have just finished reading this entire thread and some linkies to the long hair care forum!...
Phew!

I am most certainly going to go this route when I bleach and colour my hair in a couple weeks time. I may also use some argan oil there alongside the coconut oil.

There is one thing I am curious about though: This thread is very old now, so do we have any verification on the *long-term* effectiveness of this technique?

I recall a good few times where my hair actually felt much, much nicer and silkier *initially* after having bleached it... but after some weeks, it started to feel damaged. Does this not apply to those who have bleached their hair using this coconut method? What does hair feel like after some weeks / months is what I am now curious about and would no doubt conclude the effectiveness of the test!
 

If you mean long term effectiveness of coconut oil's moisturising properties then I guess that Asian ladies would vouch for that!
As for protecting the hair during bleaching then I'm sure someone who has used this method repeatedly could post here again and tell us about their hair condition but most of us use other product for aftercare so not sure how accurate it can be measured. All I can say is that it prevented my scalp getting burned so I'm confident it also protected my hair to some degree 🙂

I'm not entirely convinced at the oil protecting the hair fully and lots of people saying it does will never convince me. After all, there's lots of things proven not to work and yet people still insist in believing it and swear blind it works. But as Shelley says, it stops even the slightest tingle from the bleach on my scalp, so that's enough reason for me to use it when I bleach. Last time I did my roots and I'd run out of oil, my scalp was tingly and I even got a couple of teeny scabs, so it obviously burned a bit. I've not had that since using oil. It could be a coincidence, but I think it's probably not.

If its protecting the hair, I certainly think there's a good chance, but it's no reason to take risks and we should all be bleaching our hair with the same cautions as without the oil (not that we would do anything stupid of course, I can just see this getting out of hand one day and someone going over the top with bleach and then saying it should have been fine as I was using the oil!).

For some reason, I hate typing coconut.

My scalp doesn't just 'tingle' when I bleach, it really stings and is quite painful! And I end up with lots of scabs, so I can only guess I am particularly sensitive to the bleach (don't think it's the peroxide as it doesn't sting when permanently colouring my hair) The coconut oil meant I only had a 'slight tingle' and no scabs!!!  *1*
I usually have to wash it off before it's full developing time as I can no longer stand the pain, but this way I could leave it on longer and get a lighter colour, I'm totally sold on it, won't bleach without it now, and at £1.99 for a 500g tub it will last me (doing half head of roots each time) probably 2 yrs or more!! 😀

What volume peroxide are you using?

I'

What volume peroxide are you using?

I started using 40 vol so it would bleach quicker and as that's what I had used with permanent colours previously it was fine. But due to how much it burned my scalp I've switched to 20 vol and used that the last 5/6 times but to be honest it's not really any better at all so that's why I'm convinced it's the bleach powder itself.

I'm not entirely convinced at the oil protecting the hair fully and lots of people saying it does will never convince me.

Absolutely. Coconut oil will not fully protect the hair or prevent all damage. Peroxide on hair produces free radicals, this is a result of reaction with iron and copper present in hair naturally, and absorbed from water and products. It is the same cause of problems with washing hair with very hard water.

Coconut oil works since it is a chelant for iron and copper. Chelants are soluble, complex molecules that react with certain metal ions, inactivating the ions so that they cannot normally react with other elements or ions so in the case of hair, fewer of the damaging free radicals are produced. Kitani's blog (one of the earlier write-ups for coconut oil use) reports that a Procter and Gamble study found that a synthesized copper chelant minimized hair damage more than 95%, and better dye uptake was achieved with it. Coconut oil and argan oil both contain substances that chelate both copper and iron. Argan oil chelates more copper than iron.

This doesn't mean that lifting the hair cuticle and oxidising out pigment from the hair cortex (this is what happens when you are bleaching!) doesn't weaken the cuticle and isn't damaging or drying, but some of the damage due to the presence of iron and copper is prevented. Coconut oil or not, the repeated action will eventually blow out the hair cuticle completely if overdone.

A lot of people get overenthusiastic and after bleaching they report zero damage even though they may not have noticed it yet.

For the scalp tingles, a different brand of bleach was the biggest change that helped me, besides coconut oil. I can't make a global recommendation though as some people find some brands to be amazing that sting as soon as they touch any part of me whatsoever. Everyone reacts differently. Secondary to finding a good bleach you can tolerate is Sweet 'n' Low sweetener packets mixed in. I put 3-5 packets in each bowl of bleach and even their official website has "why does it work?" as part of the FAQs and they think it's because the fillers contained buffers the pH of the mixture.

Isn't there also the lauric acid factor with coconut oil?  It bonds to the proteins in the hair and therefore helps the hair to retain more protein than it otherwise would.

After a bit more research I found this info-

1) Coconut oil has a high moisture retaining capacity but coconut alone on my strands has a very drying effect on my hair so I have to mix my coconut oil with a bit of other natural and essential oils.

2) Coconut oil is high in Lauric acid. One of the main reasons for hair loss besides genetics and age is because of microbial action on the scalp and hair roots. Hair can be the dirtiest because it is exposed to the elements on a daily basis and therefore attracts dust and microbes and microbes are simply organisms too small to view without the aid of a microscope. Microbes depend on the availability of water, nutrients, heat and oxygen or sometimes lack of. Dust works as a breeding ground for microbes, dust mites and fungus and they work over time to weaken your hair roots which leads to hair loss. So to protect hair against them we need an antimicrobial agent to destroy them which is lauric acid. Lauric acid is present in high percentages in coconut oil.

3) Coconut oil is rich in fats that are attracted to hair proteins which means coconut oil is one of the few natural oils that can actually penetrate the hair shaft to the cortex reducing protein loss.

4) Having problems with an itchy scalp? Well because of Coconut Oil’s high Lauric acid and rich fats that are attracted to hair proteins these are some of the factors why coconut oil can diminish dandruff and cure you of an itchy scalp just after a few months of usage.

Again, it sounds good to me, especially the antimicriobial properties!!  *yay*

Hi there!
AMAZING thread btw !anywayssss I wanted to know if a product I found of coconut oil is suitable for the no damaging thing before bleach,cause I didn't search for it on the internet but found it in a bio-food store here in greece!well,I can't put the link here but i can tell you it's called Rapunzel Coconut Shortening in glass.is this appropriate too?

sorry if I'm asking something stupid but i read once this whooooooole thread a week ago but can't remember all of it and obviously I don't have the courage to read it again!!!lol and I wanna make sure i use the right one

🙂

^ If it is 100% pure virgin coconut oil you can use on your food, I say yes! 😀 😀

so if it is for cooking is perfect?okay thank you!!  🙂