Coconut oil has been around for centuries as a remedy for all kinds of hair issues. From dry hair to dandruff and scalp infections, it is a one-stop solution. It moisturizes and conditions hair, and improves the health of the scalp and cuticles. Coconut oil has anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, and emollient properties, along with penetrative properties.
Thanks to the oil’s ability to tackle and prevent almost all hair problems, it is considered the best remedy for hair loss. Some of the reasons why you are losing hair are:
- Nutritional deficiencies – Vitamin A, D, E, B-7, and iron are some of the minerals and vitamins that your hair needs to be healthy. If your hair is receiving any one of them less or more, hair thinning and eventually, hair loss is the result.
- Fungal infection of the scalp – Infections like, folliculitis, ringworm, seborrheic dermatitis, piedra, and Demodexfolliculorum, are conditions that irritate the scalp and cause inflammation. Eventually, it leads to hair loss.
- Hair treatments – Chemical treatment changes the structure of hair and leaves hair damaged with issues, such as greying, frizzy, weak hair, dandruff, and hair loss.
- Hair color – Chemicals altering the color of hair lead to hair loss.
- Other reasons – Physical or mental stress, heredity, hormonal imbalance, overuse of medication, and heredity are some of the other reasons that cause hair loss. For these reasons, coconut oil might not be able to help you completely prevent hair loss, but manage to maintain the health of your hair and slow down the process of hair fall.
If you are a hair loss sufferer and tired of trying out different treatments to no avail, maybe it’s time to pay heed to what your grandmother said and use coconut oil.
1. Helpful in preventing hygral fatigue
Hygral fatigue is the swelling of your hair shaft when the cuticles have absorbed a lot of water. This dries the cuticles and causes frizz. It may happen because of humidity or when you shampoo your hair excessively. As you can guess, dry and frizzy hair becomes brittle and starts breaking, which causes hair to fall. By sealing the required moisture in the hair shaft, coconut oil ensures to keep out the excess moisture.
2. Prevents fungal, bacterial, and viral infections
Coconut oil has anti-microbial and anti-bacterial properties, which makes it the ideal solution to prevent scalp infections. By keeping your scalp healthy, you can grow your hair better. Recently, a lab study found that one of the benefits of coconut oil is getting rid of fungal infections.
3. Prevents loss of protein in hair
Coconut oil has the ability to penetrate deep into the hair shaft and keep the protein locked in. As this oil is a triglyceride of lauric acid, the affinity for proteins is high. This is why when coconut oil is applied topically, it helps in preventing hair loss. Also, you can increase the protein intake in your diet.
4. Helps in strengthening the roots
In coconut oil, lauric acid is present and this has anti-bacterial properties. This is what makes this oil perfect for maintaining the health of your scalp. By keeping bacteria at bay, it keeps hair and scalp healthy. When the roots are strong, you can expect your hair to grow strong, shiny, and luxurious.
5. Treats split ends
In 2015, a review noted that coconut oil has the ability to absorb into hair strands much better than mineral and other kinds of oil. So, if you regularly use coconut oil, you will need fewer trims and also this will make it seem that your hair is growing faster and longer. If you are someone who is experiencing hair loss, split ends and regular trimming will only add to your problems. But, coconut oil can help prevent all of that.
When your hair is not suffering from any kind of damage or infection, the chances are that you will not experience hair fall unless you have some medical conditions like diabetes and hormonal imbalance.
If you need more proof, there was a study conducted in 2012 that made use of radioactively-labeled coconut oil to measure if coconut oil is truly penetrative and how deep does it go on the hair shaft.
The highlighted part of the above chart shows the results for one and six-hour measurements. It shows that after one hour, a single strand of hair is capable of absorbing 15% of its weight and after 6 hours, the absorption increases to 20.4% and more.
These results are promising. This means that coconut oil definitely has penetrative abilities and can help prevent hair damage.
How can you use coconut oil for hair loss?
You can use coconut oil as a hair mask or leave-in treatment and it will help to seal and moisturize hair. You can also use it as a part of your hot oil treatment, along with almond oil or jasmine oil. A lot of people use coconut oil before using shampoo and keep it for an hour or so. There are also people who use it overnight.
So, you can use this oil any way that you choose, but make sure not to comb your hair when it is wet and not to dry your hair harshly using a towel.
Hopefully, now you will have one less (hair) problem to worry about!
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