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The best coconut oils for hair take care of dryness and nourish the roots of your hair. They also seep into the upper layer of the scalp and nourish it.
Coconut oil contains ingredients such as lauric acid and medium-chain fatty acids that have antimicrobial properties and help condition the scalp and strengthen your hair. It is also infused with minerals, vitamins, and nutrients, thus making your hair strong, shiny, and beautiful.
Read on as we have listed some of the best coconut oils that condition your hair, prevent unwanted damage, and fight dandruff.
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Benefits Of Using Coconut Hair Oil
People have been enjoying the benefits of coconut oil for ages. Here are some well-known advantages it offers.
- Conditions hair: The fact that coconut oil helps condition all types of hair is supported by clinical data. According to a research study published in the Journal of Cosmetic Science, it is more effective than sunflower and mineral oils (1).
- Prevents hair damage: If your hair loses protein, it may be prone to dryness and damage. Thus, you may consider hair treatment with coconut oil to prevent hair damage caused by excessive brushing and combing.
- Contains essential nutrients: Coconut oil comprises various essential nutrients. While lauric acid helps improve overall hair health, the medium-chain triglycerides help in hair growth. Its antibacterial, antioxidant, and antifungal properties help treat dandruff and keep the hair healthy. Coconut oil can also eradicate fungus and bacteria from the scalp.
11 Best Coconut Oils For Hair
1. Best With A Long-Shelf-Life: Majestic Pure Fractionated Coconut Oil
With a long-shelf-life, this fractionated coconut oil is made by removing the long-chain triglycerides, leaving only the medium-chain triglycerides behind. This oil is odorless, non-greasy, easy to wash, and does not stain clothing or sheets. You can mix it with essential oils for aromatherapy and soothing massages, and it doesn’t solidify like standard coconut oils. You may check this genuine in-depth review video based on a tester’s experience if you are still in doubt.
Did you know?
Why We Think It's Worth Buying
With over 29,356 reviews on Amazon, it's clear that many people love this product.
2. Best Natural: Handcraft Blends Fractionated Coconut Oil
Use this 100% natural and pure coconut oil for your everyday hair care routine, aromatherapy, skin moisturizing, and even for massaging your pets. The oil is vegan, chemical-free, preservative-free, hexane-free, and fragrance-free. It is lightweight, suitable for all skin types, and offers a silky-smooth feeling without clogging pores. Rich in antioxidants, this is an essential scalp treatment oil for enhanced scalp health–it helps fight fungal infections and adds a salon-quality shine and volume to your hair, thus facilitating hair growth.
Quick tipWhy We Think It's Worth Buying
The whopping 20,611 positive reviews on Amazon reflect the superior quality of this product.
3. Best Fragrance-Free: Viva Naturals Organic Fractional Coconut Oil
Suitable for nails, skin, and hair, this organic fractional coconut oil helps hydrate the skin and moisturizes the cuticles and hair. This lightweight coconut oil for taming unruly hair leaves no greasy residue and contains no added fragrance. Moreover, it stays liquid and gets absorbed quickly. You can use this oil to massage your hair to soften it from roots to ends and enhance your hair growth.
Why We Think It's Worth Buying
Over 11,479 Amazon shoppers have left good reviews about this product, citing its quality features and benefits.
Majestic Pure Fractionated Coconut Oil Best With A Long-Shelf-Life | Handcraft Blends Fractionated Coconut Oil Best Natural | Viva Naturals Organic Fractional Coconut Oil Best Fragrance-Free | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Items | 1 | - | - |
| Dimensions | 2.72 x 10.04 x 4.61 inches | 2.5 x 2.5 x 8 inches | 3.5 x 9 x 2.6 inches |
| Weight | 1 Pounds | 1 Pounds | 11.84 Ounces |
| Hair Type | - | All | - |
| Rating | |||
| Reviews | 29,356 | 20,611 | 11,479 |
| Price | $18.99 | $12.69 | $14.65 |
4. Best For Shiny Locks: Coco & Co. Organic Pure Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Rich in nourishing ingredients such as essential fatty acids and vitamin E, this oil helps reduce the appearance of blemishes, age spots, stretch marks, and wrinkles. You can use it as your go-to coconut oil for shiny hair. Made from 100% pure coconut, it has smooth velvet consistency, is odor-free, and renders exceptional results.
5. Best For Deep Moisturization: Okay 100% Pure Coconut Oil
This expertly crafted, deeply moisturizing, and hair-repairing formula is an essential coconut oil for frizzy hair, itchy and dry scalp, dandruff, and other hair conditions. And if you’re struggling with hair thinning, you can add this to your daily hair care routine, as it is a great coconut oil for hair loss prevention. It helps maintain your hair and skin moisture, and its antibacterial and antifungal properties help fight against scalp infections and allergies. This high-performance oil also contains essential fatty acids and antioxidants to help keep your hair shiny and nourished and prevents protein loss from combing damage.
Did you know?6. Best Non-Greasy: Pura D’or Organic Fractionated Coconut Oil
Non-greasy and quick-absorbing, you can use this coconut oil for your hair and skin. This organic fractionated coconut oil helps penetrate deep into the scalp to hydrate the locks and improves blood circulation, making it an ideal addition to your must-buy list. The coconut oil helps make your locks shinier and thicker, and you can also use this non-staining, odorless formula to dilute essential oils.
7. Best With Antioxidant Properties: Sky Organics USDA Organic Coconut Oil With Vitamin E
Enriched with Vitamin E, this is a hair-revitalizing and moisturizing coconut oil for dry hair that works well for your skin as well. The antioxidant properties help protect dry areas, and you can use this coconut oil as a deep-conditioning hair mask. The product is manufactured from natural ingredients, is not tested on animals, and provides visible results. This unbiased review video can tell you more about this product.
8. Best Cold-Pressed Oil: Parachute Naturalz 100% Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
USDA-certified, this virgin coconut oil is extracted from natural coconuts harvested manually with the help of the cold-pressed technique to help retain its natural potency, aroma, and flavor. It acts as a conditioner and moisturizer for skin and hair, provides deep nourishment, and contains several antioxidant properties, making it a great choice of coconut oil for enhanced hair texture and repair. You can use this oil for baking, deep-frying, and salad dressing. This coconut oil also helps treat dry and itchy skin in pets.
9. Best Nourishing: Hask Coconut Monoi Nourishing Hair Oil
Known for its softening and re-hydrating qualities, this nourishing oil helps leave your hair revived and moisturized from deep within. Its lightweight and alcohol-free formulation is quick-absorbing and offers a beautiful shine without any greasy residue. You can use the oil on dry and wet hair for a smooth, silky finish. Available in two vials, the oil is free of drying alcohol, gluten, phthalates, parabens, and sulfates. To know how good the product is, watching this video can be of help.
10. Best Anti-Frizz: OGX Extra Strength Damage Remedy + Coconut Miracle Oil
The professional-grade OGX Extra Strength Damage Remedy + Coconut Miracle Oil is suitable for medium to high hair volume levels. This conditioning coconut oil for damaged hair can reduce frizz for those with medium to coarse hair textures. Its advanced formula is paraben-free, sulfate-free, and phthalate-free, making it safe for your hair and scalp. Enriched with potent ingredients like argan oil and coconut oil, this formula helps tame flyaways and frizz, giving you shiny, healthy, and manageable hair. Furthermore, you can use this coconut oil as a pre-shampoo treatment for hair strength and to add bounce as well. Your hair will also smell great, thanks to the vanilla, tangerine, and coconut milk fragrance.
11. Best Gluten-Free: Pure Body Naturals Organic Fractionated Coconut Oil
The Pure Body Naturals Organic Fractionated Coconut Oil can be a suitable option for maintaining your skin, hair, and nails. It is USDA-certified organic and free from additives like palm oil. The bottle has a handy dropper for easy application. Further, the amber glass bottle offers protection from UV rays to upkeep the quality for long and prevent discoloration. The oil is non-greasy, vegan, gluten-free, cruelty-free, and hexane-free.
How To Choose The Right Coconut Oil?
Consider the following points when buying coconut oil.
- Authenticity: Look for important features such as organic, virgin, and non-hydrogenated. These can help certify the authenticity and credibility of the oil. Opt for a brand endorsed by medical professionals for a safer experience.
- Expeller or cold-pressed: Choose a coconut oil that is expeller or cold-pressed as no chemicals or heat will be used in these processes. It helps retain the beneficial natural properties of coconut oil.
- Color: Avoid buying coconut oil that has a gray or yellow tint. These colors can indicate contamination.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What kind of coconut oil is best for natural hair?
Organic, virgin, cold-pressed, or doctor-recommended coconut oil from a reliable source can offer optimum results since it’s devoid of harsh chemicals or processing.
2. Is coconut oil suitable for all hair types?
Since coconut oil does have a tendency to make the hair greasy, it may not be that suitable for people with extremely oily scalps and low hair porosity.
3. Does coconut oil have any negative effects on hair?
Overapplication of or not washing off coconut oil properly, or any other greasy oily substance for that matter, can clog the pores on the scalp, which may lead to irritation or other hair issues.
4. What will coconut oil do for my hair?
Coconut oil’s unique molecular structure may help it penetrate the hair shafts better and provide them nourishment via its fatty acid content in order to prevent hair damage (1).
Liz L. Sowers, a licensed cosmetologist and bridal and event hair stylist, says, “Coconut oil is excellent at reducing protein loss from any hair type. However, when applying it on fine textured hair, it is important to note that less is more.”
5. Do I apply coconut oil to wet or dry hair?
It may depend on the kind of hair regime you follow. As a thumb rule, it shouldn’t be applied to dripping wet hair and/ or a dirty scalp.
6. How often should I apply coconut oil to my hair?
Although it may depend on the hair treatment suggested to you by an expert, in general, coconut oil can be applied once a week in most cases. Or you may also follow the instructions given on the product label.
7. How long should I leave coconut oil in my hair?
This may vary as per your hair type, the product instructions, and the hair treatment you are undertaking. In most cases, it can be left on for at least 30 minutes.
Why Trust MomJunction?
Poulami Nag is a fashion and beauty enthusiast who understands the needs of her buyers. After a detailed market study, she compiled a list of the best oils for hair. These oils are nutrient-rich and help promote a healthy scalp and hair. Moreover, most of these oils are versatile and can be used for skin massages and also aromatherapy. Also, scroll down the article to find a handy buying list that mentions the factors contributing to good coconut oil.
The Bottom Line
Coconut oil is a rich source of nutrients that nourish and hydrate the hair. Taking advantage of this oil can help you strengthen your hair and make it shinier and more lustrous. The options we’ve listed here can help improve your hair’s texture, condition it, and treat dandruff. You may buy an organic, cold-pressed, and uncontaminated oil, such as the Parachute Naturalz 100% Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, for your hair’s safety or an oil with antifungal and antibacterial properties, such as the Okay 100% Pure Coconut Oil, for your scalp health. And if a product’s long shelf life is your top priority, Majestic Pure Fractionated Coconut Oil will suit you the best. No matter which oil you choose, remember to always do a patch test and do not overuse it, as it can cause greasiness.
Infographic: Benefits Of Using Coconut Hair Oil
Now that you’re aware of the best coconut hair oils available, let’s delve into the advantages the oil can bestow on the hair. So, check out the following infographic to learn more about what happens when you apply this fatty nutty oil to your mane. Illustration: Momjunction Design Team
References
- Aarti S Rele and R B Mohile; Effect of mineral oil sunflower oil and coconut oil on prevention of hair damage; Journal of Cosmetic Science (2003)
https://www.essentialnutrition.com.br/media/artigos/mctlift/25.pdf - Aarti S Rele et al .; (2003); Effect of mineral oil sunflower oil and coconut oil on prevention of hair damage
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12715094/ - Coconut Oil
https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/food-features/coconut-oil/
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