Last Updated on September 5, 2022 by Verna Meachum

Just as protein or any other ingredient doesn’t work for every hair, the same is with hair oils.
Pre-poo oil on dry hair? What? You mean you use a water-insoluble film on dry hair?

Yes! I sure do! Look, I can appreciate you don’t think oil is for your hair, BUT that doesn’t mean it’s not beneficial on someone else’s hair.

If your hair can tolerate oil without getting limp or greasy, oils can seal in the moisture on your hair and slow that moisture’s escape.

Yes, oils do not hydrate, but it softens and lubricates the hair. Oil is water-free so it can’t hydrate or moisturize and that’s okay because there’s a lot more to hair than just water!

Let’s take coconut oil for an example.

During washing, some coconut oil penetrate the hair fiber. Because oil repels water, when it is introduced to the interior of the hair which ordinarily attracts water, it makes the inside of the hair water repellent so it swells less.

Less swelling means the cuticles won’t be lifted up where they are easily broken off, which means that all those proteins that belong to the cuticle won’t be lost. Thus, your hair won’t be waterlogged.

The effect is more obvious on damaged porous bleached hair and less obvious on low porosity hair.

By the way, coconut oil is less effective if it’s applied to hair after washing than if applied as a pre-poo oil treatment.

If coconut oil is too heavy for your hair, an oil mixture like Righteous Roots Oils or Flora Curl may be better for low porosity hair.

If oil is not your thing, a pre-poo application of conditioner might do the trick.

Adding a layer of hair butter or oil works great at creating a layer that would help hair hold onto its moisture for a longer period of time.

Our natural sebum (which helps keep cuticle flat), has a hard time working its way down the kinks and bends of curly hair, thus we have the option of using pre-poo oil treatments.

Using emollients like coconut oil is effective for addressing a water-logging problem. This process helps make your hair more water repellant to slow the movement of water into the hair.

But, other penetrating oils, like avocado, may similarly be as effective as coconut oil. These are great solutions that will consistently reinforce our hair cuticles.