DIY Hot Oil Hair Treatment at Home (Only 1 Ingredient Needed!)
Great hair onlineing in hot (and greasy)! 🤣
Hot oil treatments have been around for quite some time simply because they’re proven to work. And since I’ve never tried one myself, I was curious to see just how well it works, especially since my locks could use a pick me up from all the blow drying, curling, straightening, and excessive amounts of dry shampoo I use on a weekly basis. 🤦♀️
I decided to create an easy DIY coconut oil hair mask, and ended up being super pleased with the results.
What is a hot oil treatment?
Basically when a plant-based oil is used to coat your scalp and hair – these include oils such as coconut, almond, jojoba, and olive oil. The main purpose of hot oil treatment is to nourish, protect and strengthen your hair and can be done as many as 3 times per week.
*Before doing a hot oil treatment, it’s always best to consult your doctor, especially if you have sensitive skin or skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis.
There are also many amazing benefits of hot oil treatments:
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- Helps strengthen hair
- Increases blood flow
- May lead to healthier, longer hair
- Contributes to shinier hair
- Moisturizes hair and scalp
- Less split ends and frizz
- Minimizes dandruff
Here’s how you can do a hot oil treatment at home:
Step 1: Buy some oil.
If you already have oil on hand, great! You’ve onlinepleted step one – wasn’t that simple?! I already had some of this coconut oil on hand and it turns out that coconut oil is also your best option (use virgin or refined oil) because it’s super-rich in nutrients, able to penetrate inside your hair shafts, and it’s “found to reduce the protein loss remarkably for both undamaged and damaged hair”.
Hip Tip: Need some coconut oil? You can scoop up my coconut oil on Amazon and with your Prime membership, you’ll score FREE two-day shipping and it’s even available on Subscribe and Save so you can save up to 15% off!
Step 2: Measure the coconut oil.
Next, you’ll want to scoop out the coconut oil. Depending on how much hair you have will determine how much you’ll want to use. For me, I used a little over a 1/4 cup and it turned out to be perfect. If you have short, thin hair you could probably use less and for thicker, long hair you might need a 1/2 cup or more.
Step 3: Melt the coconut oil.
For this step, you’ll need a small pot of boiling water and a heat-safe bowl that can sit right on top – also known as a double boiler. Place you’re coconut oil in the bowl and stir constantly until melted – this will happen pretty fast! I found that as soon as all the coconut oil melted, it was the perfect temperature – but just to be sure, dab a small amount on the back of your hand.
Step 4: Apply the oil to your hair.
Hindsight is 20/20 and boy would it have been great to have a squirt bottle for application. 🤣 However, I didn’t, so using a tablespoon had to suffice – just know that if you don’t use a proper applicator things could get a little messy. Regardless, you may want to consider wearing something with no sleeves or a top you don’t care much about so you don’t spill oil on your favorite shirt.
Not that we’ve got all my first time fails out of the way, you’ll want to take your hot oil (hopefully in a bottle) and start at your roots. I really loved this part because it was warm and felt super relaxing on my head (some essential oils would have totally made this even more spa-like!). Then you’ll want to work the oil down until all your hair is covered. I massage and brushed the oil into my hair with my hands for a solid 5 minutes or so just to make sure it was generously applied from root to ends!
Step 5: Let it sit.
Now the fun part is over and you get to let the coconut oil do it’s magic! Make sure to cover up your hair during the process either with a towel, or a fancy shower cap like Bryn uses.
Depending on how much time you have, you can let it sit overnight or wash it out as soon as 30 minutes… but any less and the coconut oil won’t have enough time to do its thing. I left mine in for 2 hours while I did stuff around the house – and yes, I have a shirt on… I just took my own advice and went with a strapless top. 🤣
Step 6: Wash your hair.
Now that you’ve let your coconut oil hair sit for a while, it’s time to wash it out! You do this just like you would any other shower so hop in and get to it! I ended up washing my hair two times and I felt it still needed a good lather after the first round. This is totally up to you, friends! Then apply your regular conditioner per usual and rinse.
Step 7: Style and enjoy your gorgeous & healthy hair!
Dry your hair and style as normal. How does it feel?! Soft and shiny, I’m sure!
My first hot oil treatment was a total success and I’ll be sure to do it again! After blow-drying my hair, it felt incredibly soft, and normally where my ends would be split and get tangled up easily, they didn’t and remained silky smooth. A friend even mentioned to me later in the day that my hair looked a little lighter, so I’m not sure if that’s relevant, but it had me feeling pretty good about my overall results. 🙌
