Oils – Which Ones Soak In vs. Coat the Hair?
Updated: June 2016 Plant oils are emollients used to soften hair or add “plasticity” or pliability. Pliable hair bends easily without breaking. Hair with oils applied to it lines up better with neighboring hairs thanks to the lubricating properties of oils (slip). Oils generally increase glossiness. When water is able to get inside the hair easily, it swells on the inside. But the cuticle layer on the outside cannot expand, so the cuticle scales are forced to stand up - a position in which the cuticles are easily broken and the hair is more porous. Oils which penetrate into hair make the hair proteins more hydrophobic (water-repelling). Healthy, strong hair is naturally hydrophobic. Normal and lower porosity hair is somewhat hydrophobic. Hydrophobicity (water-repelling) is a matter of balance. What we don't want is for our hair to take on too much water, too quickly . That's the problem. Hair gets dehydrated. Re-hydrating hair is a good thing. But when hair is porous, it takes ...