I don't see any reason why you couldn't leave in the coconut oil in your hair. I know people who use it as a moisturizer.

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You might be interested in the No Poo Shampoo method:

http://www.naturemoms.com/no-shampoo-alternative.html



Dissolve about 1 tablespoon of baking soda in just enough water to make a paste. Apply this to your roots only; work it in and let it sit for a minute.

In order to stimulate blood flow, clean your pores and get off built up grime, use your finger tips to scrub your scalp. Start by making a circle on the top of your head in the area you’d wear a crown. Focus on the back of this circle to begin with. Next, fill in the circle. This is where your part will be; grease here affects the way your hair looks. Trace while still scrubbing with your fingertips around the bottom edge of the circle. Keep making scrubbing circles underneath each one, drawing lines in circles around your head.
Lastly, scrub the back of your skull and your temples/sideburns. This will result in less grease and more growth. After doing this, your scalp will feel alive. Many women swear their hair grows faster after a visit to the salon — it does, and this massage method is why.

When scrubbing, you’re actually rubbing your fingers back and forth in short movements. Be gentle; you don’t want to break your hair. Next, pour about 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar into a cup and add water. (I keep two plastic 12-ounce cups in my shower and just mix when I get in.) After you rinse the baking soda out, pour the apple cider vinegar over the ends of your hair, let it sit for a minute and then rinse it out. That’s all there is to it!

No 'Poo Troubleshooting

Remember, there is a transition period from two weeks to two months depending on the person. Here are a few tips:
• If your hair becomes frizzy, try using less baking soda or leaving it on for a shorter period of time. Adding honey may also help.
• If your hair becomes greasy, try using less apple cider vinegar, switching to lemon or lime juice, leaving out the honey, and/or using a comb instead of a brush. Also, make sure you’re applying the apple cider vinegar just to the ends of your hair.
• If your scalp itches, try the following essential oils; tea tree, lavender, rosemary. If your hair becomes dry, try a tiny bit of oil (any oil, I use olive) smoothed on bottom of hair.
Ready to make the change? Sure! Don’t be afraid to go no 'poo. You know how to do it! Enjoy the journey – you’re on your way to a healthier you!

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I've also heard of folks using Borax (the laundry booster) instead of baking soda.

iolite

I have encountered people who use coconut oil.

I instead use "Amla" which is an ayurvedic beauty remedy. I get the Dabur range which you can find in any Indian store. Amla is an Indian gooseberry which has been used for 1000's of years, not just in beauty products but as a herb. The Dabur oil smells a bit and as far as I know contains mineral oil.

So I am learning to make my own with the whole dried fruit and steam boiling with one saucepan on top of the other filled with water. It is hard to get the dried fruit in shops, many places sell the powder but I found a small herbal shop here in Australia that sells the whole fruit. They also sell the whole dried fruit on http://www.amazon.com.


There is a good youtube video on how to make your own Amla oil from scratch. You can ask the folk at http://www.reviveholisticbeauty.com
they are the people that put out the youtube video. It is amateurish but it provides good instructions on how to make it.

You need "fractionated" coconut oil, avocado oil and olive oil. You just boil it for an hour until it turns brown. Do not let it turn black and let it steep overnight before draining through a strainer with cheesecloth or muslin. You can keep for a minimum of 2 weeks in a glass jar.

You need:
5% Amla
95% Olive
95% Fractionated Coconut
95% Unrefined Avocado oil

So if you are going to make a 300ml bottle then 95/100 x 300 = 285 Divide that by the 3 oils you put in and it is 95 mls per oil that you use.

It seems easy enough. For a conditioning treatment you can wrap your head in a steaming towel.

Also if you know of any other kind of shampoo that is absolutely natural or organic, please let me know.


I like this shampoo. It doesn't have any harsh detergents. It doesn't strip the natural oils out of the hair. You can just use as much as needed to cleanse out dirt and excess oil.

http://www.hlcconline.com/001HLGENSH08.html

Hi.
Thank you very much for your replies
Rafael

Rafael,

How did you get on with the suggestions raised in the replies to this question?
Did you get any better results?

I quit using shampoo several months ago after reading advice from John Fielder (http://www.johnfielder.com.au/index.html) on the INHS Yahoo Forum. The key points were 1) only wash your hair in water and 2) give it a good brushing.

I've followed this advice and am more than pleased with the results. By brushing, I mean several minutes each day spent brushing the hair in all directions to distribute the natural hair oils as evenly as possible before finishing with my normal style (if you can call it a style!)

I suspect that your idea of leaving coconut oil on your head all day will lead to blocked poors and dirty hair. Using any other product is just asking for destroying your body's natural health and defenses.

Yours truly,
NH.is.Scientific

people of color have been using coconut oil in the hair daily, & they refer to it as "scalp food", & it is widely used in latin america.

There's nothing in it that will hurt you if you leave it in.

If you are getting a smell that is anything other than an extremely light buttery kind of coconut odor--which is rarely noticible after it sinks in--then it is from dead skin & bacteria--SEBUM--that's the icky hair smell. NOT THE COCONUT OIL!

break down & buy some gentle natural tearless baby shampoo-a name brand, or suave, but not a dollar store generic, and wash the sebum out of your hair.

You don't have to shampoo everyday, but if your hair is more than 1/2" long, you're gonna want to, at least once in a while-OTHERWISE YOU"LL HAVE A NASTY ECO-SYSTEM!!!-

because, see, hair gets VERY dirty, your scalp sweats, the dead skin cells that come off of your scalp trap the odors & bacteria & virus, dirt & smoke, smog, in the air--and holds them there--washing the hair is a good thing, it promotes health through hygene & you don't need to use a harsh shampoo to do that.

If it's gentle enough for a baby's eye, it's gentle enough for an adult's hard head. Just rinse it well.

Even ancient man washed the hair-with something other than water as soon as they figured out what to use. It promoted health & kept the parasites at bay.

That person who coughed or sneezed behind you at work or school just loaded your hair up with with bacteria & virus--think about it--
Hair, like skin, is a defense-it protects you, even though it's dead-that's it's original function-but you gotta get the gunk out once in a while.

Hair shouldn't smell bad if it's clean, VCO all day or not.