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Coconut Milk Hair Soak:
A long time ago, I read about how to look after long hair with coconut milk on Makeup Alley. I followed the link to read the detailed post on The Long Hair Community . (I can no longer find the original the original post. But if you wish, you could still register yourself on that site and read more about caring for long hair.) I was sold upon seeing how beautiful, shiny and silky the girl's hair was. I gave it a try on the same day as coconut milk is a staple item in my kitchen as I love cooking curry!
Ever since my first trail, , it has been a point of no return. And I have converted families and friends and many members on Makeup Alley to use coconut milk as hair mask.
How to do it?
- Get a carton of unflavoured/unsweetened coconut milk from your local supermarket or Asian grocer.
As coconut milk is very watery, I prefer leaving the carton cut open in the fridge to let the water in the milk evaporates and use the remain milk solids instead. I find it a lot easier to work with a creamy paste instead of dripping milk. It is like making whey, if that makes sense?
You don't have to buy any specific brand of coconut milk. I use whatever is on sale (but Full Fat version only as it contains most milk fat thus I get more product.) The fat content is 20g for every 100ml for the product shown above. Its original form is very WATERY.
If you have access to coconut CREAM, it will be a better choice than coconut MILK as it is less running and has more milk solids. However, since coconut milk is more readily available in Malaysia, I just get the milk and let the water dry up.
Please do NOT use fresh coconut milk (straight from a coconut) as it contains impurity (bits of fibers or flesh) and it will be a lot more troublesome to wash it off. For this recipe, it is best to use a pre-packed shop-bought product.
- Rub coconut milk into your dry, unwashed (dirty) hair gently.
You have to work carefully as the coconut milk will drip. (You can wrap your neck/shoulders with a towel to catch the access.) Cover the hair with a shower cap once the hair is completely soaked with coconut milk. - Blow the hair through the cap with as much heat as you can tolerate or leave it alone for an hour or two.
I prefer leaving my hair alone without the heating treatment for few hours till I go to shower (because the weather is just too hot in Malaysia!) Honestly, I find no the difference between the two methods other than the heat speeds up the soaking process. If I am pressed for time, I'd adopt the hair dryer method. - Rinse the coconut milk in the shower till the water runs clear.
- Wash the hair with shampoo and follow with conditioner if you use it.
Once your hair dries, you'd see and feel huge difference instantly!
If you do the coconut milk hair soak regularly, your hair will be super soft and gleaming.
I do the soak about once a week or before going to a party.
And you will not need any expensive shampoo or conditioner, seriously!
I only buy cheap supermarket/drugstore shampoo (no specific brand) and I do NOT use any conditioner at all.
NOTE: If you use coconut milk from a tin, please remove the remaining content into an airtight glass jar immediately so the milk doesn't oxidize easily.
I will continue with a review on Coconut Oil, another Holy Grail (HG) product of mine in a separate post tomorrow.
My Colouring:
MUFE Full Cover Extreme Camouflage Cream #4, Duo Mat Powder Foundation #202, Liquid Lift Foundation #2, light skinned Asian (Chinese), dark brown eyes, long black hair (mostly straight with some wavy bits), slightly dry facial skin that hardly breaks out, medium pigmented lips that are chapped easily.
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20 comments:
Heya, just wondering if the coconut would make the hair smell bad? I would love to give this a go as my hair is looking worse for wear.
tine: NOT at all!!! I love the coconut smell if you think that is the smell. but no, once you wash it thoroughly, then followed with shampoo, you end up with the smell of your shampoo actually.
it's great so do try it!
hi there! my mom used to do that to me when I was a lil kid! but i just cant stand the smell! so i have to rinse it with shampoo afterwards... but guess what?! it really works! :o) my hair turned shiny and hair roots are growing, thus gives a healthy hair.. however, my mom opt to use the real coconut milk instead of those preserved ones that can be bought in the groceries.. i didnt know that method is still popular nowadays.. im having second thoughts of doing that again, thanks for sharing! :o)
anonymous: OMG your mom used the fresh coconut milk from the market??? I tried that once and gave it up as it was so difficult to wash of the small pieces of fibers. *_*
hey there, i found your blog through JieJie and I was wondering if canned coconut milk would evaporate like cartoned coconut milk.
Lily:
yes, it will. but do transfer it to a glass bottle and leave it uncovered in the fridge for few days.
hope it works. :)
i had tried coconut milk, but it was quite watery (it still worked beautifully though!) however, i randomly found coconut cream in the cocktail & drink mixers section of my grocery store... it is supposed to be used for pina coladas, but it was even better as a hair treatment ; )
Hi, I bought creamed coconut this week, but it's solid..do I need to ad some water to it? Thanks :) Lein
marjolein: If it's very hard, bring it up to the creamy, lumpy state but do not add water. It is great to use it when it's not watery. Personally, I'd prefer it a cream instead of a liquid. Easier to handle. HTH
I love to use coconut milk on my hair, its an excellent conditioner.
Hi,
If I was in a hurry could I just use straight coconut milk without letting it sit in the fridge for a few days?
Vanessa: Of course! that was the original recipe. I just prefer it less watery and drippy that's all. :)
Hi thanks for the 'recipe'! It sounds really good :D I've tried the avocado+egg yolk+olive oil hair mask, so now I wanna see if I like this one better, cause I didnt like the smell of that mask XD
My mom also used to put coconut oil in my hair once a week when I was a kid. I hated it since it smelled so bad (but maybe since she didn't shampoo it afterwards, just rinsed it with water). But now I realized, maybe that's why my hair was so nice when I was a kid.. now it's so dry and looks like a nest :). I should definitely go try this old school way of taking care of your hair. Great post! Thanks!
Hello! Thanks for the amazing tip. I was wondering what if I have product in my hair before I put the coconut, because you say to put it in while its dirty. Because I use a leave-in conditioner. Is that ok or should I rise it out with just water, dry it, then apply the coconut. Thanks!
mary: Just use coconut cream on your hair regardless what you have on it. Don't worry about the leave-in conditioner at all! Don't prewash your hair. Do it afterwards. Make sure your hair is washed properly with shampoo after you do the hair mask or else it will be greasy looking! :)
hey thank you for your wonderful advise. but is there any problem if i use coconut milk mixed with henna as a musk for my hair, cos i use henna every week end.
amina: WOW! I read your question wrong! Totally wrong! OK, I am not sure about henna and coconut milk mixed as a musk but you could certainly try it. I said so because you have already been using henna and coconut milk is a mild and natural so it shouldn't be a problem. Just my two cents.
And I apologize for the wrong answer...
Hi there! My hair is always frizzed up and super dry, and I want to try your Coconut Hair Soak afterwards. But I was just wondering, does this method give the hair a permanent shine? Do you have to do it like, once a week or twice a month? thanks ;)
Stellaaaaaa: It's definitely not permanent shine. (If it's so, then i only need to do it once and it's done!) I do it about once a week but sometimes once every other week, depending on how busy and forgetful I am... :P
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