question about olive oil

mamaherrera

I want to try a moisturizer with olive oil. I have had good results using olive oil on my hair in the bpast but someone scared me because they said that olive oil actually dries out your hair if you're out in the sun, because it cooks it in your hair, drying it out. Is that true? I don't want to be actually damaging my hair being outside with beautiful curls that have olive oil in them?? anyone knowledgable about this????

swtndspcy

mamaherrera wrote: »

I want to try a moisturizer with olive oil. I have had good results using olive oil on my hair in the bpast but someone scared me because they said that olive oil actually dries out your hair if you're out in the sun, because it cooks it in your hair, drying it out. Is that true? I don't want to be actually damaging my hair being outside with beautiful curls that have olive oil in them?? anyone knowledgable about this????

Um, I don't think so, unless you are using a hair dryer or the outside temp is boiling hot (that's 212 degrees F, btw,). At those temps, your skin would already be cooking, too.
However, there is grain of truth in that there myth (did I just say that there? Been hanging around my husband too long..) not that it will cook your hair, but oils are not moisturizers in and of themselves. Water is moisture, plain and simple. Oils can help lock in moisture if applied over a moisturizer and/or wet hair, and in the cases of the few oils that penetrate the hair shaft, they can carry some of the oily goodness into the hair shaft helping to replace the loss of natural oils.

mamaherrera

thanks for your reply. Well I want to try this lustrasilk olive oil cholesterol and it's got some other moisturizers and olive oil and other oils as well, give it a try I thought. But blow drying and being outside, shouldn't do it any harm?? Flat ironing, either???

Maggab

I use straight-up olive oil as a hot oil treatment during the winter, when my hair is driest. Just warm up the oil GENTLY (warm it up too quickly and you could hurt yourself), and when it's warm to the touch, take it off the burner. When it's cool enough to put in your hair, comb it through, put a shower cap on, and leave it in for 30-60 minutes, then shampoo with a MOISTURIZING shampoo.

I also use olive oil as a makeup remover and to seal the moisture in my skin after I get out of the shower. (I only do this at night, though; I wouldn't advise this during the day).

I don't think that you'd be damaging your hair using olive oil in tandem with the procedures you've described. From my personal experience, and to echo what swtndspcy said, the oil has to be at VERY high temps in order for it to cook your hair. Think about it this way: your flat iron gets to higher temps than from being out in the sun. And since oils are used to seal in moisture, I'd like to think that the olive oil would serve more as a protectant than anything else.

swtndspcy

No, blow driers, outside heat, and flatirons aren't going to cause the product to (literally) fry your hair. However, I am obligated to state that heat styling can (and most likely will) damage your hair.

mamaherrera

thanks I really appreciate all taht reassurance. I was thinking too, even after applying this olive oil to my hair, when I do straighten my bangs, on top of that olive oil I put a heat protectant, so that should up the protection even though I know damage is inevitable, but still, I know this product has safflower oil and olive oil and they both have low smokepoints, so that heat protectant needs to be on top of those, just to help not cause that oil to fry my hair worse than if I didn't have it!! I just do my bangs by the way!

swtndspcy

mamaherrera wrote: »

thI know this product has safflower oil and olive oil and they both have low smokepoints,

Low smoke points for cooking are still much higher than the heat a blowdryer or flatiron would produce.
Between 225 (unrefined) and 450 (refined) for safflower and approx. 365 - 400 for EVOO.

mamaherrera

well I'll still use a heat protectant, because my flat iron only goes down to 280 and can go up to 450, not for me, but still. . . .so it wouldn't take much to be frying that safflower oil on. Just take precautions and don't iron more than needed, I guess!