Oils..can they penetrate?

An on going debate in a lot of the forums I've joined is 'can oils penetrate your hair shaft?'

I think it'll have to be a 'YES'

It has been scientifically proven that some oils can penetrate for example:

*Coconut oil, being a triglyceride of lauric acid (principal fatty acid), has a high affinity for hair proteins and, because of its low molecular weight and straight linear chain, is able to penetrate inside the hair shaft.

*Mineral oil, being a hydrocarbon, has no affinity for proteins and therefore is not able to penetrate and yield better results. In the case of sunflower oil, although it is a triglyceride of linoleic acid, because of its bulky structure due to the presence of double bonds, it does not penetrate the fiber, consequently resulting in no favorable impact on protein loss.

Studies have proven that ...
Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil, Olive oil penetrate the hair shaft to make it stronger (J. Cosmet.Sci 52, 169-184, 2001)The study showed straight chain glyceride's like coconut oil , avocado oil, olive oil easily penetrate into the hair.

Polyunsaturated oils , like Jojoba oil, are more open in their structure so they don’t pass through the layers of cuticles very well.

Meadow foam seed oil partially penetrates, and jojoba and sunflower oils don’t penetrate at all.Most other oils, including safflower oil and sunflower oil, do not penetrate hair very well.

source:keepitsimplesistah

A little bit of education goes a lonnnnngggg way :)

x edF x

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