Before beginning this treatment, you'll need a couple of items to prepare. You'll also need at least one hour* to do this deep conditioning hair treatment (but overnight would be best). Pick a good time when you can sit at home and don't need to go out.
You'll need the following items:
1. EVCO (amount determined by the length of your hair)
2. Plastic shower cap or Saran Wrap
Wet:
- Shampoo your hair and let dry until slightly damp.
- Apply a quarter-sized amount of virgin coconut oil to your palms and rub hands together. The heat from your hands will instantly melt the coconut oil, coating your palms and fingers with the oil. If you have longer hair, you'll probably need to use more oil.
- Run your fingers through your hair coating your hair with the oil. Be sure to concentrate on the ends.Your hair will look slick and shiny from the oil. Be sure not to use too much oil. Using too much oil will take longer to rinse out. The trick is to use just enough so that the oil will penetrate the hair, without leaving an oily or greasy look. Use more at the ends, less in the middle and the roots.
- Take the plastic shower cap or saran wrap and cover your hair.
- Sit under and hooded dryer for 30 minutes (or warm towel for 45 minutes), then remove the plastic shower cap and rinse your hair.
Dry:
- Prior to shampooing your hair part hair in equal sections
- Apply a quarter-sized amount of virgin coconut oil to your palms and rub hands together. The heat from your hands will instantly melt the coconut oil, coating your palms and fingers with the oil. If you have longer hair, you'll probably need to use more oil.
- Run your fingers through your hair coating your hair with the oil. Be sure to concentrate on the ends.Your hair will look slick and shiny from the oil. Be sure not to use too much oil.
- Take the plastic shower cap or saran wrap and cover your hair.
- Sit under and hooded dryer for 30 minutes or a warm tow or overnight, then remove the plastic shower cap and shampoo and condition your hair as usual.
What I have done/will be doing:
I have tried both methods and will say I much prefer the damp/wet hair method (modified) much better in terms of application and results. I found that when I applies it to dry hair it just sat there!** I know that sounds weird, but it just sat there and it was like it didn't penetrate at all. It also didn't do much in terms of conditioning. Now at first I thought, well maybe it turned out that way because it was the first application, but I was reading about women that had soft, silky results after just one application--which in truth is what should have happened. Okay, so I thought, maybe my hair is just severely damaged, so I tried again. Again, nothing special. It actually felt mushy in the morning. I wasn't impressed at all.
Third week I decided to try on damp hair. I saw a difference immediately! Fourth week, hair was much better. Moisturized, soft....applying to damp hair is the way to go for me. What I did was lightly dampen my hair and applied the EVCO to my hair and cover with a plastic cap; let it sit overnight. The next morning I shampooed and condition as usual (so basically I combined the two methods).
Now I have heard women say, water and oil don't mix, so it won't work as well on damp/wet hair. I don't know what to tell you**, but the proof is in the pudding. Anyway, the moral to this story: go with your gut ladies. Listen to YOUR hair, not anyone else. Sure advice is helpful, but your hair will let you know what is or isn't working despite the promises found on the label.
*ETA: I have completed additional research since making this post and have found conflicting information regarding the application of EVCO. Please see my initial post and the added sources for more information to determine the best results for your hair.
**I recently found out I have mixed porosity (low and high), which explains the reason the dry application did not work for my hair. Please see my post on porosity and pH balance.
