Does sebum prevent my hair from swelling?

alex_from_germany

Hello,

it's widely known that cocnut oil can reduce the swelling of the hair shaft when applied before washing. Does your own sebum provide the same protection against 'hygral fatigue' as coconut oil does?

Right Brain

Hi Alex. Very interesting question! I've never seen data on sebum in this regard since it's not typically applied to hair as an ingredient. However, I doubt it works as well as coconut oil for this reason:

First your scalp produces a relatively small amount of sebum and second it has to "wick" its way along all your hair fibers to be uniformly distributed. That means the ends of the hair (which are most damaged and where you need the most conditioning) will get the least sebum.

Even if sebum has the appropriate chemistry to be absorbed into the cortex, it won't be as effective as a high does of coconut oil that you can apply uniformly through your hair.

PS I love the term "hygral fatigue."

alex_from_germany

Thank you for your answer Right Brain!

The reason why I ask is because I wash my hair with plain water for four months. (Yes, it looks clean, althogh it is of course dirty, if you consider sebum 'dirt'. *gross I am*) So, my hair is evenly coated with sebum all the way down to the ends. Your answer might affect my decision on how often I could rinse without doing too much damage to my hair. Applying coconut oil is obviously not an option as it wouldn't come out with just water (sebum does bc it contains some sort of emulsifier (cholesterol?), as far as I understood).

Right Brain

Also remember that sebum only contains a fraction as much of lauric acid which is the main component in coconut oil.

I guess the bottom line is, if you like the way your hair looks and feels then keep doing what you're doing!

alex_from_germany

Lauric acid... have to get myself some information on that. Thank you very much.

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