Olive Oil Disaster - Help!

[ButtersChloe]

I have been no-pooing for about a month, and I have waist-length fine hair. I use baking soda/apple cider vinegar every other day. The lower part of my hair has gotten quite dry without conditioner, so I took some advice to put a little olive oil in it overnight as a deep conditioning mask. Guess what? It won't come out! I have rinsed with baking soda then vinegar several times. This seems to be making it so dry that the hair actually makes a crunching sound when I bend it yet it is still coated with oil, if that makes any sense. I only put about a tablespoon of olive oil in my hair but right now after several BS/OO rises it looks as if I poured a quart of dirty motor oil in my hair. What to do?

[katmann]

this might sound crazy, but I think I've read before that women used to use cornmeal or cornstarch (can't remember which but it seems like both might work) to keep their hair from getting oily. You might work some into your hair and comb it through. Hopefully it will help absorb the oil.

As a last resort you could shampoo and condition conventionally. Returning to your BS/ACV routine shouldn't be too hard. I've switched back and forth without a problem.

[ButtersChloe]

Thanks for the suggestion. I used about 1/2 cup of cornstarch, and it worked somewhat, but I washed my hair with BS/ACV again and it's back to oil slick. I had hoped that the cornstarch would bind to the oil and wash away, but it seems like the cornstarch is only a temporary fix. Even with the cornstarch in, it still looks too bad to leave the house.

[Limabean1975]

I am sorry to tell you this, but I used olive oil once for dry skin on my scalp, and ended up using *dish soap* to get it out after several days of multiple scrubbings with regular shampoo. And I'm not talking any mild/natural/enviro-friendly dish soap either! REgular old yellow Sunlight.

[texasnurse3]

I know this isn't very helpful this time, but I do have some input for next time. I have nearly waist length hair and use coconut oil the night before a wash. However, I don't use nearly that much! I divide my hair into two sections and then dip my first three fingers into the oil up to the second joint, let the excess drip off, and rub what's left onto my hair starting at the ends and work my way up to my chin. I do this once for each side. That seems to be just the right amount. It keeps my hair nice and moisturized but comes off easily in the shower the next morning.

[hibana]

Going swimming in the ocean every day for a week took several tablespoons of olive oil out of my hair, but I had put it in on purpose to protect from the salt water. If you have a boar bristle brush, you can brush with that until the brush becomes totally oily, then run it through the dishwasher.

[ButtersChloe]

Thanks all for your help. I finally got it out, though my hair is a little worse for the wear. I brushed about 1/2 cup of baking soda through my hair with a bristle brush, rinsed it out, then washed my hair with Dawn dish soap, then with Fructis shampoo and conditioner. I am going to have to get some of it trimmed off because it's just fried from the abuse, but I'm glad I didn't have to chop it ALL off and that I got the grease out! Thanks so much for your suggestions and I will be back to no-pooing soon.

[Limabean1975]

Glad you got it out. It's cringe-worthy putting dish soap in your hair, isn't it?