So coconut oil has been making the rounds in the good health community for a good few years now. This yummy healthy fat is extracted from the kernel or meat of matured coconut harvested from the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). Throughout the tropical world it has provided the primary source of fat in the diets of millions of people for generations and not the nasty omega 6 heavy vegetable oils you get in the supermakets these days (yes I'm sorry but canola oil ain't food!).

What does this have to do with hair care? Well it's no secret that coconut oil has been hyped as an excellent hair oil for eons but what makes it different from any other oil is the fact that coconut oil is a triglyceride of lauric acid. It 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. This is why you will hear it occasionally described (in hair care) as the only moisturizing oil. That's not strictly accurate as the word moisture would imply the presence of water so it would be better described as the best conditioning oil.