Curls, Comedy, and Coconut Oil: Lessons from a Wash Day Disaster

She Tried a Coconut Oil Hair Mask — and Ended Up Looking Like a Fried Chicken Wing

We’ve all had a haircare experiment that went left, but one Atlanta influencer took “doing too much” to hilarious new levels — and the internet can’t stop laughing (and relating).

Tiana Reynolds, known online as @TeeTalksHair, is one of those natural hair influencers who just gets it. She’s smart, funny, and always keeps it 100 about the ups and downs of caring for Black hair. But when she tried to bring coconut oil back into her wash day routine, let’s just say... her curls weren’t having it.

In a now-viral TikTok titled “I Tried Coconut Oil and Ended Up Looking Like a Chicken Wing,” Tiana broke down how a late-night attempt at self-care turned into an oily disaster that nearly cost her her edges — and her sanity.

“I used half a jar thinking I was doing something,” she says in the video, bonnet barely holding on and voice full of regret. “I looked like I moisturized with fryer grease.”

Sis said HALF. A. JAR.

Let me paint this picture for you: she massaged coconut oil all over her scalp, her strands, probably her aura too. Wrapped it up nice and tight like she was marinating for Sunday dinner. The next morning? She tried to wash it out and the oil said, “Be for real.”

Three shampoos later, her hair was still glistening like a fresh order of wings from the West End. Eventually, she did what any of us would do when natural hair knowledge fails: she called her cousin.

And that cousin? A real one.

“Get the blue Dawn,” the cousin told her. “The one they use on ducks after oil spills.”

And you know what? It worked. Her curls came back clean, her scalp could breathe again, and her twist-out was poppin’ by the next day.

But Here’s the Thing: This Story Is Hilarious and a Teachable Moment

Coconut oil used to be that girl in the natural hair community. Around 2012, we were all deep conditioning with it, pre-pooing with it, even rubbing it on our elbows just because. But over time, we learned it’s not a one-size-fits-all miracle product.

If you’ve got low porosity hair, like many Black women do, coconut oil can just sit on your strands instead of penetrating them. That leads to buildup, dryness under the shine, and shampoo sessions that feel like a spiritual battle.

Tiana didn’t just share a funny story. She dropped a few real gems in her follow-up post:

• Use oils sparingly, especially heavier ones like coconut or castor oil.

• Always apply to damp hair, not dry, so it can actually seal in moisture.

• Use heat or steam if you’re doing an oil treatment, so it opens the hair cuticle.

• And most importantly: know your porosity.

Also, can we stop trusting every 20-second TikTok tutorial like it’s gospel? Please. Check the comments. Do the research. And if your hair starts smelling like Sunday dinner, abort mission.

The Comments Were a Whole Cookout

Black women flooded Tiana’s mentions with their own horror stories:

“You ain’t natural if you never accidentally fried your twist-out.”
“Coconut oil been fighting me since 2014. We not friends.”
“The way my curls went limp like wet spaghetti… I still got trust issues.”

But that’s the beauty of our community — we turn mistakes into moments, and moments into memes, and we always bounce back. With edges intact.

So thank you, Tiana, for your transparency, your shine (literally), and the reminder that Black haircare is equal parts love, science, and comedy.

Now if y’all need me, I’ll be deep conditioning — with moderation.