You know those little fly-aways that accumulate all over your hair? Those tiny broken pieces that refuse to lay flat? If you’re familiar with fly-aways, aka the bane of my existence, then odds are, you put them there. Next time you’re brushing your hair, listen closely. If you can literally hear your hair breaking, consider it a plea for mercy and drop your brush. The road to rehabilitated hair is a long one, but there is hope.

Solution: organic extra virgin coconut oil. It sounds super fancy, but I got it at Wal-Mart for like five bucks. I’m apologizing in advance for how super commercial-y this is going to sound but coconut oil might just be the closest thing to a miracle I’ve ever experienced in my 15 years on this planet. I cover my hair with a thin coat of coconut oil at night, stick it in a bun, then in the morning I wash it out in the shower and, boom. Not only does it make maintaining my naturally-ratchet locks a less awful experience, but it also makes my hair smell like coconuts all day (if you’re some kind of weirdo who doesn’t enjoy smelling like a tropical breeze, the non-extra virgin kind is odorless).

Few finals tidbits of advice in addition to coconut oil: when brushing your hair, start from the bottom, get those knots out first and then move up. Also, angle your brush. No clue why it works but it does. So even if your hair is thicker than Beyoncé or thinner than my patience for people who wear Crocs, you no longer have an excuse for having enough broken hairs to house a family of squirrels.