What is hair oil?
This is a common question I’ve stumbled upon when it comes to hair care.
Many people have heard of hair oil, but don’t know what exactly it is, how to use it, and even why they should be putting oil on their head in the first place!
Unless you have been living under a rock, at one point or another you will have come across YouTube videos, tik-tok’s, as well as your grandmother telling you how to grow out your hair using hair oil.
But are there actually real benefits to putting oil in your hair or is it all just hogwash?
Interested to learn more? Keep reading! I’m going to go over what hair oil is, the history behind it, and the benefits you can receive if you do decide to add it to your routine.
What is the history of hair oiling?
Oiling the hair has been around for thousands of years. It’s ingrained in many cultures such as India which it is a part of the 5,000-year-old healthy living system called Ayurveda. Hair oiling is considered to be a self-love practice and even a bonding experience between family member in Indian culture as well as Asian cultures.
It has been a long-lived tradition and with good reason! Many people acclaim that doing this practice is the reason for them having their long, luscious locks.
What is the science behind hair oiling?
Hair oiling has actually been shown to promote scalp circulation as well as prevent hydral fatigue, or the swelling and drying of the hair follicles.
This in turn helps to prevent not only day to day damage but can give long term results on the overall health of your scalp.
“Oil helps in scalp health. When you gently massage the scalp it helps in exfoliation and sometimes that helps in reducing hair fall,” says Dr. Khushboo Garodia. (Certified trichologist aka: a hair scalp expert).
She has explained that oils have fatty acids that help promote the natural lipids in the hair. They are often lost due to chemical treatments, hair washing, heat styling, and even pollution.
According to Garodia, oil helps strengthen the hair shaft, especially for frizzy and dry hair types. She believes it is most beneficial to be left in overnight, however there are other sources claim that overnight hair oil is not ideal for everyone.
What kind of oils are there?
Why there are hundreds of oils out there! If you didn’t know, you can infuse almost any herb and make it into “an oil”. (We won’t get into this today but in this blog instead).
The basic carrier oils out there are:
- coconut oil
- sweet almond oil
- castor oil
- Jamaican black castor oil
- apricot seed oil
- jojoba oil
- grapeseed oil
- olive oil
- sunflower seed oil
- safflower oil
- avocado oil
- pumpkin seed oil
- hemp seed oil
- argan oil
- rice bran oil
- fenugreek oil
- red palm oil
- black cumin seed oil
- macadamia nut oil
- cranberry seed oil
- walnut oil
- flaxseed oil
- sea buckthorn oil
- pomegranate seed oil
- strawberry seed oil
- blackberry seed oil
- red raspberry seed oil
- hazelnut oil
- baobab seed oil
- amla oil
- emu oil
- moringa oil
- babassu oil
- kukui nut oil
- tamanu oil
This is not a complete list of every oil that exists, but just a good portion that I know of.
I did not include essential oils because you cannot directly apply essential oils to skin or hair. They have to be diluted in a carrier oil and keep in mind that there are certain skin conditions such as rosacea and psoriasis that should avoid essential oils.
How do I know which oils are for me?
Start with the basics and patch testing! You do not need a fancy or an expensive oil to see if it works for your hair. Some people swear by olive oil that is most commonly found in a vast majority of kitchens today.
However, if you would like to deep dive into linoleic acid and oleic acids and how these components found in all oils do affect different hair as well as skin types, click here.