Benefits of specific oils...

[Anje]

I've been around for a while, but I haven't gotten around to trying many of the harder-to-obtain oils. Mostly, I've stuck with coconut, jojoba, olive, and shea (from best to worst in my hair). What are the benefits and qualities of some of the less common oils? What gives more slip, what seems to sink in fast, what is difficult to overdo, what makes your hair soft, and so on?

Particularly interesting to me are:
Camellia oil
Meadowfoam seed oil
Avocado oil
Broccoli seed oil
Sweet almond oil
Squalene oil
Emu oil

I'd love to hear individual impressions.

[LutraLutra]

I've just started trying Japanese Camellia oil I bought sample sized bottle from Anita Grant) , and I'm really impressed. I find it quite a light oil, but it gives my hair a great shine and texture without being too soft and fluffly (like almond does fo me). I've tried it as a leave-in on damp hair, and I also tried it for the first time as a pre-wash heavy oil. It worked wonderfully for me, my hair really soaked it up, it was easy to wash out, and my hair felt great afterwards without being greasy.

[ChloeDharma]

I used avocado oil for a while, but only for heavy pre-wash oilings....i do put some in henna mixes too though. I remember it seemed strengthening and added softness, i should do this again really.

Broccoli seed oil i loved except the smell....it smelt like rotten vegetables to me, but did make my hair really soft and shiney. It reminded me a bit of a coney serum, only nicer.

Sweet almond oil i love too, it's quite thick so easy to over-do it for light oilings, but gave me lovey softness when i used it for heavy oilings. I sometimes use a pre-blended mix of almond, coconut and castor oil.....that gives nice results.

Squalene is as far as i know a constituent in certain oils like rice bran, shark something and i think small amounts are in olive oil, as opposed to an oil that can be brought by itsef, though it would be fantastic if i am wrong. I've not used oils containing squalene in my hair yet that i know of, but i use rice bran oil on my skin and love it.

Sesame oil is a favourite of mine at the moment for the amazing slip, softness and shine it gives. I use it for both heavy and light oilings, and scalp massage blended 80% sesame 20% coconut in the Trichup oil mixture.

Macadamia nut oil i used to use alot, from memory it was ok, gave some softness but i preferred it as a skin oil.

Castor oil is another one i really like, i find it especially good in the winter for pre-wash heavy oilings, but mixed with something like almond or coconut because it's so thick and sticky otherwise. When i wash it out it's like i've used a heavy cone product, leaves my hair shiney, well behaved and remarkably frizz free.

Mostly these days i use blended oils so i'm a bit out of practice with using just pure oils, i do have some grapeseed (stupidly cheap!) oil to try and a blend of canola and red palm oil too that is sitting in my cupboard waiting to be experimented with.

[Elenna]

Almond & camellia oils are light and good for leave-in on hair.

Castor oil is extremely heavy and good for pre-wash on hair.

Avocado oil has rejevenation properties for skin, but for hair?

Emu oil is from emus! :-o

[Anje]

I wasn't particularly fond of castor oil in my hair as a leave-in. (And I thought shea butter was sticky!) But I like it on my face. Might have to try it pre-wash, though I find myself hesitant to do a pre-CO heavy oiling. Not sure why, since CO usually gets oil out better than shampoo.

ChloeDharma, I know Hedy's Haven on Ebay sells squalene from olive oil, and I'll bet you can get it other places.

Sesame sounds promising -- I want a bit more slip to help fight tangles. Do you use something special, or is it the grocery store stuff? (IIRC, the grocery store stuff is really dark, isn't it?)

[chrissy-b]

I use emu oil for scalp massages, as a leave-in, and on my face with a moisturizer or other oils. I love this oil. On my hair, it seems to really penetrate and is difficult to overdo -- a little goes a very long way. Even on a heavy oiling, my hair looks oily but doesn't feel oily. My hair feels stronger and softer with the emu oil and never feels crunchy, even on dry hair. I used to use coconut oil with a EO blend for scalp massages, but since I've switched to emu oil I can feel the tingling from the EO's much more strongly and it seems to penetrate much better. Emu oil is something I will never go without again (unless, of course, I turn vegan which isn't likely).

I've read really great things about Camellia oil here, particularly from those who have fine hair, but haven't used it myself. I'm waiting to go through the stockpiles of oils I already have.

[ChloeDharma]

I think the one in most grocery store is from toasted sesame seeds and it's really dark like you describe. I get mine from Indian grocers usually labelled "till seed" or "gingelly oil" it's more a yellowy colour and doesn't have much scent.
The blend i buy pre-made is called "Trichup oil" and is 80% sesame oil 20% coconut oil with quite a few herb extracts in it. It definately is good for slip on me, though my hair is naturally quite silky when it's not been damaged by chemicals.
The castor oil i wouldn't try as a leave in for light oilings unless it was very diluted, but for heavy oilings it's great and came out fine with a CO wash when i used it.
If you are hesitant to try heavy oilings, maybe try just putting a little more oil than you usually do but not so much that you feel anxious then see how that goes and over a few washes build up the amount of oil you use?

That's really interestingabout the squalene oil and reassuring to know no sharks are killed for it too, thankyou

There is a thread on walnut oil at the moment and the 2 reviews of it on there have made me decide to try it, maybe that would be an idea for you to try as well? It's not very expensive in my local supermarket anyway, i'll let you know how it goes once i have given it a go xx

[ChloeDharma]

I've read really great things about Camellia oil here, particularly from those who have fine hair, but haven't used it myself. I'm waiting to go through the stockpiles of oils I already have.

I keep saying i'll wait until i've used up the oils i have before experimenting.....never works for me though, i have no self discipline at all!

Emu oil does sound amazing i must admit, and isn't it actually used as a way of helping things pass through the skin easier, like medication? Or experiments with that use in mind anyway?
I even heard that it stimulates faster hair growth and i think is used for those 2 reasons in hair loss treatments.

[mira-chan]

I'm working on my discipline. No new oils yet. I'm about halfway done with Kama Neeli too.

I like sesame oil too (Til/ gingerly oil from the Indian store, light color). It gives more slip. This is a base for both my scalp EO mix and my current pre-wash oil (Kama Neelibringradi).

Camellia oil. Japanese one gives a lot of slip and shiny hair. It also gives me straighter hair (wavier for finer hair from what people reported). Chinese one is a bit sticky on the hair, doesn't go on as smooth but it's great on the skin.

Broccoli seed oil, I found this too sticky to use. Gave it away.

Avocado oil. Penetrates the hair shaft. Heavier than sesame oil but similar feeling. Too heavy for a leave-in, pre-wash only. Good for hair overall and great shine.

Castor oil. Too heavy to use on it's own. I mix it with coconut oil and use it pre-wash. It gives amazing shine and feel to the hair.

I don't get along with Sweet almond oil so can't say much about it.

[joyellen]

Your thread inspired me to try sweet almond oil since I bought some for making lip balms a while ago. I don't know why I never thought to use it on my hair before!

I used about a quarter-sized drop of it in my hair as a pre-wash treatment. I'm not sure if it would be easy to overdo it as a leave in, but a quarter-sized amount got the length of my hair good and saturated. One thing I noticed is that instead of making my damaged ends feel crunchy like coconut oil does, sweet almond oil left my ends feeling very soft. I left it in for about 45 minutes, shampooed the length (I don't usually, but I wanted to get the bulk of the oil out) and conditioned. Now that my hair is dry, it feels extremely soft. I have a tiny bit more slip than I usually do, too.

Based on this initial test run, I'd recommend sweet almond oil. Thanks for inspiring me!