Best hair oil?

[CostaRita]

Hi all!

I'm getting low on coconut oil and I'm wondering whether I should get more coconut oil or if I should buy a different kind of oil. Are there any other oils out there that work as well or better as coconut oil?

My curls and frizz crave moisture! :)

[Firefox7275]

Oils do not contain any moisture (= water) so do not supply it, oil and water do not mix so they can repel moisture. Furthermore penetrating oils like coconut reduce porosity so reduce the amount of water the hair can hold. Other penetrating oils include ones rich in oleic acid (olive/ sweet almond/ argan), capric/ caprylic triglycerides (fractionated or liquid coconut) and other small, straight chain molecule fatty acids. Polyunsaturates and long chain molecules will penetrate poorly or not at all but can be used as sealants.

Ingredients that encourage moisture retention (in the right dew points/ humidity) are any with humectancy as a major or minor property: for example glycerin, honey, aloe vera, hydrolysed protein, fatty alcohols, cationic surfactants. Hence the infamous SMT.

[MINAKO]

You might wanna try avocado or macadamia nut oil, hempseed and japanese camellia oil is also fantastic (this goes for me and is different for any other hair of course)
Although some oils might not be as deeply penetrating as coconut, olive or palm oil, other properties are at play and i like to switsch up often to benefit from any of them. Using the same i always imagine how i would feel eating one and the same food each and every day.

About any plant based oil could turn out to be your personal favorite, so the only way to find that out is trying. For example, although it hyped as one of the best, my hair HATES olive oil, it gets dry, frizzy and mushy all at the same time, just yuck.
Currently im using sesame, flaxseed, castor, argan, coconut and lanolin in seperately or mixed. If one is used up i just go and buy another. If i notice my hair getting worse instead of better i always resort to one f my faves and take a break from expirimenting. That's how it rolls for me.

[Larki]

Oils do not contain any moisture (= water) so do not supply it, oil and water do not mix so they can repel moisture. Furthermore penetrating oils like coconut reduce porosity so reduce the amount of water the hair can hold. Other penetrating oils include ones rich in oleic acid (olive/ sweet almond/ argan), capric/ caprylic triglycerides (fractionated or liquid coconut) and other small, straight chain molecule fatty acids. Polyunsaturates and long chain molecules will penetrate poorly or not at all but can be used as sealants.

Ingredients that encourage moisture retention (in the right dew points/ humidity) are any with humectancy as a major or minor property: for example glycerin, honey, aloe vera, hydrolysed protein, fatty alcohols, cationic surfactants. Hence the infamous SMT.

I didn't know argan oil penetrated the hair! Cool!

[kitana97]

I recently heard about white camelia oil. Small white flower oils are supposed to penetrate the hair shaft with their small molecule size. My hair really likes olive oil; it makes it very smooth and shiny. There's a few old oil threads that you might want to poke through as there's a ton of information about the different kinds on there!

[ChloeDharma]

You will not find an oil that everyone agrees is "the best", there is always someone who loves the oil others hate and vice versa. I think part of the fun is finding out which oil works best for you. I can't stick to just one oil and use a variety for different needs. For my scalp I start with jojoba normally as I have dry sebum so I want something to soften that up and allow it to get washed away. I also want nourishment though so I use virgin avocado oil and then it just goes on and on adding others that I just can't do without so the list gets as long as my arm! Then come the essential oils! lol.

My advice is to start with cheaper oils, cheap but good quality, always go for cold pressed and unrefined, particularly on the scalp, an oil can't nourish if it's had it's nutrients stripped out. Then as you get more experienced treat yourself to an expensive oil every now and then.
My favourites apart from virgin coconut are jojoba, avocado, sweet almond, sesame, macadamia and hemp seed oil. Camellia is pretty lovely too I've recently found out.

[Lirona]

I agree with ChloeDharma that there's no real consensus on what is the "best" oil. If you want to try a few different ones, Nightblooming on Etsy offers small samples (https://www.etsy.com/listing/98643637/natural-oil-samples-132-ounce?ref=shop_home_active_16). So that way you don't have to buy expensive, full-size bottles just to try them. Next time I'm in the market for a new oil I will probably take advantage of that.

[kaylamarie]

I love most oils. The only two oils I really can't use are olive oil and mineral oil. Mineral oil dried out my hair, and olive oil made my curls uneven and some parts straight. I do like to do an olive oil treatment before I straighten my hair. It really just depends on your hair type though.

[nkpic]

Occasionaly I use Moroccan Argan oil by Avon. It makes my hair shiny and smooth, plus it smells amazing! But it doesn't prevent frizz; at least not on my hair.
But I've heard Olive oil is also good for hair. Never really tried it because I don't like the smell of it but it might work on your hair. :)

[jacqueline101]

I love argan oil but that's my opinion. If you're new to using oils I would suggest trying sample sizes of different oils. You can blend your own oils too.

[CostaRita]

Thanks guys!!