Ostrich Oil

[Swan Maiden]

I recently ran out of my emu oil I usually use for skincare. Searching around, I learned about ostrich oil having the same and better properties than emu oil. It was also more economical so I purchased it. I tried it as a deep conditioning treatment and my hair loves it, very soft with a glow that seems to come from within the hair, and it is easy to wash out. I have been more than enabled from things on LHC so I thought I would shout my love for flightless bird fat, and while I am a self proclaimed oil hoarder, I will always have ostrich oil on hand.

[Nadine <3]

Funny, I was just talking about this with my friend yesterday and we both decided that is grosses us out a tad and putting it on our skin or hair would be a bit odd. Now I feel like I should try it since you're having such lick with it, but I can't get over the "It's made of dead bird fat" thing lol

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I got shiny nice hair out of it...

[Swan Maiden]

Eh, it doesn't bother me. I mean, I eat meat, the whole bird is utilized. I think its kind of like that eating meat is a more complete source of nutrients than just plants, it might be the same with oils. It doesnt smell at all either.

[Nadine <3]

lol, well I eat meat, but there's no way I would rub a chicken on my head! lol

I think I will give it a try though, I will but some EOS in mine so it smells like flowers :stirpot:

[Swan Maiden]

Im just spreading the word, perhaps someone out there in LHC land will find the love. Thats what is great about communities like this, its a great place for information and tools.

[Lyv]

Hmm I love emu oil, maybe I should check out ostrich oil! How did you use it in your hair?

[Swan Maiden]

I rubbed it into my scalp ( I have seborrhea dermatitis and like to oil my scalp) and through my length, hair and scalp were unwashed and dry. I had my hair braided for a few days and then washed like normal.

[Daylilly]

I am looking on ebay, I really want to try this. love your hair Swan Maiden

[Nadine <3]

I ordered a small bottle to try, I hope I like it!

[Anje]

Just got a big bottle of emu oil (mostly for skin, though my hair doesn't mind it either). May look for ostrich when it runs out. :)

[Swan Maiden]

I hope you all like it too! It is wonderful stuff.

Thank you Daylilly

[Nadine <3]

How do you guys use this stuff for skin care? I have some dry spots on my face, but I'm SUPER acne prone.:hmm:

[Swan Maiden]

Nadine, always patch test on your skin first. I use it on my body on slightly damp skin. For face, i wash with my facewash, vitamin c serum (sometimes) then ostrich oil

[Anje]

How do you guys use this stuff for skin care? I have some dry spots on my face, but I'm SUPER acne prone.:hmm:

Near as I can tell, everyone has random things that give them acne, whether it's supposed to or not. I'm fairly (not horribly) prone to it, and emu is quite good with my skin. It's supposedly not comedogenic (acne-causing). I've got a blend of it with some blue chamomile EO, which helps keep angry redness down in my skin, and I just smear some on my face after it's freshly washed, before it starts to feel dry.

[Swan Maiden]

Ok I seriously love this stuff, the shine is fantastic. I just washed after having an ostrich oil treatment, braided and lightly ran a small sheen of oil over my braids. Probably harmless overkill since I havent needed a deep treatment after the first application a couple weeks ago.

[sapphire-o]

Is ostrich local to you? Where can one buy that? I wonder if I should just try something available here, like turkey or duck fat. :D

[Swan Maiden]

I previously bought my emu oil on amazon. I was price searching and found ostrich oil for a better deal on ebay. So to answer your question, no, the ostrich oil I wound up buying is not local to me. However, it arrived maybe 2 days after purchase so it was nice having somewhat instant gratification.

[Haylz]

What it is not everything . I thought there is only vegetable and synthetic oils

[Swan Maiden]

From my understanding, it is basically the rendered fat from the bird. It has a creamy liquid consistency and is unscented.

[Haylz]

I'll stay here and look forward to more experiences

[Swan Maiden]

I noticed that ostrich oil has been mentioned in recent threads where the topic of humane treatment was brought up. Personally, I grew up on a farm where we harvested our own animals so I have little qualms when it comes to using animal products where humane treatment is implemented. That being said, I abhor factory farming for meat and fur and believe animals should be treated with compassion and respect. I did try a vegan lifestyle and it was not for me. All else aside, if you are uncomfortable using animal products obviously this is not the oil for you, and thank you for making an informed decision that best suites your life. For those of you who still use animal products, I wanted to provide more information in case you are curious about this oil so I contacted the seller on ebay I puchased from. He responded quickly and was very informative. I shall post (he was informed and consented) his reply below.

[Swan Maiden]

(HIS RESPONSE)
I'm delighted that you have discovered how well it treats your hair. One of our staff members uses it on her long hair regularly, and has done so for quite a while. All of our ostrich are absolutely treated humanely. They are never crowded, grow up in the flock they were hatched in, and if chosen for processing, are sent to a USDA inspected facility. Yes, the ostrich oil is from the fat that is harvested and then is sent to an FDA compliant rendering facility to be processed into oil. The oil is 100% natural with no additives of any kind. Since ostrich meat is not marbled with fat, the ostrich contains the fat in an internal pocket. The fat is frozen and stored until there is enough to send to the rendering facility.

I hope I have answered all of your questions. Please feel free to contact me for any additional information you may desire. Again, I am so pleased to hear that others have found it to be a lovely treatment for beautiful hair.

- ostrichguy_2013


Dear ostrichguy_2013, (MY INITIAL QUESTIONS)

Hi! I am a huge fan of your ostrich oil. I am a member of a long hair forum and have been raving about how this oil makes my long hair soft and shiny. A few members are unsure about ostrich oil, such as if the ostriches are humanely treated and slaughtered. I noticed the whole bird is utilized (meat, leather, etc.). From my basic understanding, ostrich oil is rendered fat, is this correct? I am curious about the whole harvesting process if you have time to send me some info. Thank you!


Ok sorry they are backwards, Im on my phone and the tiny screen is difficult to copy/paste

[Hailwidis]

Reviving this thread!

I have a small pot of ostrich oil that has been languishing in my bathroom for something like 3 years. My parents bought it for me as a gift from a local ostrich farm (which I have also visited a couple of times). I think their reasoning was that I have extremely dry skin and it's supposed to be brilliant for that so it was a very thoughtful gift. At first I didn't use it because I was finishing other lotions, then because I was slightly grossed out by the fact that it's animal fat. Than I completely forgot about it.

I have actually never opened the pot. I unscrewed the lid earlier and there's still a cover on top of the oil itself. I removed that I sniffed it and it smelled good, slightly perfumed. The surface has cracked a bit around the edge but the colour is even and the consistency seems unaltered to me. There is no expiration date on the pot or the cardoard box it came in. Do you think I can still use it?

I checked the ingredient list and here it is: 91% ostrich oil, cera alba (beeswax), parfum, tocopherol, alpha-isomethyl ionone, amyl cinnamal, benzyl alcohol, benzyl benzoate, citronellol, hexyl cinnamal, limonene, linalool. Apologies if these ingredients are spelled the French way. I don't know if ingredient lists are international. Anyway, there seems to be a lot of extra stuff in there, and the beeswax and alcohol compounds have made me doubt whether this is suitable for hair. What do you think?

I'll definitely be using it on skin. I need some deep moisturising there. By the way, no qualms about ethics or whatever in this case; I've been to the farm, the ostriches live in excellent conditions and are treated and slaughtered humanely. I trust the people who work there and couldn't get a better sourced product. I really like that they use absolutely everything from the birds they raise. Feathers, egg shells, meat, fat, everything.

I'm hoping you'll see this Swan Maiden. Do you still use ostrich oil? Still happy with it? Any observations about the ingredients in yours?

[Swan Maiden]

Hi there! Ostrich Oil is my favorite oil! I still use it regularly on skin and hair. Mine comes in a bottle and is a viscous liquid. It is 100% pure ostrich oil.

I think the extra ingredients in yours would inhibit me personally from hair use, especially beeswax. If it still smells good and was sealed try it out!

[Hailwidis]

Thanks for the answer! I'll stick to it as a skin salve, that's what it was supposed to be anyway. Next time I go to the farm (if ever) I'll try and pick up some pure oil, I'm curious.

[Swan Maiden]

I hope it works for you. It has done wonders for me. How cool you can visit a farm! Please stop back by this thread and let us know how you find the ostrich oil.

[augustana]

Hm, I'm vegan, so I do admit it grosses me out a bit to basically put basically bird lard on my hair. I prefer coconut oil!

[Swan Maiden]

To each their own.