Quick question about oils

[CreatureBailey]

If we do an oil treatment with an expired oil, does it lose its benefits for our hair? Does it lose the nutriments it could give us and such? Or doesn't it matter at all?

[Sarahlabyrinth]

As long as the oil doesn't smell rancid, I'm sure it would be fine.

[CreatureBailey]

As long as the oil doesn't smell rancid, I'm sure it would be fine.

It does :-P

[ReptilianFeline]

Rancid oil has gone bad, but that doesn't have anything with expiration dates. If it's rancid, avoid it, if it smells fine, no worries.

[lapushka]

It does :-P

If it smells, toss it. You can't cook with it anymore (I wouldn't do it) and I wouldn't put a foul smell in my hair either.

[peachyleshy]

It would probably still hold much of its benefits, but if it smells rancid I wouldn't use it. Unless you're in a pinch and want to be thrifty. :) Then just use it as a prewash treatment.

[Dendra]

If oil smelt off I would definitely avoid putting it in my hair. I'd get some fresh stuff, even if it was really cheap I think that would be better.

[Nique1202]

Oil doesn't really add nutrients to the hair or the scalp. Hair is dead and can't make use of nutrients, and the scalp is pretty bad at absorbing most substances, just like the rest of your skin. Oil can lubricate the hair strands and help them to hold on to moisture, and different oils have slightly different properties when it comes to those two things, but for anything to do with hair, nutrients are not coming into play. That's why whatever oil works for your hair, as long as it's not rancid, is fine.

[Alex Lou]

Rancid oil gives the same benefits to hair. Only downside is it smells bad. Coconut oil goes rancid while in my hair, so there would be no difference if I used rancid oil. So, your choice!

[Beeboo123]

Is the smell of rancid oil difficult to get out of hair?

[lapushka]

Is the smell of rancid oil difficult to get out of hair?

I don't know for sure, but I kind of think it might be.

[enting]

It probably depends on your hair. Hair in general does hold on to smells, but some may hold on more than others.

For what it's worth, I have used rancid oil on my hair and haven't noticed anything bad from it. I used to barely be able to tell the difference in smell. My sense of smell is much better now, but you'd be surprised at the number of people I come across who have no idea what the smell of rancid oil is - and not because they've never smelled it. They think it just smells like oil.

[Beeboo123]

It probably depends on your hair. Hair in general does hold on to smells, but some may hold on more than others.

For what it's worth, I have used rancid oil on my hair and haven't noticed anything bad from it. I used to barely be able to tell the difference in smell. My sense of smell is much better now, but you'd be surprised at the number of people I come across who have no idea what the smell of rancid oil is - and not because they've never smelled it. They think it just smells like oil.

I might be one of these people. I don’t think I have ever smelled rancid oil, but maybe I’m just unable to identify it!

[girlwithsixarms]

I would say test it on a patch of hair that isn't noticeable (or better yet, a collection of sheds!) because even though it's probably fine, rancidity can cause some changes to the chemical nature of the oil, including giving it a different pH (well, a pH in the first place, but still).

[Dark40]

I second Nique1202. You can't nourish the hair with oil. You can add moisture to it but once that hair grows out from the root it's dead.

[enting]

The only bad or potentially damaging thing I could thing of is that rancid oil is oxidized, and I know that oxidation in some settings can set off a chain reaction of oxidation, but I don't know if that is true for oil on hair and what that would mean for hair. This is where only a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I know more about the science of the insides of the body than hair. Perhaps someone who knows more about the science of hair can chime in on that.


I might be one of these people. I don’t think I have ever smelled rancid oil, but maybe I’m just unable to identify it!
Totally possible! You could always do an experiment. Take a clear, untinted bottle and put some oil in it. Let it sit in the sun, in warm places, you name it, for 3-6 months. Then do a sniff test with that and a brand new bottle of the same sort of oil. You might be able to tell the difference. If I hadn't started paying attention because I got into aromatherapy, and if I hadn't gotten a better sense of smell, I doubt I would ever have known what rancidity smells like. I have a suspicion that most people can't identify it if they don't have some need to know the difference or don't just happen to have a good sense of smell.

eta: It's harder to identify rancid refined oil, at least for me. My aromatherapy teacher calls all refined oils already rancid because they've been heated. I don't know if that's technically correct, but for most of my life I only really had food made with refined oils and wasn't used to what an unrefined, fresh oil smelled like.

[CreatureBailey]

I think imma just buy new avocado oil. :shrug:

[Dark40]

Yeah, avocado oil would be an excellent oil for you.:shrug:

[Nique1202]

I think imma just buy new avocado oil. :shrug:

You've said in the thread that it's not rancid, you don't need to buy new. If it won't cost you too much and it'll alleviate some anxiety, then don't get me wrong: it may be worth it. But, new oil won't do anything different from the stuff in your jar now, especially for hair. If you cook with it a lot too, you may want to, but if you're just using it for hair, what you have now is fine. I can almost guarantee it.

[CreatureBailey]

You've said in the thread that it's not rancid, you don't need to buy new. If it won't cost you too much and it'll alleviate some anxiety, then don't get me wrong: it may be worth it. But, new oil won't do anything different from the stuff in your jar now, especially for hair. If you cook with it a lot too, you may want to, but if you're just using it for hair, what you have now is fine. I can almost guarantee it.

Oh, okay. Nice :flower:

[Alex Lou]

Is the smell of rancid oil difficult to get out of hair?

I've never noticed the smell stay in my hair beyond the next wash.