Which oils are worth the hype?/ Favorite hair oils

[Synester]

Getting ready to go to the store and buy some hair care, my oils are running low. I use coconut, olive, avocado, and sweet almond oil. I do enjoy them. But i was wondering what other oils you would say are worth the hype like Argan oil. I hear so much about it but I have never used it myself. Im also hearing a lot about Amla so I might buy some of that too.
I wana hear what everyones Holy Grail oils are and why. Maybe I can add them to my hair care arsenal lol.

[xoAshley]

Ohhh, I'm going to lurk on this one! :couch:

[lottiealice]

I rather like EVOO and aloe vera gel. Coconut makes my hair feel brittle for some reason.

[Natalia_A00]

For me it's coconut oil, but I don't let it sit overnight. Just some hours (4,5, something like that). It leaves my hair very soft and beautiful.
I haven't tried other oils yet, only olive oil and I ended up with terrible buildup :eek: So I'm gonna see what others have to say

[Synester]

I feel ya lottie, coconut oil either loves me or hates me.

[chrissy-b]

I love olive oil for deep treatments, and argan oil for a leave-in. Argan exceeded my expectations. It works so well on my fine hair. It doesn't leave it greasy or weigh it down. I can use it on wet or dry hair. Jojoba is the second best as a leave-in. I used to love coconut but it doesn't work as well for me anymore and does end up making my hair a little crunchy these days.

[nycelle]

I love olive oil for deep treatments, and argan oil for a leave-in. Argan exceeded my expectations. It works so well on my fine hair. It doesn't leave it greasy or weigh it down. I can use it on wet or dry hair. Jojoba is the second best as a leave-in. I used to love coconut but it doesn't work as well for me anymore and does end up making my hair a little crunchy these days.

Coconut works great if it's blended with other oils. At least that's been my experience. I don't use it on it's own either.

[Joules]

Extra virgin olive oil. Hands down. I've tried quite a lot of oils, nothing is better than olive in terms of what it does to hair, plus olive is the most accessible and relatively cheap, so it's a must for me. I'm currently trying to use up other oils I have in my stash and continue using only EVOO. Another cheap and accessible oil I liked is flaxseed oil, but it smells like fish, so olive oil still wins.

The thing with oils for me is that they all work the same. They either make my hair soft and shiny or they turn it into dry waxy straw (waxy straw is always the result of using butters). I've tried quite a lot of oils, and I just don't see the point in ordering an expensive a$$ unicorn horn infused argan oil, when a simple olive oil from my local grocery store will do exactly the same thing. I also think food-grade cold-pressed oils work better on hair, plus you can always eat it if your hair doesn't like it :bluebiggr So that's my philosophy.

I do keep a bottle of cosmetic oil to use it as leave in/LCO and when I'm traveling. There's a local brand that does great cosmetic oil blends in convenient spray bottles, so I grab them whenever they're on sale. But again, it's not a specific oil, it's jus whatever's more convenient. I don't like using food-grade oils as leave-ins, I feel like they go rancid on my hair (they probably don't, but I feel disgusting for some reason).

[Synester]

Yes! I love EVOO too, and yeah I was just curious about how people on here felt about Argan oil and stuff with a bigger price tag? like..whats the hype. is it real. or is it some snake oil robbery lol. I stick to all my cold pressed oils. (got some plain cold pressed coconut oil all over my hair right now) seeing if my hair will enjoy it tonight lol. I do have very very fine hair too, like chrissy does. And I always struggle finding something that wont weight it down or make me look like a grease ball. So once again Argan is catching my eye.

[lapushka]

I have now been using my bottle of Dr. Hauschka's neem oil. It is a blend with a nice subtle fragrance. I love it! And it also comes in a glass bottle (less a fan of that) but with a nice stopper that gives individual drops. Love it. And it works lovely in my hair (only use it on the very ends). I know it was expensive when I got it, but that's when I was still "experimenting" with things and bought one thing after the other for my hair, willy nilly. Now I'm slowly using all of this stuff up. :o

For the rest I stick to what's tried & true, my J&J baby oil and my more "natural" baby oil that has a sweet almond oil base and organic camomile extracts.

Those are my three oils of the moment.

[Dark40]

For me, my favorites are Amla Dabur Indian Hair Oil, Coconut Oil, and Jasmine Hair Oil also made by the west Indians. I also use and love Luster's Pink Oil Moisturizing Lotion as well.

[MsKafka]

I've always used coconut oil for my ends but I'm definitely curious to try these other oils now!

[nycelle]

Argan is a much lighter oil, it doesn't leave my hair greasy the way EVOO does.
And if you're in the US, you do know that 2/3rds of the EVOO here is fake right?

They're constantly busting Italian importers. So unless you know exactly where your oil is coming from, it's probably not EVOO. I switched to a California brand because of this.

[Synester]

I use bertoli brand EVOO and its been certified. so im in the clear there. but yeah im aware a lot of them are scams sadly.
And I might check out that neem oil Lapushka. that sounds lovely.
Still leaning hard on argan for a good Leave in oil. Hmm keep em coming I love hearing peoples fav's <3

[Jo Ann]

Coconut oil when my hair's wet; Wal-mart's Spring Valley Argan Oil Serum when it's dry:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Spring-Valley-Organic-Morroccan-Argan-Oil-Serum-2-Oz/46342028

Each lasts me about a year... :)

[chiapommama]

Grapeseed oil for me. My hair sucks it up.

[JennGalt]

Nycelle is right about the olive oil! Be careful! Even “good” brands can change over time. My trusted brand did, and it caused a horrific scalp freak out with crazy itchiness and some shedding. And I’m one whose (incredibly dry) scalp usually wants oil. I still don’t know what caused the reaction, but I stick to California Olive Ranch oil now and haven’t had a problem since. Still a little wary, but my hair likes it so much I keep using it and test each bottle.

That said, my hair likes most oils. My scalp prefers coconut oil or JBCO mixed with sweet almond oil. My ends seem to prefer grapseed oil, but are happy with pretty much any oil. Sweet almond oil makes my hair crunchy on its own, but is ok when mixed and gives my hair a lovely shine when added to rinse out conditioners. I’m preparing for a move to another city and trying to use up everything in my cupboard, so am currently using an olive/grapeseed blend. I have some refined peanut oil that needs to be used up too, and discovered it makes a nice pre-poo/pre-cowash oil.

[Simsy]

I’m almost exclusively on Argan oil. My hair doesn’t tolerate cheaper varieties like olive or jojoba; and coconut oil terrifies me. I use a lot of oil, but I also use Argan butter as a deep treatment/leave in moisture; which had reduced my oiling slightly.

[Alibran]

My hair loves coconut oil more than any other. It's a protein mimicker, and my hair loves protein. (This can also explain why it leaves some people's hair feeling brittle, if they don't need that much protein.) I use it as a styling product, so I have some coconut oil in my hair all the time.

[Dante]

I love argon oil - I add it to my hair after washing (when 80% dry) and even though my hair is very fine, it doesn’t leave it at all oily. It’s not cheap but that’s because the tree that produces the nut the oil is made from is only grown in a specific region in Morocco. (Side note, I got to go to Morocco this year and visited a women’s group crushing the nuts producing the oil - my hubby couldn’t understand why this was so exciting for me, but come on, this is my hair gold!)

[LittleHealthy]

Just for me, (dyed/damaged ends) I love Argan oil and almond oil.
Second reason I like these two oils is because I can use them on my body as well.
I prefer oils which can be more versatile in my hair and skin care, to save money. It shouldn’t cost the earth!
Olive oil as a pre-wash mask is something I like, too.

[Synester]

*taking notes* loving the responses! Yeah Ali, im starting to realize coconut just makes my hair more dry and crunchy feeling when i use it now. It used to never do that before. I left it on my head for a few hours and rinsed it out and my hair is..."eh" Might pick up a Argan oil. is there any brands to lean toward and others to be wary of? (more trusted brands) and grapeseed sounds lovely Chia! i've yet to find a oil that my hair just drinks it up!!! still hunting haha

[Synester]

Also whats up with EMU oil? I see that in a lot of places too. and all I can think of is the oil off a EMU's feathers and idk sounds gross LOL (im sure its not that..but if it is) shudder:

[lapushka]

I love sweet almond oil. It is an oil that is nice for the face too (when you're especially dry), and on the hair it is so "light" - very odd, but I love it to bits. I have 2 types of baby oil I use, the mineral oil and the one that's basically just sweet almond oil with an organic camomile extract.

Next to that I have used macadamia, and jojoba. Jojoba mimics the natural sebum the best and is an oil that is absorbed quite well.

Sweet almond on its own can be pricy, but I'd look into those oils before even attempting argan oil. I think argan oil gets overhyped, personally. ;)

[nycelle]

There's a reason why Argan oil is hyped- you can use it for much more than just your hair. I always carry it in my bag. It absorbs incredibly fast and I love using it on my hands for instant softness. It's also non comedogenic so safe to use on your face, unlike olive, mineral or sweet almond which can clog pores.

OP, do your research on the various oils, see what fatty acids they contain, and what they're used for. You'd be surprised.

[MusicalSpoons]

OP, do your research on the various oils, see what fatty acids they contain, and what they're used for. You'd be surprised.

This table is a great starting point for that! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-lDtdpjbJopUEvpk0vjNbDt_mE_prCCCZtOqfRnzIaw/htmlview# (I believe it's courtesy of meteor but please someone correct me if I'm wrong.)

[Joules]

Also whats up with EMU oil? I see that in a lot of places too. and all I can think of is the oil off a EMU's feathers and idk sounds gross LOL (im sure its not that..but if it is) shudder:

I believe Emu oil is defived from the fat of the bird, not from feathers or skin. I used to adore the silicone-free mask with emu oil that was sold in our local drugstore, it was discontinued back in 2014, and I was as sad as one could be. Nothing worked as well as that mask, and I tried a lot of stuff. It made my damaged, frizzy and dull hair look like a Pantene commercial, I'm not even exaggerating.

A lot of animal oils worked amazingly well on me, I can't believe I forgot to mention it in my original post. The mask with emu oil was amazing, I also tried oil blends that contain lanolin and mink oil, they also worked wonders. I guess it's because they come from living things and have similar composition to our oils and fats. I've been getting more and more freaked out by the idea of using emu and mink oils lately because of ethical reasons, so I don't think I'll be buying those any time soon, but just for the record they do work well.

[Synester]

dang joules, mink oil...sounds gruesome. i dont even want to think about how they get it...but thanks for clarifying where they came from!

Ill def check out that link MusicalSpoons.

And Lapushka I love jojoba and sweetalmond. have yet to try macadamia yet. seems good though!

[lapushka]

And Lapushka I love jojoba and sweetalmond. have yet to try macadamia yet. seems good though!

Great! :thumbsup:

Nycelle, I have used sweet almond oil on the face (even during my time with cystic acne) since I was 3. I have never had issues with it.

[ursaV]

I've never even seen animal oils like mink and emu in stores around me :shocked: Except those "Blue Emu" commercials...
Keeping an eye on this thread though, I love my jojoba leave in because it's super light but I'm curious to try something else when I run out! I've been wanting to try camellia, but it seems a bit expensive.

[Synester]

Yes I love seeing all the new oils to hear about and want to try <3 and what they do for everyone.