Amla & mineral oil

[Eirinn]

Help guys - I need to know this: if Dabur Amla contains mineral oil it's good or bad for scalp and hair? I've read so much about mineral oil that now I just don't know either it's beneficial or evil...:confused:

[ysmalan]

I think nobody can tell you for sure if mineral oil is beneficial or harmful. There are no scientific research results about that, at least none you can trust a hundred percent.
You will have to try out on your own, if your scalp and hair like it or not. Except if some of the negative things you heard about mineral oil bother you too much, like me. ;)

Whatever you do, please keep us posted about the results! I, for one, am very interested in the matter. :)

[Eirinn]

Thanks, I'll inform you as soon as I'll get my Amla:flowers: But I guess it's ecological, if this is a side-product used again...

[ChloeDharma]

I personally won't use it. Given mineral oil doesn't absorb like say coconut would that makes me assume that the beneficial properties wont be absorbed either.
That said, other people have used amla oil with mineral oil and raved about the results so i could be wrong :shrug:

[Eirinn]

ChloeDharma: that coconut oil which suppouse to be absorbed and have beneficial properties makes my hair greasy (does not absorbs) and, when washed out, leaves my hair very dry and crunchy so I don't know...

What were the results they were raving about?

[ChloeDharma]

ChloeDharma: that coconut oil which suppouse to be absorbed and have beneficial properties makes my hair greasy (does not absorbs) and, when washed out, leaves my hair very dry and crunchy so I don't know...

What were the results they were raving about?

Hmmnnn i tried doing a quick search but am not getting much from it i'm affraid. I just remember at times reading people commenting that their hair had improved after using amla oil often from companies like dabur. Sorry i can't be more specific.

It's a pity your hair doesn't like coconut oil.....what type did you use? I find that virgin coconut oil works much better than refined for my hair and some poor quality coconut oils can actually make my ends feel a bit nasty.....my theory is that there must be some chemical residue left in from the bleaching and deodourising process that some coconut oil goes through.

[Eirinn]

Well, my hair wasn't "a bit nasty", it was horrible. I don't remember what it was, I only remember it was "a 100% coconut". ChloeDharma, I'm so curious about one thing: Why everywhere, if it comes to mineral oil you're always there to say how bad it is? And by the way to say how good is coconut oil... What it did to your hair? No offense meant of course:)

[ChloeDharma]

Yup i do tend to be quite down on mineral oil and pro coconut oil. Mainly because studies using mineral oil tend to show it doesn't in general perform as well as the oils being compared to it. One exmaple being the study into the ability of mineral oil, coconut oil and sunflower oil to penetrate the shaft. Coconut oil was the only one in THAT study (i caps'd that to stress that it's not the only oil full stop with that ability) to be able to penetrate. Also the general reading i've been doing on coconut oil just confirms my belief that it's a very good oil to use for most people.
To try to sound a bit more balanced i do also appreciate that some people don't get on with it, and some don't get on with any oils at all.

the other main reasons i'm not a fan of mineral oil is that with my hair, even if it's just an ingredient in a product it tends to make my hair feel a bit like tangly cheap plastic wig hair. Also given it's inability to penetrate skin or hair i see it as useless for helping to deliver nutrients, However i do find it good for when i want an actual barrier.....for example my lip balm has it in and i find it very good for protecting them in the winter.

I hope that explains my posts a little :)

[Eirinn]

I see but the fact it doesn't work for you in my opinion isn't enough to *scare* others with this. You've written about some research which supports what you say, but this very research shows that coconut oil works very well for hair while for my hair it's just murder, or it's at least useless... I also know many women who says that said Amla with mineral oil works miracles on their hair so as you can see thing aren't just that simple. I write this having in mind mainly new members (but not only) who might read what you post and be scared (as I once did), not necessarily justly. Thanks for answering, and don't count me between your enemies;)

[ChloeDharma]

Well when you post asking for peoples opinions then i'm affraid that's what you get. If you read back, in post number 4 i did actually specify that some people have reported good results from mineral based amla oils.....
Yes i give my opinion, and yes i also know there is no real hard and fast rule.....but i wont say that i think something is generally good when i don't think that it is based on not just my experience alone.
If you don't like what i post you don't have to take the advice, i won't however stop giving my opinion to new members if they post asking for peoples perspectives as the point of forums like this is to share information and ideas. If you disagree then of course there's nothing stopping you from saying so.
I'm wondering why you are singling me out when i'm by no means the only person on this site to say they don't advice using mineral oil.

[Eirinn]

Well, I see that we don't understand each other... pity. It wasn't really that importat and I appriciate your opinion - AND really didn't mean *that* but if it's so serious for you I don't want any fight

[ChloeDharma]

Well, I see that we don't understand each other... pity. It wasn't really that importat and I appriciate your opinion - AND really didn't mean *that* but if it's so serious for you I don't want any fight

Ah, that's the problem with forums....it can be really easy to missunderstand each other.....no bad feelings held here hun :flower:

I'd be interested to know if you get on with the Amla oil....was it Dabur? Just look out for build up.....i know with cones a sulphate shampoo gets them out, but i'm not sure what gets out mineral oil, it might be worth looking around to find out.....with any luck something simple will do the job fine but as i avoid them i've not really looked into it enough to give reliable ideas.

That said.....i do actually have a mineral oil containing hair oil......it's called Navratna oil and is meant to be very good for headaches.....the box didn't list ingredients properly on it so i never realised until i got home and looked it up after buying it. But i did remember reading good reviews on mouthshut.com about it's cooling effect and use for headaches so i haven't binned it......i'll just keep it for emergencies.

Another question, you said your hair hated coconut oil....have you tried any others? Like i think i said in one of my other posts some peoples hair just hates oil full stop no matter how many they try or how they use them......i think it's rare but it does still happen. But you can still benefit from Amla if that's the case by doing rinses or mixing it into DT's etc (by "it" i mean the amla itself, not the oil)

[Eirinn]

I'm so glad you don't feel offended:) I'm just still new, unexpirienced member and afriad of using everything that anyone has written is bad so sometimes I get real headache from worrying if I won't demage my hair usinig something instead of just try.

As for coconut oil we don't have wide variety here - that one suppoused to be frying oil but the shop assistent told me that ladies buy it for their hair. I've also used all bottle of "Inecto Coconut Oil Moisture Infusing Conditioner" - I don't know if you have it in UK - but it gave me rather average moisturizing. I haven't seen any other coconut oils here:(

[ChloeDharma]

I'm so glad you don't feel offended:) I'm just still new, unexpirienced member and afriad of using everything that anyone has written is bad so sometimes I get real headache from worrying if I won't demage my hair usinig something instead of just try.

As for coconut oil we don't have wide variety here - that one suppoused to be frying oil but the shop assistent told me that ladies buy it for their hair. I've also used all bottle of "Inecto Coconut Oil Moisture Infusing Conditioner" - I don't know if you have it in UK - but it gave me rather average moisturizing. I haven't seen any other coconut oils here:(

Ah it's likely you used the refined coconut oil, unless it came in a blue bottle and was by a company called "parachute"? I have some of that and find it better than regular odourless coconut oil for hair and skin.....but, the one i really like is the virgin coconut oil....that so far seems to do the best job for me. Some people agree with this, and others don't notice the difference.

I would say don't give up QUITE yet with oiling, there are so many to try, one that i found possibly even more softening than coconut oil is sesame oil.....in the Indian grocers it's called "Til" or "gingelly". That's the other main favourite oil in India for oiling from what i have read.

that inecto stuff....yep i've used it before.....it was great for shaving my legs, and i liked the perfumey coconut smell but on my hair i never found it much use. But....when i tried it most of my hair was still chemically fried and to be fair almost nothing seemed good when used on it.

Another thing.....try not to stress too much over every little thing with hair products.....you will find some members might react to the idea of a product like a vampire to garlic...(think "me" and mineral oil ;)) while another member just adores the stuff. What you can get from here really is just other peoples experience and research.....of course some things are obvious like minimising mechamical damage but in general you are your own best guide as you can feel how your hair reacts to different things. But really, this should be fun more than anything :)

[Sally]

I was searching for something on mineral oil and came across this thread. Just want to say that I'm another one for whom coconut oil does not work. I know the studies say it absorbs, etc., but it makes my hair crunchy and greasy. I've tried various kinds of coconut oil, including virgin, organic, etc. They all have the same effect on me.

An Ayurvedic practitioner told me not to use coconut oil on my hair as well. She said the best oils for my kind of hair are sweet almond and a tiny bit of jojoba. She said oils that go solid in ordinary (not extreme) cool weather, as coconut does, will make your hair crunchy. I don't know if that's the reason it makes mine crunchy, but it indubitably does.

[BlackfootHair]

Dabur Amla Hair Oil Ingredients (Export Quality):
Paraffinum Liquidum (this is a fancy way to say mineral oil)
Canola Oil
Palm Glycerides
Amla (Emblica officinalis) extract in Canola Oil
Fragrance (I think it smells like incense)
t-Butyl Hydroquinone (anti-oxidant)

Colors:
D&C Yellow NO. 11
D&C Green No. 6
D&C Red No. 17

There ya have it. Yes, it contains mineral oil. I have used it before, and while it's not my favorite, I do like it. I've never noticed build up with it, even when I've used it for a week straight. In my opinion, I don't think mineral oil is necessarily bad for the hair. It doesn't penetrate the hair, but it does act as a barrier as ChloeDarma said. So, I like to wait till my hair is almost dry, and run some through. My hair can still be semi-damp, and the oil makes my hair stay moisturized because it seals in that water that hadn't evaporated from my hair yet, from being wet. Sometimes in the winter time I prefer this over my favorite Dabur Vatika oil because the coconut oil will sometimes make my hair tangled but only because it's trying to re-solidify in the coldness. Once I'm inside where it's warm...it tends to be just fine. I hope this helps. :)

[aisling]

Well, my hair wasn't "a bit nasty", it was horrible. I don't remember what it was, I only remember it was "a 100% coconut". ChloeDharma, I'm so curious about one thing: Why everywhere, if it comes to mineral oil you're always there to say how bad it is? And by the way to say how good is coconut oil... What it did to your hair? No offense meant of course:)

I'm with ChloeDharma here and I'm very, very unimpressed by mineral oil, she isn't the only one and I really don't think she is trying to scare anybody :rolleyes:

I find mineral oil hard to remove. Also, even if it's often listed as non-comedogenic, it clogs my pores and gives me spots, I'm not putting mineral oil in my hair risking that it transfers to my skin.

[Riot Crrl]

I'm a mineral oil hater too!

The main reason I wouldn't use it is the same reason I don't want to use silicone, I just don't want to have to scrub it off with detergent later.

If I wanted to occasionally use something like a deep treatment that had it somewhere on the list, I'd use it and just figure it would wear off eventually. But I wouldn't get a product that was comprised mainly of it and use it regularly.

[stinastina]

You can always make your own amla oil by infusing your favorite oil with the amla powder. Vatika Oil is mostly coconut oil based and has amla as a main ingredient. Was that the other one yall were thinking of ? And I agree with ChloeDarma who said that Parachute Oil is really good - it is different from other coconut oils I've tried. I use it in my recipes for shikakai oil and coconut hair cream.

[ChloeDharma]

You can always make your own amla oil by infusing your favorite oil with the amla powder. Vatika Oil is mostly coconut oil based and has amla as a main ingredient. Was that the other one yall were thinking of ? And I agree with ChloeDarma who said that Parachute Oil is really good - it is different from other coconut oils I've tried. I use it in my recipes for shikakai oil and coconut hair cream.

Now that my favourite scalp oil (Hesh Bhringraj) has been reformulated and had mineral oil added to it i am going to have to do this too, except with bhringraj of course.
What benefit does shikakai have in an oil? I've seen it for sale that way but only used it as a powder to wash my hair with.

I don't know if i mentioned it in my earlier posts....but my main reason for suggesting mineral oil isn't a good idea if you want the benefit of additions like amla is that as it doesn't penetrate the hair or skin then i can't see how the benefits of the fruit/herbs can be delivered. For myself that's obviously a reason i don't use it but also as has been mentioned i don't want to use something that makes me need to use stronger cleansing methods on my fine hair....plus of course my experience with it shows it's not great with my hair anyway. If somebody specifically wanted mineral oil....for example if they wanted the protection, then i'd suggest just going for an oil for the smell...like jasmine.
As for coconut oil solidifying, mira chan has said she uses sesame oil instead of coconut in the winter because of that. Personally it's never been an issue for me but i can see how it could be in colder climates.

[ktani]

I do not always agree with her product reviews, but she is well referenced.

Paula Begoun, on mineral oil.

"Clear, odorless oil derived from petroleum .... widely used in cosmetics .... it rarely causes allergic reactions .... it cannot become a solid and clog pores. .... petroleum .... natural ingredient derived from the earth .... once it becomes mineral oil USP (cosmetics- and pharmaceutical-grade mineral oil) .... has no resemblance to the original petroleum. Cosmetics-grade mineral oil and petrolatum .... considered the safest, most nonirritating moisturizing ingredients ever found (Sources: Cosmetics & Toiletries, January 2001, page 79; and Cosmetic Dermatology, September 2000, pages 44–46) .... they don’t suffocate skin! .... mineral oil and petrolatum .... known to be efficacious in wound healing, and .... among the most effective moisturizing ingredients available (Source: Cosmetics & Toiletries, February 1998, pages 33–40)."
http://www.cosmeticscop.com/learn/cosmetic_dictionary.asp?id=18&letter=M

[Kirin]

Not to be another voice of dissent, but coconut oil does not work for everyone. I am one of those, who has used pure grade virgin coconut oil, and had extremely bad results. On myself and my daughter, it does not absorb, becomes greasy and forms scalp and hairline breakouts of epic proportions. However, my husband's hair loves it.

I've seen mineral oil get the worst rap around. However, just like I find with coconut oil, those who do not like it, or that it does not work for them, tout it in a bad light. It is neither unnatural, nor harmful in any way.

Though coconut oil and olive oil may penetrate the hair shaft, of which these reports are again, theories from studies, lets revisit what exactly oil is supposed to do for our hair.

In effect, oils of all sorts are meant to protect the hair, and seal in moisture. Most oils do this to some degree of success, but none does it quite as well (and inexpensively) as mineral oil. Unlike cones that seal damage and moisture out, Mineral oil used on damp hair seals that moisture IN.

I am no expert, however, mineral oil works in the same way any other carrier oil (sunflower persea) works, dispersing other ingredients throughout the hair (or skin), and locking them to the surface applied. Even though sunflower oil as an example is not absorbed by the hair, nor does it penetrate, it is simply preferred say, because it seems more 'natural'. Mineral oil's tagline of "petroleum" harkens people to think of black crude oil, or vasaline, which though related, is not the same thing. (all still are natural fossilized oils).

I myself have never had any problems getting mineral oil out of my hair with simple CO washing. It is not mineral oil itself that is hard to remove, it is no harder to remove than olive oil, safflower oil, or castor oil (IMO). The problem with mineral oil for some trying to get it out is the -other- ingredients usually in some mineral oil formulas..... chiefly, Parrafin. It is this wax, and not the oil that is usually impossible to get out of hair.

For example, I've had no issues rinsing out a softee cholesterol treatment that contains mineral oil, but have had enormous issues removing a soothing pomade with it, that contained paraffin waxes and silicones.

Every person's experience with it is different, mine may vary dramatically from someone else's. Even though coconut oil was horrendous for me and my daughter, (and dozens of others) I know it works for hundreds of people just fine, some consider it a holy grail. The same is true for mineral oil, just because an individual user has issuses with it, does not make it bad, or without its benefits to others.

On my end, I often recommend products with mineral oil, especially to those with fine and fragile hair, as to me, it has worked superior to anything else. Not only does it work for a majority of people, it is natural forming from a bio breakdown of plant and animal matter, and does not carry the extraordinary heart palpitating price tag of other "superior" oils. Also as much, one does not need to pay for shipping, or search madly in every health food store to find it as its readily available.

On a final note, it is up to the users opinion, one users dislike of a product does not qualify it for being ignored as useful.

This last bit is simply my opinion, but it is a thought that has plauged me for a while and makes me reconsider just who is getting taken by what in the market. Last I checked, petroleum itself is at a premium, considering the prices of gasoline, coal and oil, one would think mineral oil would have a rediculously high price tag.......

Meanwhile, I haven't seen a shortage of coconuts in the world, yet the price per pound is absolutely outrageous. The same goes for camilla and olive oil. These are just my simple thoughts.

[urbanhistorian]

I make my own amla oils..............just so I know exactly what is in it.....I just steep a few ounces of coconut with a 2 tbls of Amla Powder. I hope that helps!

[stinastina]

Now that my favourite scalp oil (Hesh Bhringraj) has been reformulated and had mineral oil added to it i am going to have to do this too, except with bhringraj of course.
What benefit does shikakai have in an oil? I've seen it for sale that way but only used it as a powder to wash my hair with.

I don't know if i mentioned it in my earlier posts....but my main reason for suggesting mineral oil isn't a good idea if you want the benefit of additions like amla is that as it doesn't penetrate the hair or skin then i can't see how the benefits of the fruit/herbs can be delivered. For myself that's obviously a reason i don't use it but also as has been mentioned i don't want to use something that makes me need to use stronger cleansing methods on my fine hair....plus of course my experience with it shows it's not great with my hair anyway. If somebody specifically wanted mineral oil....for example if they wanted the protection, then i'd suggest just going for an oil for the smell...like jasmine.
As for coconut oil solidifying, mira chan has said she uses sesame oil instead of coconut in the winter because of that. Personally it's never been an issue for me but i can see how it could be in colder climates.

Since shikakai is a great cleanser, shikakai oil is an even better pre-poo. I also add brahmi, bhringraj & amla to it but there is more shikakai than the other powders. I use sesame oil and parachute coconut as the base. Sesame oil is a very good carrier oil and easy to find at the grocery store as well as grapeseed oil and of course coconut or olive oil. I bought some jojoba oil, too, but haven't decided what to do with that yet.