Rancid oil effectiveness

[joiekimochi]

I haven't been oiling my hair for a long time but last night I decided that I should start oiling it because I noticed some loss in shine and smoothness. I opened my bottle of camellia oil and it smelled 'off'. Normally it has no smell but now it has that strong 'old oil' smell. Not sure if it's rancid.

Anyway I still used it. This morning I noticed that it's still on my hair. Normally camellia oil soaks right in and doesn't leave my hair greasy. But my hair is greasy now.

Does this mean my oil isn't effective any more? I miss the glorious shine and softness camellia oil used to give me. Does rancid oil lose effectiveness?

[Cirafly24]

I think rancid oil could lose effectiveness, yes. If it smells off and isn't working properly anymore, it's probably best to toss it and get some fresh oil.

[cmg]

Perhaps moisture wasnt the problem? If oil usually gets sucked in for you, then perhaps you need clarifying or less protein or something. Build up can make hair dull and rough. OK, this wasnt the answer to your question. I dont really know if rancid oil is ineffective for hair.

[|Xei]

The exact same thing happened to me, the strong, oily smell, and the oil not soaking into the hair. I do believe the smell indicates that it has gone rancid, as camellia oil normally does not have a strong oily smell. I don't know the science behind this, but I'm guessing since the smell of the oil changed, other properties of the oil could possibly have changed as well, and that includes its conditioning properties/ability to settle into the hair.

When my camellia oil went rancid, I used it up by mixing it into my deep treatments. I don't know if that might have allowed it to work better, but I was just happy I found a way to use it all up without putting up with greasy residue in my hair.