The Hair Oils Thread

[Neoma]

I use a grapeseed oil mix on my scalp. My hair wasn’t very thick to begin with and stress sheds have made it thinner, so I decided that the blend suggested in this thread was worth a try, as I already had most of the components. Igor’s Recipe on page 1 of the thread is exactly what was used in the study that showed the blend to be beneficial.

A few months down the line, and I think I can see some results, both new growth and slightly faster growth (my hair used to grow about 5” a year and now it’s at about half an inch per month, but I haven’t averaged over a whole year and to be honest I probably won’t bother measuring!). It could be coincidence, it could just be the result of head massage, but I wanted to do something positive to deal with the hair loss.

Thank you for posting this, Lady Stardust!

I hear you about wanting to "do something positive" to deal with your hair loss. I don't want to derail this thread with all the stuff I've been doing to try to deal with mine. Quick list: aloe gel, essential oils (peppermint, lavender, rosemary), a number of different oils... I generally do some sort of pre-wash "hair growth" treatment, usually overnight.

I have some growth. My hair is hip length. I have a crop of new hairs where bangs would be that are now several inches long. Since I don't measure my hair, I can't tell you whether it's growing any faster.

I appreciate the link to Jessie's thread. It's a great resource.

[JasminxCat]

Background: I have baby fine hair that is thinning due to menopause and medication.

I shampooed last night and did not use a conditioner. After towel drying, I applied two drops of grapeseed oil, concentrating on the length.

Detangling was easy. The grapeseed oil gave my hair plenty of slip.

This morning my hair is extremely soft. But it looks greasy, as if I oiled it and didn't shampoo well afterward.

This is supposed to be a very light oil that won't weigh hair down.

I want to try applying a single drop to see if it still leaves my hair greasy.

Also, it may behave differently on dry hair.

I applied it on my face after cleansing last night and it absorbed quickly. It made my skin feel very soft.

Grapeseed oil is heavy on my hair as well. Not sure why Google says it's lightweight. And it's not as penetrating to the hair as it is to skin for some reason. But I still use it from time to time

[Neoma]

Grapeseed oil is heavy on my hair as well. Not sure why Google says it's lightweight. And it's not as penetrating to the hair as it is to skin for some reason. But I still use it from time to time

Thank you for sharing, JasminxCat. I'm glad that I'm not alone in this.

It's so amazing on my face.

I mixed some with aloe gel and essential oils (peppermint, lavender, and rosemary) today, massaged it into my scalp, and applied it to the length. I'm going to wash it out in a while. My hair is thinning badly again, I think it's due to meds.

[Outmoded]

Re-posting this after asking in the wrong place:

I am currently trying to refine my pre-wash oil method, and wonder if anyone could offer further input for consideration than what I have already learned:

Before joining the LHC I had been very heavily oiling, the whole length, including scalp, overnight before every other shower (twice a week CO only), with almond oil, but always shed an awful lot. I have since ditched the conditioner I had been using (the reason I needed to oil my scalp in the first place, as it was too drying) and am using a conditioner that my scalp is much happier with, and now only need to oil the length.
As I am no longer oiling my scalp, I have found that my hair can now take heavier oils, that I would not have been able to get away with before, like sunflower oil, and I would like to try out some oils that, according to the Scienc-y Hair Blog, have better penetration than almond oil. My caveats being: 1. Nothing that is solid at room temperature (my hair has never been so horribly unmanageable, tangled, and awful looking as when I tried coconut oil or shea butter), and 2. Nothing with a comedogenic rating above 2, or that is known to be a skin irritant, drying to the skin, or has health concerns surrounding it (anything I put on my hair inevitably ends up effecting parts of my skin, and my skin is VERY dry, sensitive, and finicky), so that rules out the likes of palm, castor, avocado, corn, canola, and mustard seed oil.

An additional potential concern I may have, that I have only recently become aware of from browsing through LHC information on oils, and could use some advice on, is drying oils. As someone who prefers to keep their hair-care products and routine as minimal as possible, and would rather not need to ever have to clarify going forward, should I completely steer clear of drying oils (like sunflower oil for instance)? Or are there benefits to using them that would outweigh the inconvenience/harshness of occasional clarifying? Could they perhaps have once-off or very occasional benefits without causing build up? Perhaps, as a cone-like natural alternative for split end prevention? Or to form a seal around dyed hair to prevent colour fading? Would they be good for adding weight to wispy fly-away hair without a significant downside for someone who's hair does not tolerate protein? Or would the fact that I only use oil pre-wash, never post-wash, defeat that purpose? (I can drench my hair with oil pre-wash, plastering it to my head and back so that the oil is literally dripping off the ends, and it will still feel and look good after a shower, however, even 1 drop of oil, applied after a shower, will prevent my hair from drying for at least 24 hours, and also make it look greasy and stringy even when dry.)

Another concern I have regarding oils, is the potential for them to strip the colour out of my hair (I use plain natural indigo powder as a black hair-dye once a month), as I have read that both coconut and olive oil should be avoided for that reason, and I also discovered, too late, that this is true of grapeseed oil as well. Unlike the information on penetrating and drying oils, I have been unable to find a list measuring the likelihood of various oils leeching out dye, and do not understand the mechanisms involved to be able to make an educated guess on that regarding any particular oil.

With all of the above applied to narrowing down my selection of oils, I believe only babassu oil comes out as a better alternative to my usual almond oil. Unfortunately, I cannot buy babassu oil here, so, I will have to order it online. Does anyone have recommendations for good brands that do not adulterate it? And is it worth the price? I use as much oil as I can pour into a cupped hand, x2, when I oil my hair, so I would go through a small bottle very fast, and my hair has not even reached my goal length yet.

[Outmoded]

I am also wondering, are there advantages to argan oil over almond oil?

[Jane99]

I haven’t ever used almond oil, but I do like argan. I don’t pre poo with it but I put a drop in my hair post wash. My hair absorbs it within a day. I add a drop of broccoli seed oil too because it’s supposed to have a silicone-like effect.
I pre poo with coconut but I melt it first. If I don’t feel like melting coconut, I use avocado. Both because they penetrate the hair shaft. Supposedly. Coconut it supposed to chelate the hair some so it makes sense it would be bad for dye. I’m not sure about other oils. I haven’t really experimented a ton with different oils or with enough attention to detail to notice differences. ROO with mineral oil works well. Wanted to try grapeseed oil for ceremides but read that it hardens on hair and can lead to problems. I tried olive oil pre poo a few times but it seemed heavy on my hair and that was also when I first started oiling my hair so things are different now. I did not like jojoba oil on its own but I add it to conditioner I make.
My hair is not in perfect condition, but I blame that on being longer than it’s ever been, and the bleach/dye job I did before I decided to grow long. I believe the oils do help.

Everyone’s hair and scalp are different. I do like reading about others’ experiences though. I’m curious about what you decide

[barnet_fair]

Outmoded, have you considered fractionated coconut oil? There are a few threads on it (and one on MCT oil in which I confuse the two). Might avoid the problems you have with solid coconut oil.

[Outmoded]

Thank you for the suggestion, but I try to avoid coconut oil like the plague; my hair hates it, my skin hates it, and my digestive system hates it. If coconut oil touches me I'll usually wind up with a rash or acne... I also dislike the smell. I do not know if MCT oil would work better for me or not, but I am not keen to try fractioned coconut due to my skin issues, and the one time I did use coconut oil, it just matted my hair to the point that I had as much breakage as a chemical hair dye job, it was really, really awful.

[Outmoded]

I haven’t ever used almond oil, but I do like argan. I don’t pre poo with it but I put a drop in my hair post wash. My hair absorbs it within a day. I add a drop of broccoli seed oil too because it’s supposed to have a silicone-like effect.
I pre poo with coconut but I melt it first. If I don’t feel like melting coconut, I use avocado. Both because they penetrate the hair shaft. Supposedly. Coconut it supposed to chelate the hair some so it makes sense it would be bad for dye. I’m not sure about other oils. I haven’t really experimented a ton with different oils or with enough attention to detail to notice differences. ROO with mineral oil works well. Wanted to try grapeseed oil for ceremides but read that it hardens on hair and can lead to problems. I tried olive oil pre poo a few times but it seemed heavy on my hair and that was also when I first started oiling my hair so things are different now. I did not like jojoba oil on its own but I add it to conditioner I make.
My hair is not in perfect condition, but I blame that on being longer than it’s ever been, and the bleach/dye job I did before I decided to grow long. I believe the oils do help.

Everyone’s hair and scalp are different. I do like reading about others’ experiences though. I’m curious about what you decide

I had purchased some argan oil to use as a skin moisturiser (my usual was out of stock), but my skin does not seem to like it very much (became a bit red, dry, and itchy), so, it will be going in my hair instead (just avoiding my scalp). I think I read that it can prevent a degree of protein loss from hair.
Though grapeseed oil will apparently dry onto hair and can cause buildup, I did use quite a lot of it (half a bottle maybe) without any noticeable hardening affect; from what I could tell, apart from affecting my indigo dye, it otherwise behaved similarly to almond oil for my hair (though, unlike almond oil, my skin does not care for grapeseed oil's slight astringency).
I also once tried sacha inchi oil; my skin adores the stuff, but it just makes my hair a little unruly, with surface frizz, without any appreciable benefit.

Mmm, my hair is not in perfect condition either; I used box dye every few months, up until a few years ago when I switched to indigo-powder, so, the bottom half of my hair is still colour damaged. Though the indigo is far better, it is nevertheless initially quite drying, so, a really heavy oil treatment, at least following each use, it an absolute must for me.

[MusicalSpoons]

I didn't pick up on it before but seeing you describe your ends feeling like velcro on the other thread* pinged something in my brain. In your post you said you don't ever want to have to clarify - you may get away with it and never have to, but be aware it is still a possibility, as all oils and conditioners can potentially build up over time.

*I understand it was because of a different washing routine though, like I said it just reminded me.