Putting oil on your hair seems a must in the Afro hair care routine. How to find the oil that suits your hair? How to find the best way to apply it? Can we mix the oils and add the benefits? Colorful Black reveals everything in this article!
Oils and essential oils: friends or foes?
Vegetable oils are extracted from seeds, pits or fruits. Essential oil is a concentrated extract of a plant or fruit, obtained by distillation. This should be used with caution. Most essential oils are not recommended or even prohibited for pregnant, breastfeeding women or children under 6 years old. When we talk about oil for frizzy or curly hair, we usually mean vegetable oils. Your first step in choosing an oil for your hair lies in this distinction between vegetable oil and essential oil. Once the difference is established, you can select the most suitable hair oil for your hair type and your needs.
How do I find the right oil for my hair?
It is important to determine the porosity of your hair before choosing a hair oil . Their texture also comes into play as well as other criteria such as a sensitive scalp for example.
- Some so-called "light" oils such as grapeseed, jojoba or sweet almond oil are well suited to low-porosity hair. They protect the hair without smothering it or weighing it down.
- On the contrary, hair with high porosity will turn to thicker oils such as avocado oil, hemp oil or Black Jamaican Castor Oil.
Another myth to discredit: oil does not moisturize hair! The best way to hydrate frizzy or curly hair is to drink plenty of water! But some oils help keep the hair supple and shiny because they protect it from dehydration. This is the case of Argan, Olive or Coconut oils.
But be careful and use new oil sparingly to avoid damage that is sometimes difficult to repair!
Oil, a risk for my frizzy or curly hair?
It's quite hard to believe but yes! An unsuitable or misused oil can cause real damage to your hair. Top harmful practices including oils:
Apply oil to your hair before exposing it to strong heat (sun, straightener, hair dryer).
This literally fry your hair which comes out very fragile . Reserve the use of a vegetable oil for your oil baths , in small doses in your deep conditioner or on days when you do not use heating accessories.
Mix incompatible oils.
There are many DIY tutorials on hair oils. Our advice is to trust ready- made mixes , offered by trusted brands. Indeed, these blends of oils have been made in the laboratory and rigorous tests guarantee their effectiveness. Mixing two oils with incompatible benefits yourself can make hair dry, dull or even weighed down.
Use an oil to moisturize your hair.
Oil and water do not mix. Applying a fatty substance to your hair only creates a protective film that reduces the phenomenon of dehydration by evaporation. An oil provides vitamins and minerals to nourish the hair and scalp but not hydration .
Copy another person's hair routine.
Has castor oil worked wonders on your cousin's, girlfriend's or neighbor's hair? Well, it can have an effect that is at best non-existent or even disastrous on you! Coconut oil is the perfect example. Long presented as the ultimate oil for natural hair, it is now decried by some. Not all oils are suitable for all hair types . The best is to test one oil at a time, in small doses and then make your selection. More and more naturalistas say they no longer use oil on their hair. Others swear by their favorite oil. And for you, is hair oil friend or foe?
