All About Hair Oiling

Hair oiling is an expression that will be always associated with hair care. It is known to all hair maniacs, famous hairdressers, Asian women and everybody who keeps up with hairstyling and hair care trends.

If the beauty, health and condition of your hair is important to you as well, you should definitely learn the secrets of hair oiling. You will be surprised – the treatment is simple and versatile. Read the most essential information about hair oiling and pretty soon you will ask yourself – how could your hair manage without it?

Hair oiling – what is it?

It is a very simple treatment. You apply a cosmetic oil or a natural oil (available at drug stores and healthy food stores) to your hair. Oils serve as hair masks, balms, conditioners or serums for split ends. They can also be in form of a hair mist that must be sprayed onto hair.

Hair oiling offers far more benefits than a hair balm or mask because a natural oil is the best and most effective “tool” for repairing the hair from the inside. It is the only product that is able to provide such deep repair of the hair as well as the hair bulbs. What is more, hair oiling conditions the scalp – the strands grow healthy and strong. The treatment is so easy that you can do it yourself at home. There is no need to go to a hair salon.

To sum up: hair oiling is an extremely easy treatment which delivers full regeneration, nourishes and protects from any damages. It also helps to tame and style the hair, provides shine and beautiful rich colour. Oiling is beneficial to hair which doesn’t grow or excessively falls out. Oils help to fight the dandruff and other scalp conditions.

Stores are abounding in natural oils. Can you choose them at random? Should you pick the cheapest or most expensive one?

Are there any types of oils? Which oils to choose for hair oiling?

The best and most general classification of oils divides them according to the content of fatty acids. These acids are mainly responsible for the repair of hair. They nourish and protect the strands. They are the source of powerful vitamins and minerals which are essential to hair in order to grow healthy and look beautiful. They provide nourishment, regeneration and anti-ageing action.

We must bear in mind that a specific type of fatty acids matches specific type of hair. Oils have different sizes of particles. The particles penetrate inside the hair. Considering that hair can have different condition, specific type of particles penetrates inside specific type of hair. There are the following types of fatty acids:

• SATURATED – they have tiny particles and penetrate inside the hair easily. The following acids have such particles: lauric, myristic, stearic, palmitic. Saturated fatty acids can be found in: coconut oil, babassu oil, palm oil. Oils with the majority of saturated acids are suitable for thick, heavy and healthy hair which needs protection and scalp care.
• MONOUNSATURATED – all acids with medium-sized particles. They are semi-penetrating acids. Omega-7 and omega-9 acids belong to this group. Monounsaturated fatty acids are suitable for most hair – a bit damaged but quite healthy which requires slight repair and non-stop protection. Monounsaturated acids are found in the following oils: almond, macadamia, sesame, camellia, moringa, buriti and apricot.
• POLYUNSATURATED – fatty acids which have large particles and are able to regenerate extremely dry and damaged hair. They are called non-penetrating because large amount of them stays on hair surface. Their main task is to protect the strands outside and regenerate inside. Omega-3 and omega-6 acids belong to the group of polyunsaturated acids. They can be found in the following oils: grape, sunflower, linseed, pumpkin seed, Nigella sativa, corn, safflower and passion fruit.

Choosing a proper oil depends on the type and condition of your hair. A well-chosen oil will provide your hair with thorough repair and protection. It will work as a qualified doctor who removes all the diseases and imperfections of hair and scalp – from the hair bulbs to the ends.

There are numerous methods of hair oiling and surely every woman will find the one that suits her. These are the most important methods of hair oiling:

1. Wet hair oiling. It is one of the most popular methods. It consists in applying an oil to damp hair. You can do it before washing – apply the oil to the scalp and the entire length of hair. After 15-30 minutes, wash it down with a shampoo. You can also apply the oil to clean hair, after washing. Firstly, gently towel-dry the strands. Then, spread the oil onto the hair, avoid the scalp. A few drops of the oil will be enough (maximum 5 ml – one teaspoon).
2. Dry hair oiling. It is a very comfortable method which consists in applying the oil to dry hair prior to washing. Rub the oil in the scalp. You can leave it on for 30 minutes but the best option is an overnight treatment. Leave the oil for the whole night and wash it down in the morning. The oil will have a lot of time to repair the damage in our hair and scalp.Dry hair oiling may also replace a leave-in conditioner – apply the oil to dry hair starting at the mid-length of the strands. Do not rinse it. The oil will work as a serum: immediately brings shine, helps to tame and style. If your hair ends are extremely dry, you can use the oil as a serum for damaged ends – apply 2-3 drops even several times a day.
3. Oils added to other cosmetics. You may add a few drops of the oil to your favourite hair mask or conditioner. The oil will intensify the action of the cosmetic. It can also be added to a spray conditioner – you will get an oily hair mist that can be used many times during the day. You may as well do such a spray yourself – dilute a cosmetic oil with an extract of brewed herbs, aloe juice or lemon juice with some water.
4. Hair oiling in a bowl. It is a very fast method of oiling hair which deeply regenerates the strands and nourishes the scalp. It works as a “hair vaccine”. You add a cosmetic oil to water or herbal infusion (e.g. of nettle, camomile, glycyrrhiza, lime tree). One litre of the infusion requires more or less 5 ml of the oil. The mixture of oils and herbs can be enriched with a teaspoon of honey, aloe juice or citrus juice. Pour the infusion to a big bowl or washbasin and dip your hair in so that all strands are covered with the mixture. You can massage the scalp gently – you will allow the beneficial substances to penetrate inside the scalp. This hair oil treatment should last 5-10 minutes. Then, you wash the hair with a delicate shampoo.

Hair oiling can be performed during the day – in this case the treatment is shorter. Apply the oil to dry or damp hair and leave it on for an hour or two. You can also use the oil as a serum – rub it in the hair or hair ends whenever you feel they need it. It is a perfect option for those who are busy, hard-working and short of time – you can apply the oily serum during lunch break at work or while styling hair in the morning.

Another hair oiling technique entails leaving the oil for the whole night. You will treat your hair to a long and deep treatment. Apply the oil to dry hair and scalp, wrap your hair in a towel and… go to sleep. Wash it down in the morning.

Since we have mentioned washing…

There is little information about how to wash oils down and what products to use. Meanwhile, it is also crucial. The oil is meant to control the processes on the scalp so it would be a mistake to rinse it with a shampoo that is full of chemicals – it would be the waste of all the work of the oil. SLS and SLES are strong substances which are often included in cosmetics to improve their scent and consistency and create the foam. In daily care, you should choose natural delicate shampoos and conditioners which are free from SLS and SLES. They do not condition the hair but may irritate the scalp instead. If you apply the oil to the scalp, you must wash it away after specific amount of time (usually you decide about the time). On the other hand, if you apply the oil from the mid-length of hair and to hair ends, you can leave it on so that the oil can penetrate inside. There is no need to rinse it.

Effects – what we are most interested in

Does hair oiling bring immediate effects? How does hair look after oiling and what effects can we expect after longer use of oils?

Hair will change after the very first hair oil treatment. If you want to notice that the hair feels different when you touch it, you should perform an overnight treatment as first oiling. The next day, you will wash your hair and see a total change – shiny, soft and bouncy strands. They will become properly moisturised and will be easier to style. If you do the oiling only once, your hair will look like it did before the treatment. Therefore, regularity is important. Every treatment makes hair stronger, repairs, strengthens hair bulbs whereas the scalp gets healthy.

When we describe the effects of hair oiling, we can create a really long list of advantages:

• hair is protected from mechanical damage
• hair oiling provides protection from unfavourable weather conditions (sun, frost, strong wind)
• hair bulbs are stronger so hair grows strong and healthy
• hair oiling fights the dandruff and other troublesome scalp diseases
• hair ends are no longer dry
• hair becomes shiny and bouncy
• hair gets silky soft
• frizz is reduced
• strands are manageable
• hair is deeply nourished
• hair colour gets nicer and richer
• no more hair loss
• hair grows faster

Hair Oiling mistakes – avoid them

Although hair oiling is very easy to do, you can make a few mistakes which will keep you from getting the effects that you expect.

Here is the list of most common mistakes that you can make during hair oiling.

1. Applying the oil to hair that is weighed down with styling cosmetics. If you often use a styling mousse, spray or gel – wash your hair before applying the oil. Styling products clog the cuticles. As a consequence, oils cannot get inside the hair.
2. Applying a poorly-suited oil. Before buying a hair oil, take a closer look at your hair, define its porosity and general condition. If you apply an unsuitable oil, it may weigh your hair down or make it frizzy.
3. You also must be careful when it comes to the amount of the oil. One teaspoon of the oil is an optimal amount that can be applied to hair and scalp. If you apply it to hair ends only, use 2-3 drops.
4. Oiling greasy hair. If the scalp produces too much sebum, hair follicles are weak and hair starts to fall out. Therefore, a greasy oil will overburden the bulbs even more. So, if you have greasy hair, wash it before applying the oil.

Hair porosity – it helps us choose a suitable oil

We choose oils that suit our hair condition thus we should know the criteria that define its condition. They help us to pick the right oil which will match our strands. The division of hair types is not complicated. We can name three types of hair: low porosity, medium/normal porosity and high porosity. Porosity tells us about the condition of hair cuticles. Every hair is made of such cuticles.

1. Low porosity hair – thick, heavy, the healthiest type. It has closed cuticles which are closely bound together. Such strands need penetrating oils with small particles which mostly contain saturated acids. You can buy suitable products for this hair type: coconut hair oil Dabur Vatika, Redken Diamond Oil, Dabur Amla, Dove Serum-In-Oil.
2. Medium/normal porosity hair – the condition of this type of hair is “normal”. It is quite dry, thin; it absorbs water and air-dries quite quickly. It is easy to style. Medium porosity hair can be healthy at the entire length but hair ends can be dry a bit. It requires care – otherwise, medium porosity hair gets damaged easily. You can use the following products: L’Oreal Mythic Oil, ALTERNA Bamboo Smooth Kendi Oil Dry Oil, Moroccanoil Treatment, Bumble and bumble Invisible Oil, Kerastase Elixir Ultime, ALTERNA Bamboo Smooth Kendi Oil Pure Treatment Oil, Redken Diamond Oil, Dove Serum-In-Oil, Ojon Rare Blend Oil, Dabur Amla. These cosmetics contain large amounts of omega-7 and omega-9 acids – monounsaturated acids with medium-sized particles. Such particles penetrate inside the hair with slightly raised cuticles.
3. High porosity hair – dry and damaged due to various treatments, lightening, colouring, styling. It is thin, brittle, easy to damage. This type of hair may fall out and have split ends. It needs intensified care. You must take care of it all the time and never give up. You must use omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in order to regenerate high porosity hair. The concentration of such acids can be found in oils with large particles. Such particles manage to penetrate between the highly raised cuticles as well as protect the hair. You can choose between the following cosmetics: L’Oreal Mythic Oil, ALTERNA Bamboo Smooth Kendi Oil Dry Oil, Moroccanoil Treatment, Bumble and bumble Invisible Oil, Kemon Actyva Bellessere Oil, Redken Diamond Oil, Dove Serum-In-Oil, Ojon Rare Blend Oil, Dabur Amla.

Hair porosity test – you don’t need to go to the trichologist

We already know that we must take a look at our hair in order to identify its porosity. The more damaged, weak and brittle your hair is, the higher the porosity. There is another way of identifying the porosity: take one hair and run your fingers up it. If it stays slick and smooth – it is healthy. If it gets rough – it is medium porosity.

Another method is putting a hair in a bowl or glass filled with water. After 5-10 minutes, check what happens to the hair: if it sinks to the bottom, it means that you have hair with highly raised cuticles which absorb water quickly. Such hair is high porosity. If the hair floats, it means that tightly bound cuticles don’t let the particles inside the hair – so you are lucky to have low porosity hair. If the hair is somewhere in the middle of water level – you have medium porosity hair.

The lower your hair dives, the higher the porosity.