Natural Oils That Are Good For Our Hair

If you have kinky, coily hair or what we call “skuurpot”, then you definitely know our hair is prone to dryness and breakage! Now this is were natural oils come to our rescue!

One thing about the structure of our hair, is that it’s very coily and the natural oil from our scalp doesn’t get to travel easily down the hair shaft; hence the dry and straw-leeking feeling we get. Another important point to note is that  oils don’t really work very well on their own, unless water or a water-based product is used as a base. In essence, the oil is useful for ”locking” in the moisture in your hair…

Below we’ve listed a few good oils with a brief description of each one and why they are good for our hair.

Olive oil

This oil is quite popular and it’s used for many things; for example, your skin, face and of course for cooking :-)

Olive oil is one of those oils that penetrate the hair shaft and at the same time it helps to retain/seal in the moisture that is already there.  It’s also a popular oil for hot oil treatments and once you wash it out, it leaves your hair super soft and shiny!

Benefits: Olive oil is useful for ”…repairing split ends, making your hair shinier, silkier and more lustrous and it even helps heal dandruff…”.(http://www.buzzle.com/articles/little-known-olive-oil-benefits.html)

You can use your regular olive oil that is used for cooking (the best one is: extra virgin olive oil) or you can buy a bottle from Clicks (this is where I buy mine). However, I should warn you that extra virgin olive oil can be a bit pricey but a little  does goes a long way.

Coconut oil

Another good oil for our hair, is coconut oil (my personal favourite ). It doesn’t only smell divine (if you like the smell of coconuts) but it’s also a good sealant. You normally find it in solid form but in warmer temperatures it becomes a liquid. Even though it’s in solid form, once you rub it on your hands it melts, making it easier to apply into your hair. I normally apply it on slightly damp hair so that it can retain the moisture in my hair.

This oil really helps to keep my hair soft all day long. Be careful not to use too much as it will make your hear feel scrunchy & greasy.

Benefits: Coconut oil is good in nourishing your hair strands, thus preventing dryness and breakage. It also helps to stimulate hair growth by moisturising your scalp so that you don’t have any dry, dead skin that can clogg up the hair follicles (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/coconut-oil-for-hair.html)

Castor oil

I know you’re probably thinking “Eeeewww”, but this oil is good shem. Plus these days I hear you find them in different flavours (e.g. strawberry, peach etc)… I’ve personally never seen them so I just use the normal Clicks Castor oil. My hair breaks less now. I usually mix it with a bit of Olive oil for extra sheen & sealing after moisturizing. My twists & twist-outs also last longer if i apply it when twisting and to my twists daily; so it acts like a holding gel.

Tip: Just a teaspoon will do. Don’t apply a lot to avoid build up.

Benefits: This oil is highly recommended if you want to achieve hair thickness and promote hair growth because it has a substantial amount of Vitamin E. It also helps to keep the hair shiny and soft. Read more on its benefits here.

Have you used any of these oils and how do they work for you? What other good oils do you use and can recommend?