How To Buy Hair Products: Oils

grapeseed-oil

One of the items we begin to value and use a lot more at the beginnings of our hair journey is oils and butters.  Before my hair journey I never ever sealed my hair. I knew natural oils were good for our hair but didn’t use them on my hair.
I realised soon after starting Hairducation that some readers get a little confused about what types of oils and butter they should use.
I have written a post about oils on a hair journey which you can read here but this post will share a little more information and give a lot of good tips for buying oils for use on your hair journey.

In this post I will discuss the types of oils needed on a hair journey, how to use them, the best places to find them and what to look out for when buying them. Enjoy

 

Types of Oils Needed On A Hair Journey

Petroleum and mineral oils are common examples of synthetic oils.  These are okay when used as a sealant however they can’t be absorbed by hair and scalp.  It is therefore always better to use natural oils on a hair journey.
There are two main types of natural oils used on a hair journey, carrier oils and essential oils.

Carrier Oils and Butters
Natural carrier oils contains so many nutrients and vitamins which work very well on our hair and scalp and have so many uses on a hair journey. They are usually obtained from the fruit, nuts, seeds or kernels of plants.  Carrier oils commonly used on a hair journeys include
Olive, coconut, Jamaican black castor, almond, argan, avocado, grapeseed oils and shea butter.  Some ladies also use ayurvedic oils like Amla and Bhringraj oils

Essential Oils
Essential oils are optional on a hair journey.  They are not used for sealing. Many essential oils have anti bacterial and antifungal properties; they can also be very relaxing and refreshing and help to stimulate hair growth.  They are very potent or strong and must be diluted with carrier oils before use.  They should not be used by pregnant ladies without first consulting with your doctor.

 

How to Use Oils On A Hair Journey
 

Oils can be used  in the following ways

  • Pre-pooing
  • To seal in moisture ( essential oils should not be used to seal)
  • Can be mixed into conditioners
  • Can be used for scalp massages
  • As a lubricant to help with detangling
  • Some carrier oils like coconut oil are great for boosting shine
  • Can be mixed into relaxers for texlaxing ( essential oils should NEVER be mixed in with relaxers or used in the final week before relaxing or texlaxing)

 

Where To Buy Oils

Supermarket
Carrier oils are usually best sourced in your supermarket aisles because so many of them are used for cooking. Most supermarkets will have extra virgin cold pressed oils like olive oil and grapeseed oil on their shelves.  Look for them in the food aisles not in the hair and skin aisles.

Local Markets
For ladies in Nigeria and Africa in general most local markets will have butters like Shea butter or coconut oil available for purchase.

Healthy Food Stores
These are also a good place to find oils, butters and essential oils.  Most carry an impressive range of oils.

Your local BSS or Hair and Beauty Shop
You should be able to oils here as well.  A lot of these stores tend to sell mixed oils or blended oils which are okay so long as you buy the ones that are all natural  ( no petroleum, petrolatum or mineral oils).
A great thing about a lot of hair and beauty stores is that they are a good place to find ayurvedic oils.

 

How To Buy Oils- What You Should Look Out For

Make sure it is 100
100% natural that is.
The ingredients should be 100 natural and free from synthetic oils.  Preferably there should be only one item listed in the products ingredients.

 

Keep it Cold and Raw

olive
Try to buy oils that have cold pressed or extra virgin cold pressed written on the bottle.  This means the process of obtaining the oil from the plant was done without the use of heat.  Oils that are cold pressed and are still raw retain more of their nutrients and goodness in comparison to those created with heat.

 

Natural Mixes
Some ladies prefer to mix their oils themselves whilst others would rather purchase premixed oils.  Some brands of hair oils of greases are premixed and can be quite great.
If you decide to buy a premixed oil or hair grease, look through the ingredients listed and ensure it does not include synthetic oils.

 

Dark Bottles

castor oil
Extra virgin cold pressed oils and essential oils tend to be sold in dark bottles as this helps to block sunlight.  Sunlight can have an effect of the nutrients and quality of the oil so dark bottles are a plus.
Please note that some great quality oil brands are sometimes sold in clear jars or bottles.  This does not mean that they are not good quality.  All you have to do is keep oils out of the sunlight.
Don’t Rely on the Front Label
If a hair oil or grease/pomade is labelled as coconut oil, or olive oil, or shea butter, etc but when you look at the ingredients the items listed first are petrolatum, petroleum jelly or mineral oil,  put the oil down and walk away.

 

Special Tip For Buying Essential Oils
100% pure essential oils are usually sold in very small bottles (usually 10ml to 30ml).  This is because they are really strong and only a few drops is needed for each use.  Some companies however sell essential oils in quite big bottles and label them in large print as 100% of the essential oil, eg 100% rosemary oil or 100% tea tree oil.  However somewhere on the bottle in small print will be written “ this is 100% rosemary oil blended with almond oil”.

This isn’t really bad because it is an all natural mix, the labelling of such oils are however very misleading because many ladies buy these type of oils thinking that they are buying a pure essential oil.
I always recommend that ladies buy 100% pure essential oils as this allows them to blend it with their own choice of carrier oils and they can determine how much to blend themselves.

 

My Personal Favourite Oils

Through my hair journey I have always used the following oils, olive, coconut, Jamaican black castor oils.  For essentials oils rosemary and peppermint are my must haves.
I have tried many many many other types of oils but always come back to these five.
What are your favourite oils and how do you use it?

 

 
Initially intended to include advice for buying hair gels I this post but it would have been too long so I decided to just talk about oils for now. My next post will be a short and sweet styling post.  Now that I have committed myself I hope I don’t end up with epic fails
Come back soon ladies and happy hair journey

x

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow

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20 Comments

  1. Ope
    September 17, 2015 / 9:08 pm

    Thank you for this post Lade! Very informative.
    Please is it possible for us to subscribe for new blog posts; so we can get email alerts whenever a new blog post is up?

    • omolade
      Author
      October 11, 2015 / 6:10 pm

      Hello Ope
      Thank you and I am glad you liked this post. I don’t have a subscription option at the moment but if you want to receive alerts when I have a new post please follow Hairducation on Bloglovin .
      x
      Lade

  2. maryam
    September 18, 2015 / 3:36 am

    i love rosemary oil, coconut oil and JBCO

    • omolade
      Author
      October 11, 2015 / 6:11 pm

      I love those three too
      🙂

  3. Sly
    September 18, 2015 / 6:00 pm

    So….i just relaxed my hair and it came out beautiful!!! Upper bra length!!! Please,can i use the castor oil sold in drug stores?

    • omolade
      Author
      October 11, 2015 / 6:12 pm

      Hello Sly
      Yes you can but the black castor oil is less processed and retains more of its nutrients and qualities.
      hope that helps
      x
      Lade

  4. Nicole
    September 18, 2015 / 6:28 pm

    Yesterday I permed my hair with Dr. Miracles’s no lye relaxer after 9 months without a relaxer. I really dreaded it but I was so very frustrated with my hair. Well, now my hair is very dry and it is still pretty thick. I have been putting a oil cream conditioner in my hair made with coconut and jojoba oil (Pantene). Can you please give me some things I can start doing immediately to prevent damaging my hair? Also, do you have any suggestions on how often I should put heat in my hair at this point?

    • omolade
      Author
      October 11, 2015 / 6:17 pm

      hello Nicole
      Out of curiosity why did you stretch for 9 months?
      I don’t know if you have a regimen, if not I suggest you should create and follow one. the information in the how to care for black hair menu bar will help.
      I suggest you deep condition your hair regularly to help reduce the dryness . I never recommend heat for hair but if you do chose to use heat try not to do so more that once a month or at most twice a month.
      I hope that helps
      x
      Lade

  5. September 19, 2015 / 8:28 pm

    The oils I have are olive oil, coconut oil, kernel oil, JBCO and tea tree oil( essential oil).
    My must haves are olive and coconut.
    I have a mix of castor oil and coconut oil I use for my edges and scalp massages.
    Also have another mix of all in moderate quantities..i use it for sealing after moisturizing. A little of this goes a long way and I don’t seal daily.

    I also mix some of the oils with shea butter and use for my skin.

    • omolade
      Author
      October 11, 2015 / 6:45 pm

      Thank you so much for sharing Tamie
      The oils you use are all so popular amongst ladies on a hair journey because they work so well and I am glad they work for you too.
      x
      Lade

  6. zaezi
    September 21, 2015 / 9:32 pm

    Coconut oil nd shea butter r my must haves. I NEVER use these commercial petroleum stuff eva on my hair…. Coconut oil is my best nd my hair loves it. When it comes to essential oils ….my fav is peppermint. Just a few drop nd it feels so gud.

    • omolade
      Author
      October 11, 2015 / 6:42 pm

      Hello Zaezi
      I love love love coconut oil and peppermint oils too.
      Thanks for sharing.
      x
      Lade

  7. benedicta oforiwaa larbi
    September 27, 2015 / 4:45 pm

    LOVE YOUR BLOG LADE…..HOPE MY HAIR GROW LIKE YOUR OWN IN NO TIME

    • omolade
      Author
      October 11, 2015 / 6:37 pm

      Thank you so much Benedicta…I am sure it can
      x
      Lade

  8. Felicia
    October 7, 2015 / 10:40 am

    Hello. Every morning I use (water,coconut oil and jojoba oil) is it good enough for a start? Thanks for the tips

    • omolade
      Author
      October 11, 2015 / 6:36 pm

      Hello Felicia
      water and oils are okay but our hair needs more than water. water has a different PH level to our hair so it doesn’t leave our hair in its most natural state.
      I suggest you mix a little leave in conditioner with the water to help make it the same ph level as your hair.
      Then you can seal with coconut oil or jojoba oil

  9. Tonya
    November 20, 2015 / 10:07 pm

    Hello
    I would love to use Black Castor Oil but the last time i put it in my hair, my hair started to itch like crazy..I wonder if i could be allergic to it? Someone told me i purchased the wrong one and someone else told me to add coconut to it. My questions is…#1 Is there a right Black Castor Oil to buy? #2 Should I add coconut oil to the mix and see if this helps with the itching? thanks!

  10. adaeze
    February 11, 2016 / 2:03 am

    God bless you lade,off to the mall

  11. Osa Dada
    May 25, 2016 / 10:31 pm

    Hello Lade,
    Can you please educate us on hemp/hemp seed oil?

  12. Timilehin
    January 6, 2017 / 4:06 am

    Helloo
    I really really love your blog, and your hair story! It’s basically my hair bible. I am new to the hair journey thing, inspired by your blog so I’m really just understanding stuff. I have to say but ild try to be brief. I got vitals olive oil breeze shampoo and their mayonnaise and their leave in conditioner and their olive oil. I realised later that the breeze shampoo contained sulphate but I think I can just get a baby shampoo for more regular washes can I? because a shampoo without sulphate is not so easy to find. But this is not my question. I’m still not clear on how to use the oils… I also got extra virgin olive oil and I got coconut oil and I have Shea butter but I’ve been staring at all three. You said I could add them to my conditioner? Did you mean my mayonnaise or the leave in? Because I read your post not to mix the moisturisers and sealants. Also, Ive been moisturising my hair everyday for up to two weeks now and it’s been a miracle how healthier it looks and feels. I’ve been battling dandruff a while now but it has very nearly disappeared since I started this journey. all thanks to your blog but that aside, what I do is to just start squirting the leave in into my dry hair to dampen it and then use the vitals virgin olive oil to seal it, concentrating at the tips like u Said. So can I just get a big bottle and pour all the oils I have together to seal everyday? And finally, the leave in conditioner I got, finishes quickly because I use it everyday and alot, so in two weeks, I’ve used a whole bottle. And honestly I’ve been tempted to just pour water on my hair and then use the oil to seal. Ibe gotten another one tho but I’ve been searching for how to make my own moisturisers, the research of which I found frustrating because I saw ingredients I’m not sure I can find in Nigeria. But I saw in your replies to a comment that I could add water to my leave in conditioner that have me so much joy… How much water? And do u have more tips for me? Thanks alot!