The 8 Best Oils for Natural Hair
Natural hair gurus flock to oils for a good reason. If you've been on this natural hair journey for any length of time, I'm sure you've heard of the favorites like olive oil and coconut oil. Here at Qhemet, we take the ingredient selection process a step further and seek out additional premium oils with excellent track records to ensure the health and growth of your hair.
Oils can be used to condition, seal-in moisture, smooth, soften, add slip and lubricity and shine to hair. A full, healthy head of kinks and coils always has an oil behind it that's responsible for the glow, that extra factor that makes it look especially radiant.
By carefully curating the natural oils we use in our products, we're able to formulate products to meet the specific needs of the range of afro textures. Whether your hair is 4C or 3C, thin or thick or high or low porosity, we have the perfect product for you! In this article, we'll describe the benefits of the various oils we use so you'll know which oils are best for you and why, as the first step to healthy hair is knowlege. So let's get started.
1. Olive Oil
Most naturals are pretty familiar with olive oil. It's often used as a conditioner and a pre-poo oil. Pre-pooing or pre-shampooing is a moisture retention method that involves coating the hair with oil before shampooing to keep it soft after rinsing.
Olive oil is an ancient beauty staple first used in Africa and the Mediterranean. It is a must have for hair health as it strengthens hair follicles while adding shine and luster to your curls.
Olive oil is packed with nutrients like vitamins E and K and omega-6 fatty acids which help protect the hairs keratin layer. It's no surprise that olive oil also possesses anti-fungal properties which can help combat dandruff.
Because olive oil works so well with water and humectants to boost their moisture retention capacity, we added it to all of our moisturizers!
Experience the nourishing richness of our Olive Oil products:
- Amla & Olive Heavy Cream
- Burdock Root Butter Cream
- Aethiopika Hydrate & Twist Butter
- Olive & Honey Hydrating Balm
Our Amla & Olive Heavy Cream, especially, is a powerhouse moisturizer that keeps the driest hair dry dewy soft and supple for days!
2. Castor Oil
Naturals love this oil and swear by it for healthy hair growth, length retention, shine and overall hair health. Native to tropical East Africa, castor oil is derived from the castor bean and is traditionally used in hair care to hydrate, protect, boost growth and soften dry, coarse hair.
Castor oil is unique in that it's rich in ricinoleic fatty acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid that also acts as a humectant. Thus, castor oil behaves not only as a softner, lubricant and occlusive but it's also capable of drawing moisture to the hair and locking it in.
Due to its anti-inflammatory and healing properties, castor oil can be used to treat dry, flaky scalp conditions and damaged follicles.
Castor oil is so perfectly suited to afro/coily hair that we wouldn't be surprised if it was genetically modified many millenia ago to possess all of the properties required to keep textured hair healthy. We've witnessed the amazing benefits of regular castor oil use on dry, damaged and slow growing hair and can attest to its restorative properties. We use it extensively in all of our heavier products! These products are perfect for coarse, thick and/or dry 4C hair.
Boost your moisture, shine and growth with our Castor Oil products:
- Amla & Olive Heavy Cream
- Castor & Moringa Softening Serum
- Coconut & Green Tea Softening Serum
- Castor & Amla Nourishing Pomade
Take a look at our Castor Oil Collection for Maximum Moisture & Growth here.
3. Moringa Oil
You probably haven't heard about the amazing benefits of this exceptional oil so we'll catch you up to speed. The Moringa Tree, also known as the Miracle Tree, is native to parts of Africa and India. Its bark, sap, seeds, oil, leaves, roots and flowers are used in the production of traditional medicine.
Seeds from the Moringa Tree produce a nutrient rich, luxurious oil that readily sinks into the hair strands, creating a smooth, satiny finish and feel. Moringa oil imparts shine, slip and lubricity to dry, tangled hair. Its high vitamin E content helps stimulate circulation to the scalp and hair follicles, aiding hair growth and reducing shedding.
This versatile oil is used in both our lighter and heavier products.
See what our luxurious Moringa Oil products can do for your hair:
4. Coconut Oil
This oil is a favorite among naturals and considered essential to strong, healthy hair.
The use of coconut oil is prolific in tropical regions such as South and Central America, Africa and most of Asia. The uses are so respected that they were documented in texts dating back as far as 1,500 BC.
The structure of coconut oil allows for easy absorption, giving both skin and hair a soft, smooth feel. This oil has an affinity to the proteins inside the hair shaft which reinforces its structure, helping to strengthen each strand and limit the damage that exposure to the sun, heat and chemicals can cause. This oil also has the ability to re-establish the skin's natural antimicrobial and acid barrier.
Because coconut oil doesn't weigh down the hair, you can find it in most of our lightweight products.
Strengthen brittle, damaged hair with our Coconut Oil products:
- Moringa Tree Conditioning Ghee
- Coconut & Green Tea Softening Serum
- Tea Tree & Lavender Therapeutic Pomade
5. Green Tea Oil
Tea seed oil is extracted from the seeds of the camellia oleifera plant which is native to China. This nourishing oil is rich in vitamins A, B, C and E and is a great source of antioxidants, plant collagen and elastin, essential components that create strong, resilient hair.
Its smooth, lightweight texture won't weigh down hair or cause build-up making it perfect for thin, fine and low porosity hair. This premium, softening and finishing oil is used in our latest hair serum!
Use our nourishing Green Tea Oil product to smooth and silken frizzy hair:
6. Rice Oil
Since we only use the best of the best, it makes sense that we'd use rice bran oil!
Rich in vitamin E and ceramides, this luscious oil helps protect and flatten the cuticle layer of hair to prevent protein and moisture loss. When cuticles lie flat, the moisture deposited into the strands doesn't leak out. Its high smoke point makes it ideal as a heat protectant during heat styling too. If your hair is protein sensitive, ceramides are a great way to strengthen your hair and reduce split ends without using protein.
Get stronger, smoother hair with our Rice Oil product:
Our Aethiopika Butter smoothes down hair and reduces frizz, extending the life of twisted and plaited styles.
7. Grape Seed Oil
Grape seed oil is made from the seeds of wine producing grapes. It is the lightest of oils and virtually odorless.
Popular within Mediterranean and North African cultures, the presence of its leaves found in ancient temples and houses attests to its cultural significance. Grape seed oil is rich in essential fatty acids, phenols (tocopherols) and steroids (campesterol, beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol). It also contains proanthocyanidins, potent antioxidants which have been shown in independent studies to help hair grow in thicker.
Use our moisture packed Olive & Honey Hydrating Balm below to experience the impressive effects of grapeseed oil on hair!
Reinforce dry, dull strands with our Grape Seed Oil product:
8. Amla fruit
The Amla fruit is a natural antioxidant and rich source of Vitamin C. When macerated, the fruit yields an oil that has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine to condition the hair and scalp. It is said to penetrate the scalp, delay pigment loss and strengthen hair at its root, reducing shedding and promoting stronger, healthier hair growth.
If you are looking for premium, effective products rich in African and Ayurvedic ingredients like Amla and Castor Oils to hydrate your hair and maximize growth, then you need the products listed below.
Experience exceptional nourishment and growth with our Amla products:
GET THE HAIR YOU WERE MEANT TO HAVE!
When we endeavored to create high quality hair products free of mineral and petroleum oils, we looked to our past for inspiration. That search led us to explore the ingredients used in traditional Afro-Ayurvedic hair dressings. Kinky/coily hair is naturally healthy, long and strong but achieving healthy hair can be a challenge when most mainstream products marketed to us contain damaging ingredients that keep it short, brittle and dry. At Qhemet, we intentionally incorporate many of the same tried and true ingredients our ancestors used in our products to help you along your journey towards the lush, healthy hair you were meant to have!
