Hairstyle World Article for Women

Oiling

June 14th, 2006

by Heidi W.,
Fundamentally, there are only 3 products, I believe, that anyone needs: shampoo, conditioner and oil.

There are only a few basic tools needed: a wide toothed comb, a regular toothed comb and a boar bristle brush.

People’s choices do vary as to what works for their hair, and only time and some experimentation will reveal exactly the right combination of products, tools will work for your hair type.

What matters most when requesting advise, for future reference, is type of hair (straight, curly, wavy, frizzy, and texture: thick, medium, fine extra fine) and hair care: products, how detangle, how wash, how one dries their hair.

Oiling is a fabulous way to keep the moisture content high all the way to the tips, and works best in combination with other details. It is the combination of the details that creates beautiful hair: excellent detangling, proper washing, good quality products in shampoo and conditioner choices, high quality detangling tools (no burrs, no seams on those combs), oiling and dusting, and wearing hair contained for the most part (updos, braids), and even at night sleeping on a smooth surface pillowcase such as a satin pillowcase—even braiding or bunning hair at night.

There are a variety of oil choices…the two main ones tend to be Jojoba Oil, and Coconut Oil. Most here do use Jojoba Oil, but I prefer Coconut Oil for my knee length, straight and quite fine hair. I like a heavier oil to provide a protective coating to my very fine hair (indeed, hold one single strand up and it’s nearly invisible in the light). HobaCare is a very high quality oil that is cold expeller pressed exactly once. When shopping for Jojoba Oil, look for an oil that is golden in color yet quite clear and rather see-through. There’s many that are muddier in their color and a tad murky looking to appear through with a duller golden hue. The Coconut Oil I choose is by Spectrum Naturals, pressed specifically for hair and skin use. It comes as a solid in a 5 oz. jar, and because it’s solid, is easy to figure out the right amount for your hair type and length. You can choose other oils such as Sweet Almond Oil. I know of one person who uses vegetable oil (she didn’t say which brand) achieving beautiful results; however, I have been advised that many such oils are pressed differently (two or more times) to withstand high heat (for frying and such) and thus, the acid content is higher. In days of yore (and likely still) other cultures have used olive oil; however, it tends to be rather heavy and is pressed differently for sustaining high temperatures (and not breaking down). Oils such as flax seed oil are not intended for hair use although they are not pressed to sustain high heat.

To oil the hair is quite easy. Take a small amount of oil, perhaps 2 drops, or if scraping a solid such as coconut oil, barely a fingernail full….and rub between the palms to warm and melt a bit. There should be a very sheer layer of oil on the palms as a result–barely discernable except for the shine or reflection in the light. Then apply the oil to pre-washed, already fully dry and detangled hair. Apply only from the earlobes on down. Do not apply to scalp hair to leave on for days as this will upset your pH balance of the acid mantle (the scalp skin). Set the palms on either side of the hair length on one side and simply downstroke through the hair. Then repeat on the other side. Those with thick hair or wavy/curly hair need to separate the hair more to get more at the deeper inward layers to get some oil there.

This oil is then left in as the leave-in conditioner and not removed until the next hair washing (which we recommend to attempt to do around twice a week at best). Remember, scalp hair needs to be washed; typically the length does not. The idea is to allow oils to build up that is produced naturally from the sebacious glands (on the scalp) and then distribute these oils, and probably applying some more oil to the length, to more evenly distribute the oil. To distribute the oil, this is where a Boar Bristle Brush (BBB) enters the picture.

A BBB is not intended as a detangling tool and it should not be used on wet hair. A BBB can cause damage if there’s a tangle or wet hair…and it also shouldn’t be used if the hair is not in overall good health, such as suffering from excess frizz, excess flyaway, a fair amount of damage still, damage from perm/coloring… However, a BBB can be used once the hair is stabilized in its basic strength and integrity to move the oils around. Unlike a detangling tool which is used bottom to top, the BBB is used, generally, top to bottom. If one encounters a tangle, switch back to a comb to work it out. I switch back and forth frequently. A BBB does not penetrate the thickness of one’s hair so it must be used topside and underside, separately, and this is where the 100 strokes likely derives from. A lot of strokes to work in that oil. A BBB does cause fullness of the hair but this is easily calmed by following with a downstroke of the palm.

If you’re preparing for a hair wash, it is then OK to put some oil on the scalp hair (although you probably won’t need it b/c the reason to wash the hair is there’s an excess of buildup of oil on the scalp). You can also oil length heavily on purpose prior to a hair wash.

When oiling to leave in, a small amount goes a long way! So be conservative. You can always add more, even a day or so later, you can add more as needed. But it’s easy to do too much: if the hair sections a bit or looks a tad greasy-ish, then you put in too much. Hair readily absorbs the oil. It does not rub off on clothing or linens. However, you may find you need to change your pillowcase a little more often nevertheless because of some very fine acne along the hairline (typical for some of us who go an extra day without a hair wash). With a little experimentation, you will find the right number of days to skip to build up oil and create a beautiful healthy shine and increase elasticity of the hair in due time.

In my opinion, there are no down sides to oiling: only benefits. Curly hair people will like it for the weight it imparts showing off the pattern of the curls; increases moisture content; provides a protective layer against damage such as splits and so forth; the weight helps the hair to move as one body (very appealing to the eye); frizz concerns are reduced; brittleness & dryness cease; and the hues of one hair color come forward resulting in a beautiful sheen that catches the light in interesting ways; and finally, the hair becomes supremely soft.

Oiling should be done consistently after each hair wash as a leave in conditioner. It is the consistency that matters most–not doing it once every so often.

There are those who like to put it in a spritzer bottle diluting it in water & applying after a fresh wash yet while the hair is still wet. This is fine if that works for you; however, do know, that the oil does not “capture” water to stay on the hair. Oil, especially Jojoba, is meant to mimic the natural oils produced by the sebacious glands. This oil is called “sebum” and has a waxy texture (you may note that when your hair oil builds up on the scalp that you can then remove what feels like a soft rolled bead…that is sebum.) This waxy medium is the protection for hair and the reason hair shines. Frequent washing removes this and also causes excess build up in a day or so. You can train yourself and your scalp to change its rate of production over the course of a month or so.

So, give it a whirl. Remember that you will have to do it around 2 times before you get the hang of it and find the right amount for you. A little really does go a long way. You can fan your hair out on a soft cotton sheet and oil that way if you like - I find this method gets to more of the individual strands then.

Applied oil is easily washed out in your next hair wash.

Oils can be found in aromatherapy stores, organic or whole food stores (beauty section), sometimes vitamin stores carry it, even high end grocery stores now have it. The oils we’re speaking of are not salad dressing or cooking oils: they are “carrier” oils–the kind that “essential” oils are diluted in. (Essential oils are scented oils such as rosemary, grapefruit, geranium rose and rose and these scented oils must be diluted in jojoba (or some other similar carrier oil) because if applied to the skin in full strength, a reaction can occur…including a blood stream issue for those who are more sensitive. Also those who are pregnant or sun sensitive should really read up on essential oil use to be able to protect themselves properly. Not all oils are hair friendly, either. But the ones I named above are OK for hair. Simplers offers a booklet/pamphlet if you purchase one of their oils to get a quick overview of the whole scoop with essential oils. You can also type into a search engine, “essential oils” online and find a plethora of information on the internet.)

You can mix one or two drops with your jojoba or coconut oil to scent your hair with. Do change the amount of jojoba (or whatever your choice) to accommodate this addition so as not to over-oil your hair in one sitting. (In a way, there’s no such thing as too much oil over the course of, say, a week, but in one sitting it can be too much.) Also, I notice that when I apply more to my palms for the next application (I do about 6 applications to get all of my hair length, 3 each side) that there’s a bit of buildup on my palms, so sometimes I have to pat my palms on a paper towel to remove excess so as not to apply too much oil to that section of hair.

Well, hope this helps you out, and Happy Oiling! And again, we hope to see more of you. Do let us know how your oiling goes!

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