How To Olive Oil Your Hair

Let's keep it existent: You put your hair through the ringer almost every mean solar day. From cuts to colour, heat to highlights, and countless production chemicals and deep treatments, plus, the general tug-o-state of war that often happens with even the simplest of styles, you're asking a lot from it. To be honest, you lot should be thankful that it still wants to hang out with you!

That'south why when y'all c an give your hair a trivial extra TLC, you lot'll desire to brand smart choices that boost hair health. Of class, there are almost a l-leven new products on the shelves and fifty-fifty more popping up online every xxx seconds, all promising to solve those problems and transform your hair. And, uh, that'south not overwhelming at all, correct? Exactly. The proficient news is, sometimes the best pilus remedies tin can be institute at home — usually right in your kitchen. We'd like yous to introduce y'all the benefits of using olive oil for pilus (and what the experts are saying well-nigh it).

What are the benefits of olive oil for hair?

"Yous tin apply it in and so many ways," says Gabrielle Corney, a glory hairstylist and licensed cosmetologist living in New York City. She recommends trying it as a hot olive oil hair treatment. "You can also add olive oil to a deep conditioner to really soften the hair," Corney says.

Or use a small amount of it to the hair and scalp as a daily styling shot of moisture as well equally for adding some luster and smoothen. Used alongside a healthy hair care regimen, olive oil for hair brings enough of good to the table. But recollect, Corney says, a trivial goes a long style. "Too much of it can counterbalance the pilus down."

The Good Housekeeping Institute experts too annotation that at that place are corrective benefits to using olive oil for hair.

"In certain regions of the world, olive oil has been used in lather making as well as directly applying to hair and skin for thousands of years," says Birnur Aral, P.h.D., director of the Health, Beauty & Environmental Sciences Lab. "the claimed cosmetic benefits of olive oil for hair care range from preventing dandruff to softening and conditioning via DIY masks which are left on hair for one-half hour to several hours and then rinsed off."

Should I apply actress virgin olive oil for my hair?

When information technology comes to your hair, not but any ol' version of olive oil volition do. Become for extra-virgin (EVOO); it's the highest-quality olive oil yous tin can buy. It's an unrefined oil — meaning information technology is not treated with chemicals or heat — and it has to come across very specific standards to receive the "extra-virgin" stamp. EVOO is made in a particular way that allows the oil to retain more the olives' natural vitamins and minerals.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pompeian amazon.com

$15.99

Can you employ olive oil for hair growth?

Brusk answer: olive oil is no magic bean, and it hasn't been proven to abound hair. It also won't thicken your hair. "What helps your hair is not having split ends that split at the same rate that it grows. Yous have internet zero that way," says Craig Carter, a motion-picture show and TV pilus stylist based in New York City.

In fact, Carter is largely against using olive oil in your hair. "Cooking oils should not be used on pilus," he says. "The molecules are besides big to penetrate the of import cuticle layer of the pilus shaft and accept any conditioning or nutritious benefits. The molecules end up just sitting on the pilus shaft, collecting dust."

To illustrate the point, Carter likens cuticle layer of the hair to the trunk a palm tree. The former leaves autumn away and new ones grow over that in an overlapping effect. "The cuticle layer pulls away from the 'bark of the tree' like a flap, opening and closing," he explains. "When that 'flap' opens, that's how the nutrients get into the deeper layer of the hair." And when they simply sit on top, the hair will await shiny. But that's just a visual trick, Carter says. "The olive oil is simply reflecting light. Soon information technology volition get hold on to dust and that temporary shine will irksome."

Then does olive oil actually aid as a hair protectant?

Carter gives a very soft yeah, with 1 big caveat. "You're basically deep frying your pilus!" he says. Also, olive plus estrus doesn't equal shiny pilus, he adds. "It just makes information technology greasy."

For can't-miss news, skillful beauty communication, genius home solutions, delicious recipes, and lots more, sign up for the Skilful Housekeeping newsletter .

Subscribe Now

Nicole Blades Nicole Blades is a novelist, speaker, and freelance announcer who covers women's wellness, race and culture, books and publishing, and stories of reinvention for various national print and digital magazines.