Long gone are the days of simply just using “grease and water” to style your kinky/curly strands, well, at least for some. As the wave of going natural with our hair kicked in and beautifully took over, many naturals dropped conventional hair care products filled with hard to pronounce chemicals and opted for more natural hair products.
Whether you’ve become a total product junkie experimenting with what works for your hair or have found your trusty staple products in your hair care routine, chances are those products likely are composed of some amazing ingredients, such as essential oils, to help not only only style your hair, but, to improve the health of your hair as well.
BlackDoctor.org had the pleasure of interviewing Head of Research & Development at Namaste Laboratories, LLC and ORS Hair Care Scientist, Nikisha Horn. She explained why essential oils are beneficial to your hair and how to incorporate them into your hair regimen.
Styling and Smoothing
When it comes to styling your hair, one essential oil that stands out is pequi oil.
Derived from the seeds of the Brazilian pequi fruit, pequi oil is relatively new to the hair care community, in particular, the ethnic hair community. It’s more known to be used for skin, but it does have some amazing benefits for hair, too. “Not only do you get nourishing properties, but, [with pequi oil] you also get great smoothing, anti-frizz and anti-humidity properties which we find are greatly translated into styling products,” explained Horn. Pequi oil is rich in vitamins A and E, antioxidants and natural fatty acids that penetrate into the hair to help smooth your curls and create long-lasting hold.
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Try: Smooth Control Styling Gelee
Hair Strengthening
Baobab oil comes from the seeds of Baobab fruit trees in Africa and contains vitamins A, E and F as well as omegas 3, 6, 9 and is used to help strengthen and support hair elasticity.“Baobab is a superfruit oil that is known in skincare and also has wonderful repair and nourishing properties,” said Horn.
“Moringa oil is an African oil and it gives wonderful strengthening properties as well,” shared Horn.
Try: HAIRepair Restoring Conditioner or Strand Strengthening Styling Gelee
Hair Growth
There are quite a few oils and essential oils that are great for hair growth such as lavender and Jamaican Black Castor Oil, however, Saw Palmetto essential oil has great properties that are able to stimulate healthy hair growth as well. Saw Palmetto is a plant whose berries can be used as an alternative medicine for treating hair loss and increasing healthy hair growth.
“You want to make sure you have a healthy hair and scalp environment,” says Horn. “You want to make sure you have oils that really lubricate and keep the hair in a very health state [to promote hair growth].”
Try: Saw Palmetto Oil
Treating Dry Scalp/Dandruff
Horn explained that "interceptive oils such as tea tree oil or peppermint oil" are ideal when trying to treat dry scalp or getting rid of dandruff "because what they’re doing is acting more as a soothing agent for the hair scalp." Tea tree oil has anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial products and is beneficial for preventing buildup and maintaining a healthy scalp.
Peppermint oil has a cooling effect that rejuvenates hair follicles, unclogs pores and its restorative properties help return the scalp to its normal flow of skin oils, which helps reduce dry scalp and dandruff.
Try: Tea Tree Oil
Whether your hair is natural or relaxed, essential oils truly are a gift from nature, especially when you know how to use them on your tresses.
Extracted from a wide range of plants such as flowers, seeds, leaves and peels, essential oils are highly concentrated and potent so they typically need to be diluted in a carrier oil, such as coconut, jojoba or olive oil, or in a beauty product containing essential oils. Essential oils work great when combined with carrier oils to use as a pre-poo treatment before shampooing your hair, deep conditioning mask or as a hot oil treatment.
For more ORS products containing these oils, shop online at www.orshaircare.com
