The Exciting World Of Natural Oils And Their Benefits in Hair Care Part 2.

So in the last post, I'd started talking about the various types of natural oils there are and how beneficial they are not just in hair care but in skin care as well.  While the list of carrier oils in my last post is by no means exhaustive, those are the more popular oils used in hair care so I'll be moving on to those wonderful, aromatic, power packed things called essential oils.

Now, as I'd mentioned in my last post, essential oils should NEVER be used directly on the skin or scalp as they are very potent and can cause irritations, headaches and other adverse reactions.

Because of their natural potency and healing benefits, many essential oils are important and beneficial in stimulating hair growth, the treatment of hair loss and damage, relieving and treating scalp conditions (dandruff, psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis, alopecia areata etc).

Essential oils should always be diluted with carrier oils and a general guide is 6 - 15 drops of essential oil per ounce of carrier oil - this can be adjusted to suit each person's need and sensitivity levels.

The Exciting World Of Natural Oils And Their Benefits In Hair Care - Part 1.

Before the 'revolution' in  black hair care began, a lot of hair products specifically targeted towards the care of our hair, were laden with mineral oil a.k.a parrafin liquidum and petroleum oil a.k.a Petrolatum (some of them still are actually). Now while these emollients are not 'bad' in of themselves, the effect they have on our strands in the long run is where the problem lies.

We know now that moisturizing our hair daily with a water based moisturizer and using a deep conditioning treatment weekly is a key factor in making our hair supple, well elasticized and breakage free. When we apply these moisturizers, it's like giving our hair a 'drink of water' - effectively quenching its thirst.

Now think of petroleum jelly - if you smear some on your hand and then pour water on that portion of hand, what happens? The water glides off as the petroleum jelly has created a 'barrier'.

The same thing happens with our hair! When we apply products laden with these substances, they create an un - permeable barrier and any moisture we try to apply subsequently, just sits on top of the strands instead of penetrating through and 'quenching' the hair's thirst. Result? Hair gets dry, brittle and eventually breaks off. This is even more pronounced for those who wash very rarely yet load these products on their hair and scalp very frequently.