My latest rant about the “premiumization” of hair-oiling (read [NYT](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/08/style/hair-oiling-south-asian-black-beauty.html) covering Lily Singh’s Aavrani and Deepa Khosla’s Inde Wild) led a lot of users asking me about the the basics of hair oiling (dry scalp vs wet scalp?). I’ve compiled a simple 6-step process that I’ve used for at least 20 years. This is pretty much the only haircare routine I follow and have maintained long locks that grow so fast I begin to resemble a banyan tree.
Note: This guide is for ‘scalp’ oils and scalp oiling only. This is not for styling or anti-frizz or shine – which requires a different consideration.
All my recommendations for scalp oils below:
1. Muni Hair Oil: Has Bhringraj, Jatamansi (my favorite hair growth herbs) + Rosemary + Castor which makes it a powerful oil
2. Kama Ayurveda: Very popular luxury ayurveda oil with Bhringraj + Indigo (gives the oil a unique dark brown hue)
~~3. Dabur Amla Hair Oil~~ An oil I used in my childhood, but as the good users of reddit pointed out – contains significant mineral oil quantity. To note – it did not affect my hair, but good to generally keep away from mineral oils.
3. Parachute Coconut Oil: Good old, household-central virgin coconut oil. You can’t go wrong with this as a regular maintenance oil.
4. Indulekha: A very old concoction with ayurvedic herbs including Bhringraj. Might be a bit heavy, requires multiple washes.
PS 1: All oils above will cost you < $10 per ounce. Parachute is less than $2/ ounce.
PS 2: A word of philosophy that has kept me in good stead during oiling. The word ‘Sneha’ in sanskrit has two meanings: one for oiling and the second for love. Hair oiling has always, since ancient time, been a strong expression of love.
chowchow-kay on
As someone who is studying Ayurveda, I believe you left out the ‘king of oils’ – sesame oil. Cold pressed sesame oil will do wonders to your hair.
2 Comments
My latest rant about the “premiumization” of hair-oiling (read [NYT](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/08/style/hair-oiling-south-asian-black-beauty.html) covering Lily Singh’s Aavrani and Deepa Khosla’s Inde Wild) led a lot of users asking me about the the basics of hair oiling (dry scalp vs wet scalp?). I’ve compiled a simple 6-step process that I’ve used for at least 20 years. This is pretty much the only haircare routine I follow and have maintained long locks that grow so fast I begin to resemble a banyan tree.
Note: This guide is for ‘scalp’ oils and scalp oiling only. This is not for styling or anti-frizz or shine – which requires a different consideration.
All my recommendations for scalp oils below:
1. Muni Hair Oil: Has Bhringraj, Jatamansi (my favorite hair growth herbs) + Rosemary + Castor which makes it a powerful oil
2. Kama Ayurveda: Very popular luxury ayurveda oil with Bhringraj + Indigo (gives the oil a unique dark brown hue)
~~3. Dabur Amla Hair Oil~~ An oil I used in my childhood, but as the good users of reddit pointed out – contains significant mineral oil quantity. To note – it did not affect my hair, but good to generally keep away from mineral oils.
3. Parachute Coconut Oil: Good old, household-central virgin coconut oil. You can’t go wrong with this as a regular maintenance oil.
4. Indulekha: A very old concoction with ayurvedic herbs including Bhringraj. Might be a bit heavy, requires multiple washes.
PS 1: All oils above will cost you < $10 per ounce. Parachute is less than $2/ ounce.
PS 2: A word of philosophy that has kept me in good stead during oiling. The word ‘Sneha’ in sanskrit has two meanings: one for oiling and the second for love. Hair oiling has always, since ancient time, been a strong expression of love.
As someone who is studying Ayurveda, I believe you left out the ‘king of oils’ – sesame oil. Cold pressed sesame oil will do wonders to your hair.