Has your hair been feeling a little dry and uncared for recently? We all get that from time to time. Something as simple as a hot oil treatment can make all the difference to how your hair looks and feels.
Let’s take a look into why you should be doing a hot oil treatment for black hair care as well as the benefits and how to go about choosing the best oils for your hair.
***Please note that this site uses affiliate links if you would like to read the legal stuff you can find it here
What is A Hot Oil Treatment?
A hot oil treatment is where you add a mixture of warm moisturising oils to your hair in order to restore your hair’s vibrancy and shine.
Doing a hot oil treatment will help to improve the overall health of your hair as well as provide it with important nutrients that your hair needs to grow and be healthy.
What Are The Benefits of A Hot Oil Treatment?
Doing a hot oil treatment has many benefits for your hair. Here are a few of them that you should know about.
- Reduced appearance of frizz
- Increases the elasticity of your hair
- Improves dandruff
- Helps with blood circulation, therefore, improving growth potential
- Less risk of split ends
- Improved shine
- Helps to strengthen hair
- Improves the condition of dry hair
- Reduces hair breakage
When Should You Do A Hot Oil Treatment?
If you are experiencing quite a lot of dryness in your hair or your hair is looking a little bit dull and lifeless then you could probably do with a hot oil treatment.
I would say you could do a hot oil treatment once a month but if you feel there would be more benefit in doing it more often then you could perhaps switch to doing it every 2 weeks.
Personally speaking, I wouldn’t do it more often than that as you probably won’t notice much more difference in having done it more often.
How To Choose The Right Oils For Your Hair
The first thing to do is to find out what exactly your hair needs before you start. Are you trying to add more moisture or does your hair need more strength?
If you have dandruff then choosing oils such as coconut oil or jojoba oil are perfect.
Once you can answer that you will better know which oils to pick. Choosing random oils will not have any real benefit on your hair and may in actual fact have adverse effects.
Penetrating Oils
1. Coconut oil
Coconut oil is a very popular oil. It is known to be moisturising because it penetrates into the cuticles and moisturises from the inside out.
It has some really good nutrients in it such as Vitamin E and fatty acids. Fatty acids are great for black hair because it helps to reduce frizz and also increase the elasticity of your hair.
2. Avocado oil
Avocado oil is a less popular oil but that does not mean that it is any less effective. Avocado oil is really good for moisturising hair. It has a very high concentration of Vitamin E as well as fatty acids which are very good for dry and brittle hair.
It is a lightweight oil which also makes it perfect for those that have low porosity hair.
3. Olive oil
Another great oil for penetrating the cuticles of your hair is olive oil. Olive oil contains nutrients such as oleic acid which is an omega-9 fatty acid and this helps to strengthen the hair and also reduce the appearance of frizz.
Olive oil is a lightweight oil and has very good antioxidant properties. What is really good about olive oil is its ability to smooth the cuticles and therefore add shine to your hair. In my opinion, olive oil is a great choice.
Sealing oils
1. Jojoba Oil
Jojoba oil is the oil that is closest to your hairs natural sebum. It is packed full of nutrients such as Vitamin E and fatty acids.
The special thing about jojoba hair oil is that it does not cause a lot of buildup like some other oils can, making it the perfect choice for a hot oil treatment.
2. Jamaican Black Castor Oil
Jamaican black castor oil is a really rich oil that is perfect for adding strength and shine to your hair.
It contains elements such as ricinoleic acid and omega-6 fatty acids which are perfect for strengthening hair and increasing elasticity.
Jamaican black castor oil is a great choice for sealing your hair.
3. Grapeseed Oil
If you are after an oil that is a great sealant for your hair grapeseed oil is a very good choice. Grapeseed oil is made up of Vitamin E, fatty acids and linoleic acid which are all great for hair care.
How To Do A Hot Oil Treatment For Black Hair
There are several variations that you can make to this method but essentially they are the same thing with very slight adjustments.
To begin with, take a bowl and add the oils that you intend to use.
Next, warm your oil mixture in the microwave for 10-20 seconds in the microwave. Try not to make the oil hot because you will kill the nutrients and also burn yourself.
Apply the oil to small sections of your hair one at a time. Make sure to cover all the strands of your hair. You can do this by using an applicator bottle like this one which will help you to distribute the oil more evenly.
Cover your hair with a shower cap and leave for 20 minutes then wash off.
What Are Some Great Essential Oils To Use?
As well as some of the oils that have already been mentioned essential oils are a great addition to your oil mixture.
These essential oils are a great occupant to your mixture:
Rosemary Oil
Rosemary oil is beneficial for stimulating hair growth and in the reduction of hair loss. It is a very strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, making it ideal for your hair care regimen.
Lavender Oil
Lavender oil is an excellent treatment for dandruff because it has anti-inflammatory properties. It is also great for your hair because it helps to reduce scalp irritation and promotes hair growth.
Peppermint Oil
Peppermint oil is great for stimulating blood circulation. When this happens it promotes hair growth and also helps to reduce hair loss.
The menthol in the oil is a natural astringent which will help to cleanse your scalp and also make it less oily.
Is It Better To Do A Homemade Treatment Or Get Something Shop Bought?
It really depends on what your overall goal is. If you are looking for the oils to achieve a specific purpose then it’s probably best to have something homemade.
Using something homemade will ensure that your hair receives all the nutrients that it needs.
If you just want a general boost from your hot oil treatment then a shop bought treatment could be the way to go.
Depending on the type you get you can use it several times before it finishes and you won’t have to fuss about with different oils.
You can get an off the shelf hot oil treatment here.
How To Get The Most Out Of Your Hot Oil Treatment
The best way to get the most out of your hot oil treatment is to do it on freshly washed hair.
By doing the treatment on clean hair it’s much easier for the oils to have a chance to penetrate the hair shaft and do the job that you want them to do.
Whilst you can do an oil treatment on dirty hair you will probably find that by having to give your hair a good wash afterwards you will be washing away the oils that you have just applied.
Both ways work but in my opinion, doing the treatment on freshly washed hair means that you get to keep more of the nutrients.
Final Thoughts On A Hot Oil Treatment For Black Hair
Hot oil treatments are a great way to revive your hair if it is feeling dull and lifeless.
The thing I love about hot oil treatments is that you can adapt them to suit your hair and how it is feeling at any one time, this will help you with hair growth.
Be sure to add a hot oil treatment to your hair regimen for healthy hair.
Have you tried a hot oil treatment before? How did you find it?
Related posts:
5 Benefits of doing a hot oil treatment you should know
4 Signs you have product build up
The best oils for low porosity hair