Hey Lovelies!
This natural hair care post is to clear up a misconception/misunderstanding some naturalistas have when it comes to oils. Of course, I think they understand that not all oils are made the same or treat hair the same way. However, I do see some of you making a potentially dangerous mistake when it comes to the use of essential oils in your hair care regimen. Let me clear things up for you.
Essential Oils Should Not Be Used by Themselves
What do I mean by this? Essential oils are volatile. They are not meant to be applied directly to the skin. Their volatility can cause adverse skin reactions including what amounts to a chemical burn. I hear people say that they apply things like tea tree oil
or peppermint oil directly to their scalps and I wince. If they truly are applying pure essential oils to their scalp, they will eventually end up with sores on their scalp. I doubt these women are using pure tea tree and peppermint essential oils
because they haven't complained about their scalp burning or scabbing. Please I implore you DO NOT APPLY ESSENTIAL OILS DIRECTLY TO SKIN OR HAIR! You Must Dilute with a Carrier Oil or Liquid
You will find essential oils in the ingredient lists of tons of hair care products from hair oil blends to shampoos and conditioners. The essential oils chosen are diluted in these solutions, so they can perform whatever skin benefit they possess without harming it in the process.Essential Oils Don't Benefit Hair Directly
Say what? Yes, you read that correctly. Essential oils do not benefit hair directly. This means that applying them to hair won't provide you much benefit beyond smelling like the oil and potentially burning your skin when your hair comes in contact with it. Essential oils do benefit hair indirectly by treating the scalp. Different essential oils help control dandruff, clarify the scalp
, calm an itchy scalp, and stimulate blood flow
in the scalp which helps with healthy hair growth. Essential Oils Do Not Moisturize Your Hair
I say this because I have found a lot of hair care blog posts and articles on less than authoritative websites call carrier oils essential oils. This becomes confusing to people. Carrier oils are all lipids. This simply means they are fatty oils. Some are rich, thick liquids and some are solid in their natural states. All are fats. Fats or lipids are great moisturizers, and some are great for sealing the hair cuticle. Unless you have an allergy to the plant or fruit source the oil comes from, they are safe to use in their natural, undiluted form.Where confusion comes in is when these carrier oils are called essential oils. When carrier oils are called essential oils, this makes people think that true essential oils also moisturize the hair. In fact, they will do the opposite. Applying undiluted essential oils to the hair will cause hair dryness, not to mention skin burns as the hair comes in contact with the scalp and other skin. So, understand the difference.
I could go on and on talking about oils but then this post would never end. However, if you would like for me to write up a couple of posts about the essential oils and carrier oils that are most beneficial to hair, let me know in the Facebook comments below. I hope this will stop some of you from using essential oils incorrectly on hair and scalp. I don't want people hurting themselves or ruining their hair.
