Why Use Olive Oil for Hair?

It’s quite amusing that as precious as hair is, many people put it through the worst treatments in styling and beautification, from applying chemical products to coloring, heat and deep treatment, intense styling, careless pull, amongst many others. As if all these aren’t enough, the hair has to deal with external exposures like pollution and sunlight and is still subjected to more harsh treatment.

If you’re guilty of all these, you should be thankful to your hair for taking in so much. And one way to do that is to give the natural hair treatment that revives its health and encourages it to grow longer and stronger strands. While a thousand and one products can do this, your best option could be a home remedy you’ll most likely find in your kitchen – olive oil.

You would have heard how effective it is for the hair, but if not, this article will discuss why you ought to use olive oil for your hair and other health benefits you’ll derive from using it.

Olive Oil and Hair Care

Olive oil remains one of the oldest yet most potent hair care treatment potions you can ever think of. It’s reputed to add so much shine, softness, and resilience to the hair, all of which are made possible through its emollient properties, including squalene, oleic, and palmitic acids. Coincidentally, these are the same properties that are synthetically created and added to many shampoos and conditioners most people will spend their last money on.

That’s not to say buying shampoo or conditioner is bad. The point is that there’s always a cheaper yet more effective option to most hair care products. While there’s little research to justify its effects on the hair, it adds so much shine is enough indication that it’s beneficial to the hair. In addition, it penetrates the hair shaft and increases the moisture reserve that prevents dryness and hair breakage.

If you apply olive oil to your hair regularly, you’re bound to see some significant improvement in a short period. You can also combine it with other recommended hair care treatments to boost overall efficiency and improve outcomes. But to set things straight, why exactly should you use olive oil for your hair?

Why Should You Use Olive Oil for Your Hair?

Olive oil is rich in nutrients that the hair needs for proper growth and overall health. These nutrients include antioxidants and fatty acids. The following are some of the things these nutrients do for the hair:

1. Hair Nourishment and Conditioning

The hair we see on our heads isn’t a magical creation. Instead, it’s a product of the functions of some underlying cells in our body. These cells usually need some nutrients to perform optimally, and some of these nutrients are present in olive oil.

So using olive oil helps you nourish your hair growth cells to keep producing strong and healthy hairs that most people will admire and ask you for its secrets. It also conditions the hair by making it softer in texture and appearance. This naturally reduces the possibility for friction between the strands, resulting in a reduction in breakage that occurs when you’re combing or brushing the hair.

2. Soothes the Hair Scalp

Most hair infections begin at the scalp area, partly due to dryness and itchiness that’s not tended to on time and ultimately degenerates into folliculitis and other scalp infections. Using olive oil eliminates any potential for all of these infections that could cause damage to the scalp and, by extension, the hair.

Olive oil soothes the hair scalp with its antifungal and antibacterial components by adding enough moisture to the surface. This moisture keeps the scalp’s surface smooth and unclogs clogged follicles opening passage for penetration into the skin. Once this is done, itchiness and dryness are automatically eliminated.

3. Thins Out the Production of DHT

Before going all scientific on you, DHT, otherwise known as dihydrotestosterone, is an endogenous sex hormone present in the body. An abundant presence of this hormone significantly contributes to hair loss. Furthermore, it threatens the health of the hair follicles, attacks them, thereby weakening their ability to perform optimally.

However, with olive oil, the production of DHT is blocked and thinned out. This way, every threat towards the hair follicles is eliminated. And as a result, an environment for healthy hair growth is created and maintained provided you keep using the oil.

4. Improves Hair Malleability

Some hair texture is naturally thick and unruly, and they are very difficult to style or perm. Keeping this hair soft is one hell of a job. Some people can’t even maintain it at home until they reach the salon. But with the consistent application of olive oil, you can make thick hair soft with ease.

Olive oil is a natural solution that improves hair malleability and management. It keeps the hair soft for a lengthy period and ensures its growth within the same period.

What Hair Type Can Benefit from Olive Oil?

If you’ve followed this article closely, you may be inclined to think all hair types will benefit from using olive oil. While that is possible, people with naturally oily hair may not benefit from using olive oil. They can use it once in a while, but not consistently. And that’s because olive oil will add so much to the preexisting oil in the hair, giving it a greasy feel.

However, people with dry, coarse, and thinning hair can benefit from using olive oil. It’ll change their hair condition by improving their health and making it more physically attractive. Of course, you have to observe moderation while applying it to the hair despite all these. Too much olive oil might weigh the follicles down, and that would negate the purpose of its usage.

Can Olive Oil be Added to Other Hair Treatments?

Olive oil doesn’t counteract the efficiency of other hair treatments. So yes! You can use olive oil along with other treatments moderately.

Conclusion

Everybody must reduce overreliance on chemical hair care products and cultivate the habit of using more natural products with similar, even better effects with no side effects. Olive oil is one of the many natural home remedies for the hair.