Hot Oil Treatments - The Humble Luxury With Excellent Benefits for Black Hair

Treat your hair and scalp to a shop bought or home made hot oil treatment

Daily brushing, overuse of heated hair styling tools and dry weather conditions can take its toll on hair. The effect on black hair is even more pronounced due to its inherent nature of being dry to begin with.

Giving your hair a hot oil treatment is one of the best ways to nurse dry, brittle hair back to health. It is also a great treatment for dry scalp conditions and dandruff and you also cannot ignore the incredible shine this treatment imparts to the hair!

There are various recipes for hot oil treatments but for a homemade version, it should just depend on what you’ve got at home but you may want to buy a few extra natural oils* to incorporate into your mix.

Here’s a quick and easy hot oil treatment to give your tresses a new lease of life:

• Add 4 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive oil* to a microwaveable bowl and add to it 3 tablespoons of Canola oil*. You can also add a few drops of essential oils* into the mix for fragrance but this is optional.

• Stir the mixture and heat on high in the microwave for a minute or two until warm. You want the mixture to be warm but not piping hot!

• Wet the hair slightly so that it’s damp but not soaking. Section the hair into 4 or more sections for ease of application. Apply the mixture evenly from root to tip and massage generously into the scalp. This is especially helpful if you suffer from dandruff.

• Once the oil is applied to all the hair cover with a plastic cap and apply a warm towel over the top. Let the oil sit in your hair for about 30 minutes to allow for maximum penetration.

• Follow this up with 1-2 lathers of a mild shampoo

• Proceed to deep condition the hair as normal.

The hair should never be left feeling coated or weighed down, just thoroughly moisturized. The health and strength of the hair will improve greatly with continued use of the hot oil treatment. You may also add the oils to your favourite conditioner as a pre-shampoo treatment for your hair. The oils* counter the effects of sulphate containing drying shampoo so that the hair is not left feeling stripped after the wash.

As a rule of thumb, a hot oil treatment should be used once per month for black hair to ensure the moisture balance of the hair is maintained. Hair with the correct moisture balance will have more elasticity hence length retention, which in the long run leads to long luscious locks!