How Often Should You Wash Your Hair To Avoid Dandruff

Let'southward talk about hair oil, ane of the many products out in that location that promises to give you shiny, healthy, Pantene commercial-worthy pilus.

Information technology's typically used to moisturize and hydrate the pilus, likewise as smoothen and protect it from all your styling tools. But pilus oil is definitely not a i-size-fits-all product.

We spoke to a few hair experts to get the lowdown on all things hair oil, including how to use it.

So what'southward the signal of using hair oil?

Our hair is dead one time information technology breaks through the surface of the scalp, as Jasmine Merinsky, a Toronto-based hairstylist, explained to HuffPost. And if information technology weren't for our sebaceous glands, which secrete natural oils, that hair would be dry and brittle.

"Like to skin, we need oil to take healthy, potent hair," Merinsky said. "Oil lubricates the outer cuticle and strengthens the inner cadre past providing moisture to help keep the bonds potent."

Anybody's scalp and hair are different and some people are just oilier than others, she added.

That'south where pilus oils come up in. The store-bought production is meant to replicate and supplement the natural oils that our bodies already make. Plus, Merinsky said, hair oils odor nice and provide y'all with control over the amount and application.

Bobby Eliot, a Los Angeles-based glory hairstylist with Starworks Artists, told HuffPost that hair oils can be used both as a nourishing treatment and as a styling tool to help smooth the hair.

Should you be using hair oil?

Takisha Sturdivant-Drew, a New York-based celebrity hairstylist with Exclusive Artists, believes in that location's a pilus oil out there for everyone. But there are a few things to consider ― particularly in regards to your pilus blazon and texture ― before you start slathering it all over your locks.

Sturdivant-Drew said hair oils are especially proficient for individuals with dry or tight scalps that are defective wet. If your hair itself is likewise dry out, she said applying pilus oil can help "give information technology a nice, natural shine." She added that she oftentimes uses oil on her clients, particularly those with coarser, textured, or curly hair, to finish off the hairstyle.

"Hair with a curlicue is naturally drier then an oil coats the pilus and absorbs for a smoother cuticle," Eliot explained.

You would also likely benefit from the moisturizing effects of a hair oil if yous have chemically treated or processed hair or utilize relaxers, which can also be very drying.

On the other manus, those with very fine, straight pilus might not desire to apply oil, Merinsky said, noting that the natural oils produced by their scalp "are probably plenty, especially if you brush regularly and wash every other day."

"Brushing helps distribute the oils from your scalp throughout your mid-shaft and ends," she said. "It also stimulates blood flow to the scalp, which helps with new growth as it removes dead skin cells and opens up your pilus follicles."

Individuals with fine hair tin can still use oil, Eliot said, if they avoid applying it straight to the roots "as it can weigh the hair down and make it look greasy."

How do you utilize hair oil?

One way to use hair oil is equally a moisturizing treatment. To do so, Eliot said he tells his clients "to apply earlier you accept a shower, pivot your pilus upward and let the steam from the shower open the cuticle and penetrate into the hair."

Then, he said, you lot shampoo and condition every bit normal and "your pilus will feel astonishing!"

Sturdivant-Drew described a somewhat similar hot-oil treatment, which she said can be done at home or at the salon. (She noted that actress Kerry Washington is a fan.) The process works on pretty much any hair type, the stylist said.

Essentially, you put a mixture of hot oil and conditioner onto the hair and scalp and massage it in really well. So you sit down nether a heating cap, steamer or dryer for about 20 minutes. After yous wash the oil out, your hair will experience revamped and rehydrated, Sturdivant-Drew said.

"If your hair'south feeling expressionless, it brings it back to life," she said.

Another style to use pilus oil is as a styling product, Eliot said. He likes to apply it earlier blow-drying to assistance keep hair smooth and free of flyaways.

Sturdivant-Drew noted that yous can use oil when hair is wet or dry, depending on your styling routine.

"Some natural women habiliment their hair moisture, like me," she said. If that's the case, you tin can definitely add oil while your hair is still wet. On the other hand, if yous have a blowout and your hair feels dry out, you lot tin add oil to those dry strands, Sturdivant-Drew added.

One warning: You can apply also much hair oil.

Sturdivant-Drew suggested working a dime-sized amount through strands of dry pilus and a nickel-sized amount for "actually, actually dry" pilus. Merinsky recommended using a hulk the size of a quarter and rubbing it betwixt your palms before distributing it evenly through your strands.

"Start in the back where your pilus is thicker and use whatever is left for the front," Merinsky said.

Remember, you can always add more if you lot feel your hair needs it.