Itchy scalp, dry frizzy hair…
Oily scalp, greasy limp hair...
Who wants to deal with these? There’s so much internet hype about how using oil in our routine helps, but which oil? There are so many different oils! Internet searches provide lots of vague information and they are usually based on people's personal and unique experiences or people with different hair types than what we may have. But how do each of the oils compare? Will an oil make my hair suffer from Hygral Fatigue (damage from over moisturized hair). And which oils are best for making DIY products, for instance? Oil is definitely not a one-size-fits-all, so which should you use? Some are “heavier”, some are “lighter” they say, but which absorb into the hair best and which are best for deep conditioning? After a product left you with greasy hair, you may only be concerned with the serious question of, “How many washes will it take to finally get all this oil out of my hair?” Overwhelmed yet?
I know I was. Anyway, I digress. There are so many questions. Let’s simplify this into one question.
Which hair oils provide the least to the greatest moisture for our hair? I have never seen oils ranked on how they compare to one another in this way before, have you? I have read that argan oil, almond oil, and grape seed oil are all "lightweight oils". But what is really meant by “lightweight” when it comes to oil and which one is the lightest overall? I define lightweight to mean it provides the least or lightest amount of moisture vs heavyweight to mean it provides the most or heaviest amount of moisture when comparing oils. The term “heavy oil” usually makes us think that it's going to make our hair greasy, not absorb, and just build up on the outside of our hair strand, right? And a “light oil” we expect to moisturize and define our hair without making it limp. Although, realistically, this depends on our hair’s porosity and moisture level needs. Since there wasn’t any lists out there that ranked multiple oils in this way, and that’s what I really needed to know, I took on the challenge to test them myself!
How I Tested Them
My methods of testing them may have been slightly archaic, but I believe it is revealing nonetheless. With the tests described below, I was able to compare many different oils and create a list, ranking them from extremely lightweight oils to the heaviest weighted oils.
First, I tested the viscosity of each oil. Wait. Tested what? Viscosity. Think about how water and molasses flow. Water flows easily, right? It runs or spreads very quickly. It has low viscosity. Molasses however flows, well...like molasses. It has high viscosity. So, to test this in the oils, I took one drop of each oil and placed it on a flat surface to see how much it spread out. Common sense tells us that a thinner lighter-weight oil spreads out farther than a thick, sticky oil (similarly to water vs molasses), and this was exactly what I saw.
SHOWN: 1 drop of soybean oil, lighter (left). 1 drop of castor oil, heavier (right).
Next, I wanted to see how far the oils travel along a flat surface by smearing them with a Q - tip. It seems logical that a lightweight oil would smear farther than a heavyweight oil. And it did.
SHOWN: soybean oil spreads much further (left) where as castor oil barely smeared at all (right).
Lastly, the third test, I analyzed the relative specific gravity. Again, with these terms? Think about oil and water. We all know, “they don’t mix” right? Well, not without a proper emulsion. But why not? Simply put, because oil has a lower specific gravity than water, so it floats on top. This got me thinking. Maybe the terms “light” and “heavy” don’t only refer to the moisture level of an oil or to how it feels on our hair, but they refer to the actual weight of an oil, like in fluid ounces on a kitchen scale. So, if we are told that olive oil is considered to be pretty “heavy”, then we could speculate that it would not mix easily with an oil which was thought to be “light”, such as soybean oil. I used this concept to test which oils were heavier or lighter in comparison, by placing a drop of each oil, one at a time, into containers of different oils and watched carefully to see how they reacted. I discovered that when I added drops of olive oil into a container of soybean oil, that the olive oil sank quickly to the bottom of the container. The difference in the specific gravity of each oil prevented the olive oil from easily dispersing into the soybean oil, just like when mixing water into a cup of oil, they don't mix. Each drop of the heaviest oils stayed collected as a little ball at the bottom of the container.
Alternatively, when I did this the other way around by adding drops of a lightweight oil such as soybean oil, into olive oil, the soybean oil spread across the surface of the olive oil. It almost dissolved into the other oil and was no longer noticeable to the eye. Similarly, when I took what I suspected to be a medium weight oil, such as argan oil, and added drops of it into a lightweight oil like grapeseed oil, I actually saw a swirling effect from the argan oil. It took a little bit of stirring and shaking these oils together to get them to blend.
SHOWN: 3 different oils being dripped into a container of jojoba oil.
Grape seed oil - lighter weight than the jojoba oil, disperses onto its surface.
(top left of photo)
Olive oil - heavier weight than the jojoba oil, sinks, but swirls along the way.
(middle of photo)
Castor oil - heaviest oil, much heavier than the jojoba oil, sinks in a ball shape.
(right of photo)
You can test the oils and oil blends that you have at your home too! This way you can be sure to use the lightest oils as needed and the heavier oils in ways that are suitable for your hair type. Also, you may consider that some of your oil blends may need to be occasionally shaken and that certain oils may be more difficult to emulsify than others.
Which Oils are Lighter or Heavier Weight? (BUY NoFrizz10 OILS BLENDS HERE)
If you make your own DIY products or apply them directly to your hair for deep conditioning, for shine, to scrunch out the crunch, or however you prefer to use an oil in your hair, you need to know which oils are lighter or heavier. You can also buy our NoFrizz10 Oil blends that are premixed to give you the perfect Moisture Level that you're looking for for all your oiling needs. Then you can just mix them into your palm with the product that you're using for the day!
So, here are the results of my tests from lightest weight to heaviest: (Read from top to bottom, for the least to the greatest moisture.)
*Chart does not includes butters, waxes, or conditioning ingredients and only represents the comparison of individual oils.
*Remember that to achieve each level of moisture, combinations of oils may be used, and depending on ratios used, a mixture including oils from different moisture level oils may still reflect appropriate moisture levels.
*NoFrizz10 uses oil blends that closely correlate to the moisture levels shown in this chart above. *Substitute hypoallergenic and gentle oils may be used in any NoFrizz10 Products at any time.
*SPRITZ© (Light Moisture Level - for fine hair), SPLASH© (Moderate Moisture Level - for dense hair often curly), and SOAK© (High Moisture Level - for course or extra tight curls). Moisture Level System is owned and created by NoFrizz10.
Watch this video for an example of a lightweight oil blend. Body oils may be great for hair too.
What Does This Mean for Products?
For the following reasons, when making hair products, I have had to change some of my typically used oils because I was looking to save money in my business, because they were unavailable, or because I wanted to start making my own oil blends which would allow me to remove harsh chemicals or unnecessary preservatives.
I can also tell you through my experience of making natural hair products, that when I replaced oils in my recipes with different oils, I learned something quite surprising. Shockingly, what I found was that my new mixtures of oil blends were actually lighter weight than the previous oil blends that I had been using; even though I was using the same amount of ingredients (in volume), the new blend was lighter on the scale than the previously used, old blends. So, this is incredible!
Lighter weight oils really are lighter weight!
This revelation meant that I had to account for these differences in my NoFrizz10 recipes, so that I would be using fewer ounces of oil (by weight) even though the measurement (by volume) was the same. When I used my scale to measure from then on, I had to remember to adjust for the new lighter weight amounts. Which I was of course happy to do! My newly created product versions don't have less oil in them, necessarily; but rather, even lighter weight oils! Hooray!
Now it is easier for me to be sure that I'm sticking to the NoFrizz10 - 3 Moisture Level System ©. With my products and recipes I am sure to include a lightweight oil blend in my SPRITZ Level 1 Moisture Products. Consistently, NoFrizz10 SPLASH Level 2 Moisture Products include a blend of oils that provide a moderate moisture level, and NoFrizz10 SOAK Level 3 Moisture Products include a blend of oils that provide a high level of moisture. That makes it so easy for you to get the moisture level you need!
Ultimately I was able to find a way to make my products lighter weight, as well as a better value, safer, and more gentle. Double win!
Which Moisture Level Is For ME?
For FINE HAIR, use SPRITZ© Light Moisture Level
For DENSE HAIR often curly, use SPLASH© Moderate Moisture Level
For COARSE HAIR or extra tight curls, use SOAK© High Moisture Level
*This Moisture Level System is owned and created by NoFrizz10.
Why Can't I Just Use More or Less of Any 'Ol Oil?
Oil is beneficial to your hair, when it's the right oil for your hair type! Too light weight and it leaves our scalp wanting more moisture and our hair dry and frizzy. Too heavy weight and it leaves our scalp oily and our hair greasy and limp. It doesn't work to use a small amount of a heavy oil if you need light moisture. It will still be too heavy! Conversely, if you try to use a lot of a light moisture oil, it will not provide the deep moisture you may need! The right oils for you leave your hair healthy, bouncy, and defined. We are now able to clear out our bathroom cupboards with products that don’t work for us and use what we have in ways that provide more consistently good hair days. Thankfully, we can avoid those deep conditioning experiments gone wrong which took shampooing 3 times to get all the oil completely out of our hair. Been there, done that!
How Much Oil Should I Use Then?
Choose the oil that is correct for your hair type, (YOUR HAIR OIL) as shown just above in "Which Moisture Level is for Me?", THEN choose use our suggested measurements depending on how much moisture you need:
*Divide hair into 2-4 sections for average density.)
*You may apply the oil directly to your hair, (wet or dry), or you may mix it into 1 Tablespoon a favorite product in your palm that you'll be using in your routine for the day, such as a conditioner or gel.
For Light Moisture with YOUR HAIR OIL use 1 drop per section of hair.
For Moderate Moisture with YOUR HAIR OIL use 2-3 drops per section of hair.
For High Moisture with YOUR HAIR OIL use 4-5 drops per section of hair.
"I love being able to incorporate the perfect hair oil into my routine so that I can avoid the extra time and mess it takes to deep condition.!" Athena Padilla
By evaluating more exactly which oils are truly lightweight vs. heavyweight and discovering the more exact variances between the different oils generally used in our hair, not only did I end up gaining from this knowledge, but all of us can now obtain customized products which are safer, more gentle, and we can create personalized hair care recipes for our hair types.
Itchy scalp, dry frizzy hair…
oily scalp, greasy limp hair...
NO MORE!
{suggested oil products below based on moisture level needed!}
Moisture Level 1
Video is my Routine Using
NoFrizz10 SPRITZ Moisture Level Products SHOP
Moisture Level 2
Video is my Routine Using
NoFrizz10 SPLASH Moisture Level Products
Moisture Level 3
Video is my Routine Using
NoFrizz10 SOAK Moisture Level Styler (Also called, Perfecting Souffle' Styler or Curl Cream.)
Please visit out Amazon Influencer Store if you are interested making your own oil blends. We have lots to look at from hair tool, to DIY ingredients, to diffusers, and more.
Share on social media to help others find us! Tag us, Tag 3 friends, and use our hashtag #NoFrizz10. This really helps us out! THANKS.
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Written By, Athena Padilla, LLC.
Edited By, Shelby Barker and Phillip Padilla