The Top 4 Natural Oils for Natural Hair in 2014

 
2014 was big for natural hair. We were seeing more women going natural along with relaxed hair companies jumping on the bandwagon with new products almost every month! You are hearing more about natural oils, creams and every nut from here to Uganda that will give you stronger and healthier strands. All of that has been a direct result from the natural hair movement regardless of what some may say or think.

For years there have been staple products that ruled the natural hair world when natural hair became big business. Miss Jessie’s, Kinky Curly, Shea Moisture or even Curls but as more companies emerge we are seeing amazing lines like Darcy Botanicals, Curl Junkie and Obia Natural Hair Care that are taking the natural hair world by storm.

Just like with natural hair products we have some staple oils from the beginning of this movement that were pretty popular, oils like Coconut oil, Olive oil and Castor oil were all everybody was talking about. They were all the rage and got the most love from Bloggers, Vloggers and naturals all around because they were the wonder oils that could do anything for everybody despite your hair type, porosity or age.

Well, some time has passed and as more women continue to go natural our knowledge has grown and the tried and true has not always worked for everybody.

Take me for instance. I had bought into the hype about the great benefits of Jamaican Black Castor oil and how wonderful it is for growing your edges, strengthen your tresses and moisturize like no other!

All it did for me was give me little bumps all over my forehead whenever I tried to use it in my hair. I was switching up facial cleansers and moisturizers like a mad woman but I finally figured out the problem after I did some research and came across others who also had issues like mine with castor oil. The lesson of the story is that not everything is going to work for everybody.

Another lesson we learned is how amazing our world is with natural resources that benefit our hair. What nature has supplied us with that does not do wonders for you may only be a minor setback because there is something else that will gladly take its place.

As a matter of fact, I have listed four not so popular oils a few years ago that made a huge splash in 2014:

Red Palm Oil

Red Palm Oil, aka crude or Virgin Red Palm Fruit Oil is different from Palm Oil, but often gets mistaken for it. Red Palm Oil comes from the fruit of the Oil Palm Tree or Elaeis Guineensis. It is one of the most nutritious edible oils in the world and gets its rich red color naturally.

Red Palm Oil was put on everyone’s radar after Dr. Oz was praising it but it rightfully deserves the glory with its high concentration of carotenes and because it is rich in vitamins A and E. Actually, it contains the highest amounts of vitamins A and E of any plant- based oil.

This potent oil has been used for body and hair for over 5000 years and it is great for our hair because it promotes cell growth at the hair follicles and this means stronger longer hair. It prevents the hair from becoming weak and brittle and it is the perfect moisturizer for our skin and hair.

Hemp Oil

Hemp Seed Oil is pressed from the seeds of the Cannabis sativa plant and been named nature’s perfect food. This is one of the first cultivated and consumed crops and many wrongly assume it contains the psychoactive constituent of the cannabis plant but it does not.

Hemp Oil is high in essential fatty acids. Omega 6 and Omega 3 are two main families of essential fatty acids that have therapeutic effects. Great for conditioning hair and scalp, hemp oil also has quality proteins that will improve the feel and appearance of your hair.

Hemp Oil a a wondrous natural moisturizer that boosts scalp health, shoring up the inter-cellular matrix, and will protect your strands against moisture loss. Hemp Oil is being more widely used for tresses and will only gain more popularity in 2015.

Jojoba Oil

Jojoba Oil is another one of nature’s gold mines. This golden-colored liquid wax is extracted from the seed of the Jojoba Plant, a woody shrub that covers 40,000 acres of desert in the southwestern U.S and contains almost all of the vitamins and minerals essential for healthy skin and hair.

You get an oil that is really a liquid wax that contains nourishing substances such as vitamin E, A, D, and antioxidants. Thanks to its uncanny similarity to sebum, Jojoba Oil works in the same manner as well, and justifies why it is perfect for your hair.

Jojoba Oil is great for treating dry hair and promoting hair growth and with its molecular structure, it allows the liquid wax to easily penetrate skin and hair cells for better treatments. It is anti-bacterial, anti inflammatory, and non toxic, which makes it incredibly useful for the hair and your entire body.

Avocado Oil

Derived from the Avocado fruit, Avocado Oil is high in vitamin E and unsaturated fats and contains more potassium than a banana. It is great at lowering blood pressure and the main ingredient in Guacamole, but more naturals are finding it as a resource for hair growth. It is finally getting some notice in the natural hair world and rightfully so.

The monounsaturated fatty acid content in Avocado Oil is even higher than EVOO, and is one of the main reasons it is so good for your hair. With all the damage we inflict on our tresses with heat styling, chemical alterations from color and relaxing, the monounsaturated fats, when applied directly in a hair mask, can moisturize, nourish and strengthen hair strands, protecting them from damage. It is great for dry, brittle and damaged hair and lightweight, so it can be easily absorbed into the hair shaft and scalp.

It is time to try some new oils if you haven’t and these four should be first on your list, so start the new year off right!