Keen to ditch the hair straighteners and embrace your natural texture? Showing off your hair’s true, individual texture may be a beauy goal for many of us – but doing so can also be a challenge.
Daily styling, the use of heated hair tools, and even the sweat from a workout can leave your curls dry, and prone to breakage and frizz. Revive and replenish your waves, curls and kinks by introducing a hair oil into your routine.
Whatever your hair texture, we’ve narrowed down the best hair oils out there, to leave you with glossy, healthier-looking curls, that are also easier to style. According to our 278 testers, these are the winners:
Which hair oil is best for curly hair?
While coconut oil may have become the trending beauty fix-all in the past couple of years, there’s actually a whole world of hair oils out there, some more suited to curls than others.
Hair oils sit in two categories: moisturising or sealing. Over to our expert, Dr Sharon Wong, Consultant Dermatologist and Hair Specialist, to explain how they both work:
'Moisturising and sealing oils are very different. Moisturising oils are able to penetrate into the shaft of the hair and lock in water within the fibre, whereas sealing oils sit on the surface of the cuticle forming a film to reduce water loss from the hair fibre. Sealing oils also help to improve surface properties (eg shine, slippage, softness).'
Do you need to use both types? 'In general, the curlier the hair type the more beneficial it would be to incorporate a combination of these two types of oils in a regular hair care routine.'
WH has broken down the categories, so you can understand your ingredients list a bit easier (just look out for the below):
Moisturising oils: coconut, olive, avocado, sunflower
Sealing oils: Castor, jojoba, argan, grapeseed, shea butter
How often should you use oils in curly hair?
There is no wrong answer for this one, as this will be down to your unique hair texture and exactly how often you think your ends need a much-needed boost.
Those with tighter curls will find they need a little more help in the hydration department than those with looser waves, which may mean you’re picking up an oil every other day or so.
However, those with finer, more wavy lengths will find this a little too much, and may be better off using it only on freshly washed, damp ends, to avoid hair looking greasy.
As Dr Wong explains:
'The most common explanation as to why curly and afro hair textures are more prone to dryness, is that the spiral configuration of the hair fibre in these hair types means that it is more difficult for natural oils (sebum) produced by the scalp to work its way down the hair shaft from roots to tips. This process is far easier with straight hair types.'
How we test
Our 278 testers – with curl types ranging from 2a to 4c – tried out 20 hair oils, to see whether they successfully helped define and smooth their natural hair texture.
They assessed the curl definition, softness, shininess and the ability to reduce frizz, without leaving hair looking greasy and weighed down.
In the Women’s Health lab, we used our Dia-Stron equipment that measures the smoothness of hair switches that had been treated with hair oil.
Best budget hair oil
Pantene
Gold Series Intense Hydrating Hair Oil
Best for minimising frizz
Garnier
Ultimate Blends Coconut Hair Oil for Frizzy Hair
Best for definition
Charlotte Mensah
Manketti Hair Oil
Best for longer-lasting curls
Living Proof
Curl Moisturising Shine Oil
Best vegan hair oil
Bread Beauty Supply
Hair-Oil: Everyday Gloss
Best for hydration
John Frieda
Frizz Ease Dream Curls Curl Nourishing Crème Oil
Best for strengthening
Kerastase
Curl Manifesto Huile Sublime Repair
Best for dry, damaged hair
Imbue
Curl Worshipping Shine Oil
Best for dry afro hair
The Wild Curl
Afro Kinky Castor Hair Oil
Best for afro hair
Bumble and bumble
Curl Anti-Humidity Gel-Oil
No matter how thick or fine, curly or straight your locks are, there’s a hair oil out there to help with any (and all) of your mane concerns...
Does the thought of slathering on a hair oil give you the ick? You’re not alone. So many people fear that as soon as they apply a little lubrication to their locks, their strands are going to look like they’ve been dipped into a deep fat fryer. As a Black woman with thick Afro hair, oils have always been a part of my beauty routine. However, my friends with finer hair, have long been wary about whether the benefits outweigh the cons. I’m here to tell you that there is an oil to help with every hair type, whether it’s a heat protection spray for over-processed ends or a soothing oil mist for flaky scalps.
Plus, there’s more choice than ever, so you can find a sophisticated formula that won’t make you look like you’re channelling wet-look catwalk hair – unless that’s your vibe. Here's a rundown of everything you need to know.
Argan Oil
What’s the deal? One of the most well-known hair oils around, Argan earned the nickname of ‘liquid gold’, thanks to its universal appeal. “It’s a lovely light oil suitable for ALL hair types,” says Talisha Cox, Owner of Elite Hair Lounge, London. “That being said, type 4 curls may need a little more, as it’s very lightweight.” In its most raw form, Argan oil contains a mix of antioxidants (like Vitamin E) and fatty acids. Fun fact, the sebum our bodies naturally produce is made up of a high percentage of fatty acids too, so if you have dry hair, applying this oil is a good way to lubricate your strands if they’re looking a bit dull.
Moroccanoil Original Treatment Oil
Moroccanoil lookfantastic.com
£13.85
Argan Oil of Morocco Weightless Dry Oil
OGX lookfantastic.com
£8.99
Beauty Works Argan Serum
Beauty Works lookfantastic.com
£11.99
Redken All Soft Argan-6 Oil
Jojoba Oil
What’s the deal? This oil has been working its way into countless hair care products over the years because of its stellar moisturising benefits. Whilst so many other oils work on moisturising the outer layers of your strands, jojoba is made up of clever fats that can actually penetrate the outer layer of hair, this means it can nourish and repair beneath the surface – pretty cool, right? It’s often found in products for dry or chemically treated hair, but you can also use it in its raw form on the ends of your hair as an overnight treatment.
courtesy of brand
OUAI Hair Oil 45ml
OUAI lookfantastic.com
£24.00
Smooth this through your hair after blow-drying or straightening, for that just-stepped-out-of-the-salon shine.
Manketti Oil
What’s the deal? Manketti (also known as mongongo oil), is similar in it’s make up of fatty acids as argan oil, but is a little more nutrient-rich with more fat content and a higher content of protein, so it’s a great oil for those of us with brittle, weakened hair. Oils like manketti oil are also great for protecting the hair,
as Paul Edmonds, Shu Uemera Art of Hair Ambassador, says, “The right oil can not only make your strands feel stronger, softer and shinier, but it can help protect from external damaging factors”.
courtesy of brand
Manketti Hair Oil, 100ml
CHARLOTTE MENSAH net-a-porter.com.uk
£48.00
Naturally curly hair will lap up this oil. Massage into the lengths to revive parched ends.
Olive Oil
What’s the deal? Yep, the same olive oil that’s sitting in your kitchen cupboard actually works a treat on the hair, but be warned, in its purest form it’s only going to work on the surface of the strands. That’s because along with oils like almond and coconut, olive oil has a larger molecule size. “These are all great but they will only have a cosmetic effect as the molecule size is too large to penetrate the hair shaft,” says Edmonds. “So, it’s usually better to look out for the oil in a hair product, rather than it’s raw form, as it will have been refined and can do more for your strands”.
courtesy of brand
KeraCare Essential Oils for the Hair
KeraCare lookfantastic.com
You can use this nutrient-rich oil as a hot oil treatment before you wash your hair. Pop it on and let the reparative properties get to work.
Coconut Oil
What's the deal? Coconut oil is really an undeniable beauty multi-tasker (what else can be used to clean your teeth, take off your makeup and thrown in a smoothie?), it has loads of benefits for the hair, including calming frizz and helping to detangle. If you’re looking to give your locks their shine back, you can apply raw coconut oil as a pre-shampoo treatment as the concentration of fatty acids will coat the hair and protect it from stripping when you rinse. However, if you have brittle hair, beware that using coconut oil too often can cause protein build up and too much protein in the hair will cause it to break.
courtesy of brand
Shu Uemura Essence Absolue MultiPurpose AllInOil Milk, 100 millilitre
Shu Uemura amazon.co.uk
£32.47
If you have finer hair, this oil-in-milk formula will allow you to reap the benefits from coconut oil, without it weighing down the strands.
Castor Oil
What’s the deal? Now, the texture and colour of this oil in its purest form is… interesting (the pale-yellow liquid has a distinct taste and odour). But, trust me, you’ll be slathering it on when you know the benefits… It comes from the castor bean and is packed with ricinoleic acid, which is known to help with inflammation – great if you suffer from dandruff. It also stimulates the follicles, which can help with hair growth, so if you fancy giving yourself a DIY head massage, this is the oil to pick.
courtesy of brand
Jamaican Black Castor Oil Mango Papaya
£6.95 beautybay.com
Massage a bit of this into the roots and you’ll be working towards longer, stronger locks.
Keeks Reid Contributing Beauty Editor Keeks Reid is the Contributing Beauty Editor at Cosmopolitan UK.