Olive oil has been used for centuries in a variety of different applications, such as cooking, skincare, haircare, digestion, flu prevention, essential oils, and much more.
When it comes to hair, olive oil has plenty of benefits, and in this post, we will show you the most important benefits of using olive oil on your hair. We’ll also discuss whether you should use olive oil itself or whether you’ll get better results by using shampoos with olive oil.
1. Olive Oil May Stimulate Hair Growth
One of the best benefits of olive oil for your hair is its ability to promote healthy hair growth. Olive oil is rich in vitamins A and E, which are known to help stimulate hair growth and improve the overall health of the scalp.
How to use olive oil to stimulate hair growth:
- Apply extra virgin olive oil directly to the scalp and hair
- Massage the oil into the scalp to stimulate blood flow, which will encourage healthy hair growth
- Let it sit for 15-30 minutes
- Wash your hair with some mild natural shampoo
You can also mix olive oil with other natural ingredients, such as eggs or honey. That way, you’ll create a nourishing hair mask that can be applied to the scalp and hair – which will have even more benefits than using olive oil itself.
2. It Helps With Dry Hair
Extra virgin olive oils are full of monounsaturated fats and antioxidants, which help to moisturize the hair and prevent dryness and breakage. By nourishing and moisturizing your hair and scalp, it can also help with fighting an itchy scalp.
If you have dry, damaged hair, olive oil is one of the best things to use in your hair care routine. Using it as a pre-shampoo treatment or as a conditioner will surely help you, and after only a few applications, you won’t have dry hair anymore.
3. Hair Loss Prevention
Even though there’s limited research on this topic, some studies suggest that high-quality olive oils have properties that could help to improve the health of the scalp and hair, thus reducing the risk of hair loss.
Olive oils may reduce hair loss by preventing the DHT from binding to the scalp. DHT or dihydrotestosterone interferes with the typical hair growth cycle by making hair shorter and thinner, making it easier to fall out, and causing hair loss.
4. Protecting Hair From Heat and Styling Damage
This one will be interesting for most women out there that like to style their hair by using flat irons or curling wands. These tools generate a lot of heat, which is proven to damage your hair, especially in the long term.
Olive oil is known to help protect your hair from heat and styling damage, mostly by moisturizing and nourishing your hair. Of course, there’s no ultimate protection for heat damage, so you still need to be gentle when using hair styling tools, but olive oil may be a great prevention product if you style your hair on a frequent basis.
5. Making Your Hair Shinier, Smoother, and Softer
If you want your hair shaft to look shinier, smoother, and softer, olive oil may be a perfect choice for you. With all the fantastic ingredients (antioxidants, monounsaturated fats, vitamins, etc.), olive oil is a fantastic hair conditioner.
Just make sure not to apply too much of it on your hair since it may cause the hair shaft to look greasy, which none of us wants. I highly suggest using either small amounts of olive oil, or using it as a pre-shampoo, before washing your hair.
Should You Use Olive Oil or Olive Oil-Based Shampoos and Conditioners?
The choice between using olive oil or olive oil-based shampoos and conditioners will depend on your personal preferences and hair care needs but also on your budget.
Even though olive oil is easy to find, you can get better value for money, and it has fantastic benefits for your hair; it can be harder to use because it’ll take you more time to apply it and later to rinse it from the hair. The amazing thing is that you can even use expired olive oil as a hair regenerator. So, if you have some old olive oil, don’t throw it; you can use it for your hair care instead and save a few more bucks.
On the other hand, olive oil-based shampoos and conditioners are much easier to use but may be more expensive and also contain some unhealthy ingredients for your hair. So, if you’d like to use them, it’s extremely important to buy only the best olive oil hair shampoos and not the cheapest ones from the shelves.
Long story short, if you have plenty of time for your hair care routine, using olive oil straight from the bottle may be a better choice since you’ll get a 100% natural hair treatment. Otherwise, using hair shampoos and conditioners with olive oil may be a better choice.
