Effects on hair

You may have heard that olive oil is good for hair. For thousands of years, since ancient times, people have been using olive oil as a hair care treatment. It is said to have positive effects on your hair, such as adding more shine, body, softness and also resilience. Not just that, it also can protect your hair against dandruff. As a haircare treatment, olive oil can be used in a variety of ways. For example, in order to soften your hair, it can be added to a deep conditioner. Or, for adding some lustre and shine to the hair, a tiny amount of it can be applied to the hair and scalp. Although you should bear in mind that too much of olive oil can weight your hair down.

The key to have healthy and beautiful hair is to keep your hair strands moisturised as well as nourishing them with all the required ingredients. However, this can be compromised when you use too much of chemical products and hot tools. So, olive oil is capable of keeping your hair hydrated and moisturised. Since your hair is capable of absorbing the oil into the hair strand, and once it is absorbed it will keep your hair moisturised. Also, olive oil can also function as a lubricant, which will help to reduce the breakage of your hair strands.

It is good to apply olive oil before taking a shower. Since your hair strands are in their weakest state when they are wet. In this condition, the adding of chemical products and also scrubbing motion can make your cuticles to raise and therefore cause more damage to your hair. So, it is good to apply olive oil on your hair before washing, in order to reduce the chance of causing more damage.

Are there any downsides?

Olive oil just like all the good things that you see in your life is not just right for everything or every hair type. For example, there are many people saying that olive oil can help with dandruff, but is it actually true? However, many of the dermatologists are against this claim. They say, since dandruff is originally caused by a yeast (which is a living microorganism) on your scalp, if you use olive oil on your hair, you might be feeding the yeast and making your dandruff even worse. This is because olive oil is generally rich in nutrients.

In addition, excessive use of olive oil on your skin can result in acne. Therefore, if you have long hair that touches your back and chest, you may be unintentionally adding olive oil on your skin in those areas, which can result in developing acne. Also, it is said that olive oil may cause some allergic reaction to some people, so if you are allergic to it then you should avoid it. Allergic reaction usually occurs during or after applying the oil on your skin. Although if you are allergic to olive oil, after consuming something that contains olive oil as one of its ingredients, you are still at risk of developing the allergic reaction.

What hair types should use it?

Now that you know the possible benefits of olive oil on your hair, remember that before starting to use it you should learn about your hair type. Since, it may not be as effective for some types of hair. For example, you probably will benefit the most from olive oil if you have very dry hair or kinky or curly type. It is because these types of hair are naturally more porous, which will make the hair to lose moisture more quickly. In addition, due to the curl pattern they are more prone to breakage. Therefore, they require more delicate treatments such as lubricating with olive oil.

On the other side, if your hair is classified as fine or straight, then using olive oil may not be such a good idea. It is because it can be too heavy for this hair type and can weight down the hair strands. As a result, your hair may look greasy, which is not what you are looking for. Although for this hair type there are alternatives, other natural oils such as jojoba or argan oil, that can have the same effect as olive oil on your hair.