Olive Oil Hair Care

After a long winter’s contact with dry indoor heat, our hair needs some nourishing relief! Here’s the straightforward solution. This easy hair treatment will result in healthier, more manageable hair and a really clean, invigorated scalp. Olive oil nourishes, conditions, and raises the strength and elasticity of one's hair, while the couldn’t-be-easier process is both stress-reducing and health-promoting.

With regards to repairing your damaged hair, forget pricey salon treatments and mass-market products. The secret to healthy, shiny hair worth a shampoo commercial could possibly be as close as your kitchen cabinet: olive oil hair. Ends up it’s not just good for your heart - it’s good for your hair too. When integrated into your hair care routine, olive oil can help fight everything from frizz to dandruff to (eek!) head lice.

“Women all around the world use hot oil treatments for their hair,” says Dawn Gallagher, coauthor of Naturally Beautiful: Earth’s Secrets and Recipes for Skin, Body and Spirit. “Oils are great for treating dry, overworked, or lifeless hair.”

Cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil - organic, whenever possible - is great for repairing dry, over processed hair, but other oils, for example jojoba oil, sweet almond, and avocado, work well too. The procedure is simple:

Warm 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil until it’s lukewarm.

Massage into dry hair and scalp thoroughly utilizing your fingertips, working out through the roots to the ends.

Cover your hair in plastic wrap, then using a plastic shower cap or two or warm, moist towels, to deep condition your hair. Heat is a valuable part of the process as it helps the oils to improve penetrate into the hair shaft to repair damage.

Leave on at least 30 minutes, or overnight should your hair is particularly dry or damaged.

Rinse the oil from the hair and shampoo - more often than once, if necessary - and use conditioner. (Be careful if you’re doing this inside shower - the oil can make the tub slippery!)

Repeat every two to four weeks.

“Your hair will be noticeably shinier and softer,” Gallagher says. Besides the method described above, she also recommends the following olive oil hair treatments:

Apennine Olive Oil Treatment

A few of the finest olive oil in the world arises from the hilly regions of central Italy, Gallagher says. “This oil features a deep, rich green color and a characteristic nutty fragrance.”

1 Tbsp. olive oil (more if hair is long) from Tuscany or Umbria, when possible

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

Warm the olive oil and gently massage in your scalp and hair, covering the whole head. Wrap your head with two plastic shower caps or even a hot, wet towel. Wait Fifteen to twenty minutes, then wash hair having an herbal shampoo. Apply the shampoo without adding water to minimize on the oil. Rinse with apple cider vinegar.