Turns Out, Olive Oil is Good For More Than Just Cooking.
Olive oil is no stranger to the healthy cuisine scene.
Some drink a spoonful a day to keep the doctor away. Others coat their salads in it to soak up its antioxidant properties.
Either way, one thing is for sure: Olive oil has a seemingly infinite list of uses.
One of the questions we get asked the most is, “is olive oil good for your hair?”
The answer, of course, is yes.
That’s why we’re writing this article.
The list of olive oil benefits for hair are extensive. BUT…just as you wouldn’t use just any old store-bought olive oil in your pan, the same should apply for your locks.
A lot of our readers may be a little against the idea of putting oil on their hair: “Will olive oil make my hair greasy?”.
As long as you wash it out after treatment, it shouldn’t (but we’ll get to that in a moment).
So, without further ado, let’s dive right in.
While everyone is different, it’s safe to say we all want the same thing: To look and feel healthy and attractive.
But our poor hair goes through a lot on a daily basis. From harsh color treatments to heat damage, brushing, pulling, tugging, and more, our locks definitely need a little TLC every now and again.
However, smothering our hair in store-bought products loaded with chemicals can do more harm than good.
A lot of products out there are notorious for promoting their all-natural properties, but one look at the ingredient list may reveal a shocking list of toxic ingredients that few people can pronounce.
Olive oil is a natural way to add softness to your hair while strengthening every strand from the outside in, and – in turn – the inside out.
It’s best used for dry, coarse, thick hair in need of extra moisture. It works by penetrating each hair shaft and preserving the moisture within.
When used regularly, olive oil can add a natural shine to your hair among countless other benefits.
Yes, you can run to the kitchen now.
Certain studies show that olive oil helps with hair growth, the reason being its high Vitamin E content, accompanied by fatty acids among various minerals and essential nutrients.
All of these things are conducive to hair growth, while preventing hair loss and smoothing out the hair cuticles.
In a 2015 study on mice, scientists discovered that ingredients derived from the olive tree indeed stimulate hair growth. And when it comes to hair loss, olive oil contains a fat known as oleic acid – accompanied by softening emollients like squalene and palmitic acid.
Emollients are a key ingredient in many shampoos and conditions on the market, in fact.
Constituting much of the oil’s composition, oleic acid is loaded with antioxidant qualities which could slow hair loss.
Overall, olive oil can help restore your hair’s thickness, shine, and more thanks to the fats, minerals, and vitamins within.
All oil is created equally, right?
Wrong.
Studies show that the hair absorbs saturated and monounsaturated oils better than their polyunsaturated counterparts – and olive oil is monounsaturated.
However, Extra Virgin Olive Oil is far richer in nutrients than any other regular olive oil.
If you want to use olive oil on your hair, make sure it’s extra virgin. Not even simply virgin will do – it must be extra if you want to revive your hair and strengthen every strand from root to tip.
EVOO is the highest quality form of olive oil on Earth, seeing as it’s unrefined and not treated with heat or chemicals.
Olive oil has to meet incredibly high standards to earn the extra virgin stamp of approval, so if you’re using EVOO on your hair, you can rest assured that it’s the crème de la crème.
Olive oil has been a hair care staple for millennia, used by civilizations around the world to add softness, shine, resilience, and volume to their locks.
One of the main olive oil benefits for hair is deep moisturization.
Extra virgin olive oil has been shown to reduce damage and breakage, strengthen the hair shafts, reduce the instances of split ends, and even improve dandruff over time.
A 2015 review of studies found that oils like EVOO could play a key role in protecting the hair from damage.
By reducing the amount of water absorbed by the hair, we can in turn reduce how much the hair shaft swells.
If the hair doesn’t swell as much, it won’t shrink as drastically either, which could limit the stress sustained by the hair overall. This could reduce hair damage in the long run.
All thanks to extra virgin olive oil. Who knew?
As with anything in life, there are pros and cons to everything.
As we now know, there are many benefits of using olive oil on your hair.
It makes a great conditioner, it can reduce hair fall, it could prevent hair breakage, and it may even heal the scalp in certain instances.
However, when not used correctly, olive oil has the potential to cause breakouts and blackheads.
This would often be the case if too much is applied and the oil is not rinsed out properly after treatment.
There are countless ways to start including EVOO in your hair care routine, starting today.
One of the simplest methods is to apply a small amount to your hair daily, and gently massage it in to ensure it penetrates the surface.
No matter how you use extra virgin olive oil for hair, remember that a little goes a long way. Too much can weight down your hair and leave it looking greasy.
Some people like to cover their hair with a shower cap and leave the oil for about 15 minutes to sink in and do its job. Following this, rinse the hair with warm water and complete your shampoo and conditioning routine as normal. If the hair is still oily, repeat this last step.
We now know that it’s best to use extra virgin olive oil for your hair if you wish to do so.
However, not even all EVOO is created equal.
The best extra virgin olive oil in the world is cold-pressed, free from chemicals, unfiltered, and not subjected to heat.
This is the only way to know you are buying EVOO that has gone the extra mile to preserve the nutrients found within its composition.
Is olive oil good for your hair?
It certainly seems like it.
Olive oil has the potential to revive your hair in many ways, but the oil must be extra virgin – and it must be cold-pressed, chemical-free, unfiltered, and never subjected to heat.
HYPERELEON is a world-leading EVOO brand that produces a multi-award-winning range of EVOO rich in polyphenols.
In fact, HYPERELEON has been recognized and awarded among the World’s Best Healthy EVOOs, and is a reigning world champion in phenolic content.
Enjoyed by thousands of families worldwide, HYPERELEON is a 100% pure and natural, early harvested, organic, chemical-free, and unfiltered EVOO range with intrinsic hair care properties.
Buy the perfect EVOO for your pantry and – perhaps – your lavatory.