Carrier Oils: What They Are and Why Your Hair Oil Needs One

Three different things get called "oil" in Indian haircare, they behave completely differently, and mixing them up is behind most of the bad experiences people have.

The three kinds

Carrier oils

Pressed from a nut, seed or fruit. Coconut, olive, almond, sesame, argan. They are oils in the ordinary sense — you could cook with most of them — and they can go on skin or hair undiluted, in any quantity.

Their job in a blend is to carry something stronger and spread it thinly and evenly.

Infused oils

A herb steeped into a carrier oil over low heat until the oil takes on its properties. Bhringraj, brahmi, amla, henna oil, kumkumadi — all infusions.

These sit in the middle. They are not dangerous undiluted, but they are concentrated and usually sold in 10ml or 15ml dropper bottles. A dose is ten to fifteen drops, not a palmful.

Essential oils

Steam distilled, and many hundreds of times more concentrated than the plant they came from. Rosemary, tea tree, lavender, peppermint, lemongrass.

These must never go on skin undiluted. That is not caution, it is the single rule that matters. Neat essential oil on a scalp causes exactly the irritation most people were trying to treat, and then they conclude the oil does not work.

The dilution rates

The standard safe range for essential oils on skin is 0.5% to 2%, which works out at three to twelve drops per 30ml of carrier oil.

In practice:

• 4 drops in 10ml of carrier — about 2%. The usual strength for a scalp treatment.
• 2 drops in 10ml — about 1%. For the face, and for sensitive skin.
• 1 drop in 10ml — for children, and for anybody who has reacted before.

An infused oil does not need a safety dilution in the same way. You extend it because fifteen millilitres will not cover a scalp on its own, not because it will burn you.

Which carrier to use

Virgin coconut

The default for hair, and the most studied oil in hair science — its lauric acid is small enough and straight-chained enough to move into the hair shaft rather than sit on it. Solidifies below about 24°C, which is normal and not spoilage.

Olive

Heavier. Better on the body than on hair, and good in winter when skin is cracking.

Almond

Light, absorbs quickly, suits the face.

Sesame

The traditional Ayurvedic base, warming, used for abhyanga full-body massage.

Argan

The light one for frizz and ends. Expensive, and you need very little.

Making a blend

For a weekly scalp treatment:

1. Start with 10ml of carrier oil in a small bowl.
2. Add four drops of your essential oil, or ten to fifteen drops of an infused oil.
3. Warm the bowl by standing it in hot water. Never on a flame.
4. Apply on the scalp, massage, comb through, leave an hour or overnight.
5. Shampoo on dry oiled hair first, then wet and lather.

Mix what you need each time. A blend made in advance is fine for a couple of weeks in a dark bottle, but there is no reason to bother.

The mistakes

Rosemary essential oil used neat on the scalp. The commonest one by a distance, usually after seeing it recommended for hair growth. Dilute it, or use rosemary water instead, which is mild enough for daily use.

Using more essential oil for a faster result. Past about 2% you are not getting more benefit, only more irritation.

Treating a 15ml infused oil like a 100ml carrier. It will be gone in three applications and you will think you were short-changed.

Skipping the patch test. Inner arm, twenty-four hours, every time you try a new essential oil.

Our virgin coconut oil and virgin olive oil are both cold pressed and work as carriers for anything in the range.