Why hair oiling could be the secret to longer, thicker hair
When was the last time you went to get your eyebrows threaded or ordered a tumeric latte? Hair oiling is just the latest in a line of centuries-old South Asian practices, which have weaved their way into Western culture.
So what exactly is hair oiling? On a practical level, it is an Ayurvedic beauty treatment that involves massaging oil into the scalp as a weekly pre-wash treatment to encourage longer, stronger hair.
But it's also so much more than that. For starters, it's a form of self-care. “In Sanskrit, ‘sneha’ means both ‘to love’ and ‘to oil’,” says Akash Mehta who, together with his sister Nikita, founded Fable & Mane, a haircare line inspired by the Indian traditions and ancient fables they grew up with. “So in Ayurveda, the act of self-love literally starts at the crown."
Hair oiling is also an act of familial bonding, with both Akash and Nikita recalling their grandmother massaging a blend of handcrafted oils into their scalps when they were children. “She would focus on the crown chakra to alleviate tension from the very roots of the hair, all the while soothingly recounting fantastic fables about India’s rich plant and animal kingdom,” they say.
Why is hair oiling having a moment?
The ritual was popularised by Season Two of the period drama Bridgerton, which depicted Kate Sharma having a deep and meaningful conversation while rubbing oil in her younger sister Edwina’s scalp.
As a London-born British Indian, watching the scene gave me goosebumps: it could easily have been me and my sisters as teens. It showed that the sentimental value of applying oil to the hair in Indian culture was as important as the beautifying ritual, and was just one of the ways that the Sharma sisters, played by Simone Ashley and Charithra Chandran, championed their culture throughout the series.
But the enduring popularity of hair oiling can be credited to the boom in soothing self-care rituals – as well as its prowess at conditioning the hair and creating a healthy environment for growth.
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Is oiling good for our hair?
The short answer to this is yes. For Anita Kaushal, the co-founder of the award-winning British Ayervedic beauty brand Mauli Rituals, hair oiling is just an extension of caring for our bodies. “Just as we use moisturisers on our face and oils on our body, it’s perfectly natural to use oil on the scalp to keep it nourished and in peak condition,” she tells GLAMOUR UK.
“Hair oiling certainly influences the quality of the hair and therefore its density," she continues. "You’ll feel the difference once it’s washed. Your hair will feel fuller, softer and shinier.” I am a longtime convert: I put my good hair condition (even with colouring every few months) down to a weekly ritual of oiling my scalp from a young age.
Likewise, Nikita and Askash are keen to stress that hair oiling brings together tradition and science. It was when Nikita suffered some hair thinning as an adult – and remedied it with certain Ayurvedic oils – that she and Akash began the serious business of developing their own unique blend and the cult HoliRoots Oil was born.
“During a time of hair loss and stress, we were reminded of the power of the Indian tradition of hair oiling ” says Akash. “The head is the home of all sense organs and our nervous system. That is why head massage is a part of an Ayurvedic daily routine. A scalp massage with essential oils relaxes your mind while stimulating your hair follicles.”
Their instinct to bring their culture to the masses has proved fruitful: Fable & Mane is now one of the best-selling Ayurvedic hair care brands in the UK.
The combination of caring for the scalp as well as the hair, and certain vitamin-rich ingredients (more on this later) is what makes hair oiling such a popular treatment for thinning hair conditions. Michelle Ranavat, the American-Indian founder of the luxury skin and hair care brand Ranavat, developed an effective pre-wash hair oil as a remedy to improve her postpartum hair loss after two children.
And for social media influencer and entrepreneur Erim Kaur, developing her own brilliant hair oil was her way of bringing ancient rituals and modern haircare together. You only need to take one look at her impossibly glossy, waist-length natural hair to make you want to stock up on oils for your bathroom cabinet.
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The best hair oils to choose
But with so many oils on the market, what ingredients should we be looking out for? There are some common oils that are found in many Ayurvedic blends for the hair:
Amla oil – This vitamin C-rich oil is one of the most popular for stimulating hair growth and remedy a dry, itchy scalp. It is a key ingredient in Ranavat Mighty Majesty Fortifying Hair Serum, which is also infused with a high concentration of oleic acid, jasmine and sunflower oils.
Ashwagandha – An Indian adaptogen that has regenerating and anti-inflammatory properties, it's renowned for thickening the hair. You can find it in Fable & Mane HoliRoots Oil, a prewash treatment laced with ashwagandha, as well as circulation-boosting dashmool and castor oil.
Castor oil – has long been used to help reduce inflammation on the scalp and encourage hair growth.
Dashmool – This oil is known to encourage good circulation on the scalp and can be found in the hand-blended Mauli Grow Strong Hair Oil alongside, alma and bhringraj, which Anita says is “excellent for hair growth”.
Bhringraj - Rich in plant nutrients and minerals – including iron, magnesium and potassium – which all help with hair health and growth, it is one of 13 botanical extracts in Kama Ayurveda Bringadi Scalp And Hair Oil.
How to do hair oiling correctly
As with so many ancient rituals, take your time with the process. For the Mehtas, the ritual of ‘abhyanga’ – self-massage as an act of self-love in Sanskrit – involves starting with the energetic point on the top of our head, a.ka.a the crown chakra.
“By beginning your head massage at the crown, you will alleviate stress and tension from the roots,” says Akash. “A herbal hair oil with adaptogens calms down your nervous system and an oil head massage stretches the hair from the root in order to produce thicker individual strands.”
Begin by warming a few drops of oil in your hands and placing them on the crown of your head, on dry hair. From there, massage into the scalp and use the remainder of the oil to brush through the ends with your fingers.
According to Michelle, it's best to hair oil before taking a shower or before bed at night to give strands much-needed nourishment. And for best results, leave the oil overnight and wash it out the next morning.
Hair oiling isn’t the first time Indian culture has been appreciated in the West and it certainly won’t be the last. There’s yoga, which has become one of the most popular forms of modern exercise (many classes often end with chanting the traditional Sanskrit word ‘namaste’, which means ‘I bow to you’).
Ancient Indian culture has made it to our local coffee shops, too, with the hugely popular turmeric latte. Did you know it’s been prescribed as a healing, anti-inflammatory remedy in India for centuries?
So, yes, the hair oiling ritual may be trendy for now, but it’s a trend with centuries of first-hand practice behind it. I'm glad it’s a ritual finally being celebrated globally.
