Natural Hair Care with Jojoba Oil
Jojoba oil is a common ingredient in many hair care products for a reason. Jojoba has many therapeutic properties that can protect hair health and improve damaged hair. The natural oil improves hair by both preventing moisture loss and balancing the production of the scalp’s natural oil, sebum, to a healthy level. This means that jojoba will help a scalp produce the right amount of sebum to prevent dry or oily hair.
Jojoba oil comes from the seeds of the jojoba perennial shrub that originated in desert areas in northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States. Today the jojoba shrub is also grown in plantations all over the world.
The oil extracted from jojoba is technically a liquid wax even though it is commonly called an oil. Jojoba oil is golden in color with a light natural nutty odor that does not linger. The oil is hypoallergenic, nonirritating and noncomedogenic. It contain vitamin E and has both antibacterial and antioxidant properties. These benefits make the oil ideal for hair care.
Hair and Scalp Damage
Dry hair is hair that does not have enough oil and moisture to maintain normal and healthy. Usual causes for dried hair are excessive washing or using harsh shampoo, excessive blow-drying, environmental dry air, too much sun, chlorine, salt water, heat styling or neglect. It can be also caused by other health issues, such as malnutrition, abnormal thyroid gland function or anorexia nervosa.
Dandruff is a very common problem among people and can have several causes. Dry skin is the most common cause of flaking dandruff, but one of the most frequent causes of dandruff comes from an irritated, oily skin. It looks like red, greasy skin with white or yellow scales. Other cause for dandruff is not washing your hair regularly or being too sensitive to hair care product. Apart from that, there are other medical causes, like psoriasis, eczema or a yeast-like fungus growing out of control on your scalp.
Jojoba Oil for Hair Care
Combine a mashed avocado with a few tablespoons of jojoba oil to make a mask for the hair. Add a few teaspoons of olive oil to the mixture for extra moisture. Apply this mixture to the hair and wrap it with plastic or cover with a shower cap for 20 minutes. Wash and condition your hair as usual.
Jojoba oil is an easy hot oil treatment for damaged hair that can effortlessly be done in the shower once a week for dry hair maintenance. Right before you get in the shower, fill your bathroom sink or a medium sized container with very hot water from the tap. Jojoba oil usually comes in the same tubes hot oil treatments do, and if not, any plastic bottle or small sealable container will do.
Heat the oil in the water for the first few minutes of the shower. After the hair has been washed, retrieve the oil from the hot water and coat the hair evenly with it. Put on a shower cap and let the oil penetrate for a few minutes. Rinse with hot water to help the oil penetrate, and then with cooler water to seal the hair follicles. This treatment can be used to help smooth split ends.
Give your regular shampoo and conditioner a boost with jojoba oil. Simply mix a few teaspoons to a few tablespoons into the bottle. It will add extra conditioning power to the conditioner and make the shampoo more nourishing. Jojoba oil naturally mild and light, making it a pleasant and trouble-free addition to commercial shampoos and conditioners.
