Whether you’ve got thinning hair, looking to boost hair growth or just want to tame frizz, we’ve handpicked the best hair oils for all budgets and needs
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Hair oil is a great way to nourish your hair and scalp to prevent your hair from breaking. It can help to tame frizz and give your hair a healthier glow.
It’s a great option for you if you regularly use styling products, curlers or straighteners, or if you colour your hair which makes it much more prone to being brittle and breaking.
What’s more, the massaging technique of applying hair oil will also help stimulate the circulation of blood to your scalp, which in turn helps to improve the health of your hair.
However, no one wants to have greasy-looking hair and this might be putting you off using a hair oil.
Fear not, we explain what to look for when shopping for the best hair oil and detail how to find the right oil type for your hair type.
FURTHER READING: How to hair oil
From £14 | Buy now
Fable & Mane Fable and Mane’s Holiroots is a pre-wash, strengthening hair oil that contains a blend of Ayurvedic herbs, including Ashwagandha, Bhringraj, and Brahmi.
Each of these ingredients is known for its hair-strengthening properties and when combined, they work together to improve scalp health, reduce fall, and promote thicker and healthier hair growth.
In particular, Ashwagandha is what’s known as an adaptogen; an ingredient that helps the body respond to stress and get it back to a state of balance, what scientists call homeostasis.
Helping your scalp benefits your hair, and this hair oil stimulates the circulation to the scalp and its hair follicles, which helps make hair grow stronger and thicker.
Elsewhere, this oil is also infused with coconut oil and sesame oil, which provide nourishment and hydration to the hair and scalp.
This helps to prevent dryness and breakage, leaving the hair looking shiny and feeling soft.
In addition to using it as a pre-shampoo treatment, it can be used in a leave-in conditioner, as a styling product, or as a treatment for dry hair.
It can also be left overnight and we recommend wearing a satin bonnet to avoid the oil getting on your pillow (and face) and to reduce friction.
Buy now from Cult Beauty
£8 | Buy now
L'Oreal Elvive We love this hair oil from the wider L’Oreal Elvive range because it’s a budget-friendly option that works for most hair types. It provides intense nourishment, shine, and frizz control while being suitable for all hair types.
If you’re just starting out with hair oil, this is a good option for you to try.
It contains a blend of six flower oils, including lotus, chamomile, tiare, flax, rose, and sunflower. These oils work together to leave the hair soft, smooth, and shiny.
Additionally, the lightweight formula means it doesn’t weigh the hair down.
The oil can be used in a number of ways, either as a pre-shampoo treatment, a leave-in conditioner, or an overnight softener. It can be applied to wet or dry hair and a little goes a long way making it even better value.
Buy now from Boots
£58 | Buy now
Monpure This luxury hair oil from Monpure is packed full of nourishing ingredients including vegan keratin, castor oil, and wheat germ oil.
The vegan keratin hydrates your hair and repairs any fragile strands. The wheat germ oil and antioxidant Q10 help to boost hair growth and strength, while castor oil softens and nourishes the scalp and hair.
The Monpure hair oil will also boost the elasticity of your hair because of the vitamin-rich ingredients.
Monpure specialises in scalp care, which in turn means it’s an expert in hair growth and hair loss.
You can read more about its recent campaign targeting hair loss and helping women regain their confidence in our guide on trichotillomania, or our how to make hair grow faster guide.
Buy now from Cult Beauty
£29.99 | Buy now
Hair Veda Hair Veda is a UK-based specialist in natural, organic hair oils. The brand was founded by Aneeka Chauhan whose husband suffers from Alopecia areata.
After trying many solutions – from shampoos to off-the-shelf hair oils – nothing helped so Aneeka developed her own natural alternative.
Inspired by Ayurvedic principles, which is an ancient holistic healing system that originated in India, the Sabal Hair Growth oil contains jojoba oil, cedarwood oil, thyme oil, rosemary oil, lavender oil, and garlic oil.
All of which help regrow, repair, and strengthen the scalp and hair.
The addition of garlic oil, as you’d imagine, does add a prominent garlic smell but this also means it offers antimicrobial and anti-fungal properties which are especially key for people suffering from scalp conditions and severe hair loss.
If you have mild to moderate hair loss, or you don’t fancy smelling like garlic, then Hair Veda also sells a lemon-scented oil called the Avani Hair Growth Oil. It costs the same as the Sabal version, with most of the same ingredients. Yet instead of garlic oil, it contains lemon oil.
Buy now from Hair Veda
From £13.85 | Buy now
Moroccanoil Moroccanoil is an OG hair oil.
It’s made using argan oil hair oil which is particularly good if you have dry and damaged hair. This also makes it ideal for coloured hair.
The brand details a number of ways this oil can be used:
It has a lightweight feel, meaning it doesn’t leave the hair feeling heavy or greasy, even if your hair is fine. As well as helping to improve the strength of your hair, this argan oil is great for restoring softness and shine to your hair. All for a mid-range price.
Buy now from Lookfantastic
£8.99 | Buy now
Aveeno We explain the benefits of rosemary oil on the health and quality of hair in our the science behind rosemary oil for hair guide, but in summary, it has been shown to be
You can use rosemary oil on the scalp and hair to take advantage of these benefits, or you can buy a shampoo that contains rosemary.
This shampoo is designed to work for hair loss prevention and to strengthen and stimulate your hair follicles. As well as rosemary, it also contains argan oil (hence why we’ve included it in our best hair oil list) which moisturises the hair and protects it from damage.
Buy now from Lookfantastic
£25 | Buy now
Pattern The best hair oil for your scalp is likely to be one that includes jojoba oil and that’s because it’s rich in vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, B vitamins, vitamin E, copper and zinc.
It’s what’s known as base oil – rosemary oil is the same – so you’re going to want to dilute it with a carrier oil or similar before applying directly to your scalp.
Alternatively, you can put this jojoba oil serum in a container of hot water, massage it into your hair after shampooing, cover it with a towel for 3-5 minutes and then rinse with warm water.
Buy now from Cult Beauty
To get the most out of one of these best hair oils, it helps to know which ingredients suit your hair needs.
If you have damaged hair, for instance, the best hair oil has a higher fat and protein composition, such as argan or coconut oil. That’s because these types of oil have moisture-retaining properties. Another good hair oil for damaged hair is castor oil, which is known for enriching hair follicles and hair strands due to its high Vitamin E and omega fatty acid content.
Hair oil for fine or thinning hair should use lighter oils, like macadamia seed and Abyssinian oil. Weak hair would also benefit from castor oil because it’s protein-based and rebuilds the integrity of your hair strands. Rosemary hair oil for thinning hair is also a good option because rosemary oil can help your hair grow more.
If you have an irritated scalp then you’ll want to try jojoba oil because its chemical structure matches the sebum produced by your scalp. It’s a great hair oil for dandruff too.
Below we explain more about the different types of hair oils and what benefits they bring.
Getty Images/iStockphoto Coconut oil is perfect for dehydrated hair because it moisturises and seals your hair strands. This means it helps with taming frizz. It also helps prevent your scalp from becoming dry and flaky, so coconut oil is good for dandruff.
You can use coconut oil as a pre-shampoo treatment, so that it protects your hair from stripping when you rinse. Don’t use too much coconut oil if you have brittle hair because it can lead to a protein build up and this can cause your hair to break.
Argan oil works well for all hair types, but its particularly a great option if you have curly hair or you’re looking for a hair oil for coily, textured hair.
Argan oil contains compounds called phenols, antioxidants (like Vitamin E) and fatty acids, which help strengthen your hair follicles and promote cell production on your scalp.
Argan oil is also a great hair oil for dry hair because it helps to lubricate your strands and is a great option if your hair is looking a little dull and needs a boost.
Similar to Argan oil, Abyssinian oil helps to boost your hair’s shine. It has a high percentage of Omega-9 fatty acid which helps give hair a glossy feel. This makes it a good oil for dry hair. Its fatty-acid content also helps to condition split ends.
mamabella | mamabella If you’re wanting to boost your hair growth, jojoba oil is worth a try. It stimulates circulation in your scalp, as well as nourishing and strengthening your hair follicles because it’s packed with vitamins and minerals such as vitamins C, B and E, as well as copper and zinc.
Unlike other oils that moisturise the outer layer of hair strands, the fats in jojoba oil penetrate the outer layer of hair, so it repairs beneath the surface.
If you have a dry or flaky scalp, or have brittle hair, then give castor oil a try. It’s good at treating inflammation because it’s packed with ricinoleic acid and also stimulates your hair follicles, which can help your hair growth.
Before you reach for the olive oil in your kitchen cupboard, a hair product with olive oil will be your best option. That’s because olive oil in its purest form has a large molecule size and therefore will only work on the surface of your hair strands. This makes it great for protecting your hair.
Vitamin E is great for keeping your scalp healthy and manketti oil contains high levels of Vitamin E, as well as polyunsaturated fatty acids. Both are effective at protecting your skin, making it great for your scalp too.
Victoria is founder and editor-in-chief of mamabella, freelance journalist and Mum. She has a passion for empowering people to feel beautiful whatever their age, size, skin type and budget
