QuoteReplyTopic: Questions About Oils Posted: May 13 2005 at 4:54pm
I finally splurged on more oils and butters Your oils just sounded so yummy and I had run out of the necessities. Let's just say I'm a "regular" at Mystify. This order had been planned for so long!
I think you'd be surprised that solid oils can be easy too. I made shea butter leave-in last night, and it is so easy to transport. I put it in a 2 ounce tin:
All it takes is a scrape over the fingernail, rubbed between the palms, and used in the same way as regular oil. I tried this shea leave-in for the first time last night. It looked greasy on loose hair (used too much) but it's GREAT for braiding.
$1.55 1 1/2 oz Cucumber Melon FO $1.55 1 1/2 oz Green Apple FO $1.55 1 1/2 oz Love Spell FO $1.55 1 1/2 oz Warm Vanilla Sugar FO $2.00 1 Castor Oil 4 oz $3.15 1 Fractionated Coconut Oil 8 oz $6.00 1 Jojoba Oil 8 oz Tea Tree $2.55 1 1 oz Tea Tree
I bought a bunch of different fragrence oils because I wanted to test around with diluting a scent into my oils (maybe I could even skip the whole perfume thing if it works out!). Then I purchased some castor oil due to all the rave I hear about the benefits for your eyelashes. Then I got some fractionated coconut oil (liquid) because I thought it would be less messy to deal with a liquid than a solid. And then I got jojoba oil for how amazing it's supposed to be. And tea tree oil based upon the many recommendations and mentions there are.
They're already in town, and supposed to be here tomorrow with the mail! Ohhh, I'm so excited!!
I ended up purchasing a bunch of oils from the site you recommend me, Mystify your Senses. I'm still reeling from how cheap everything from that site it. Also, I can't wait for them to arrive. Using USPS, it should be here tomorrow or Friday! Oh, I'm so excited! I can't wait to share the results with everyone! Wish me luck!
Mary- Most oils are fine for room temp storage (jojoba, coconut, whatnot) but certain oils will have to be refrigerated--among these are flaxseed and unrefined hemp. I've heard that flaxseed is WONDERFUL for our hair type.
Jojoba oil does have a very mild scent in some cases, but it's a very light nutty scent.. actually it depends on the batch of jojoba, or which variety you're buying. The lighter the golden color, the less likely you'll have a scent. Also, if you mix oils, the one with the longest shelf life (likely jojoba) will extend the shelf life of the entire mixture as a whole. A bonus!
Shiverpale, the stuff in the tin may be coconut milk, but the solid block is coconut oil. If it's a "solid block", it's likely to be the 92 degrees variety (melts @ 92 degrees). You might want to find a softer variety, otherwise it could make hair difficult to manage. There's a 92 and a 76 degree Fahrenheit. Then again, coconut milk also makes a really nice "hair soak".I guess you'd kind of do it like henna.
ETA: Refined shea butter (white kind) has very little scent. It's the kind that comes in white chunks that are gooey-er than coconut oil but harder than vaseline. I prefer this over the yellow unrefined, which is often the color of yellow play doh. IMHO the unrefined also smells like crap .
Question 1, not really sure. Most of the time I see a recipe, it's a person's only recipe, or one of a few. I've never seen any sort of clearinghouse of EO recipe information, though if there was a book, I could easily have missed it.
Question 2, the cheapest way to buy them is over the Internet. Try Camden-Grey Essential Oils. There are lots of other dealers, but I've only dealt with them.
Just looking for a few good hair slaves - is that too much to ask?
Thanks for posting all this great info! I have a q.
Do you know of where any of us can find some recipes from other people who have already done experiments with oils?
What is the cheapest way to buy them?
-Char
eKatherine
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Some essential oils are said to have medicinal properties, others you just use for the fragrance when making blended oils and other skin and hair care products. Fragrance oils do not have beneficial properties aside from smelling nice. Fragrance oils are of unknown composition and should only be used for their nice smells in the diluted state.
Most essential oils and all fragrance oils should be diluted for use unless you have specific information to the contrary.
If something bothers you, don't use it. Don't assume that because something is "natural" it is safe for any and all purposes. Orange oil on the skin can cause sensitization to sunlight, for example.
Some essential oils are quite expensive, and fragrance oils use a variety of chemicals to simulate the desired scent affordably. I've bought tea rose scent, which is very nice, but I could never afford to buy rose otto.
Keep any fragrance or essential oils in the container they came in unless they come with instructions to store them differently. I store mine on the bathroom shelf.
Just looking for a few good hair slaves - is that too much to ask?
The Asian Invasion
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Wow, thanks for answering my questions, eKatherine and Dave! *hugs*
Shiverpale, my hair in the picture has a deep U-shape, but there were also layers cut into it. It just naturally grew into that shape, but since my mother cut it, it's become more of a blunt u-shape with no layers. Then a few weeks ago, I went through and cut my own soft layers to blend it all.
Anyways, are essential oils and fragrence oils more recommended? I mean, I heard that essential oils were very harmful because they are used more for 'healing' than the scent (I always had watery eyes when I didn't dilute them enough). Would frangrence oils be more safer in that case, or are they as strong as essential oils? What scents are your favorites for oils?
I plan to get liquid oils for my hair. What kind of a container can I store oils in? I want to mix different fragrences, but I'm afraid of storing them incorrectly.
Thanks a bunch everyone!!
shiverpale
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I'm just going to try to answer the questions where I have something to add to what Dave said.
1) What kind of scent does Shea Butter have?
I bought some unrefined shea butter a while back. It smells wicked gross and greasy to me. I tried to cover the smell with rose fragrance, but that even that was insufficient. I'm not sure how the refined smells, as I don't intend to buy any to try it out. That’s not the only issue I had with shea butter, read 3) below.
2) If coconut oil is solid, how long would it take to melt? And if you don't melt it before you apply to your strands, would the white cream be visible in your hair? Or is liquid coconut oil more recommend?
Unless your hands are very cold, coconut oil melts immediately. Actually, you should be applying so little that there's no way it can show. If I use coconut butter for a heat treatment, I melt it in a dish, apply generously, then cover my head with a shower cap before the heat cap. I have liquid coconut oil, which I use as a carrier oil.
3) Can Shea butter be used on your hair, or just your scalp? If so, same questions apply for shea butter as coconut oil.
The shea butter I bought did not melt at skin temperature. It was a waxy solid. When heated, it melted easily and applied in a thin coating on the skin that didn't feel greasy. But, as above, it smelled really bad. And I really didn't want a waxy solid in my hair. These are just my experiences, I haven't heard anyone else say these things about it. Cocoa butter is less waxy and smells better. I used it to weigh down my staticky flyaways in the winter.
4) I hear a lot of how great these oils are for your skin; is it okay to apply the natural oils do your skin, or do you need to melt it with other oils to make an actual lotion first?
Lotions and oils are completely different things. You can buy plain, unscented lotion to doctor up, or you can blend different oils together if it suits your fancy. I don't use lotion anymore, I use oil both alone or blended.
5) Speaking of which, how would it be possible to dilute essential oils in a solid, such as shea butter and coconut oil?
You melt them together in a dish set in a pan of hot water. They will separate when they cool, as the lower melting point solids crystallize from the mixture first. Reheating the container will reliquify them.
6) What's the difference between essential oils and fragrence oils? Can fragrence oils also be diluted in carrier oils?
An essential oil is extracted from a single source, which is its name. A fragrance oil can be compounded from many sources, and may not contain any of its namesake. Either can be diluted in a carrier oil. In fact, you'd better dilute your fragrance oils, as they can be powerfully odorific.
Just looking for a few good hair slaves - is that too much to ask?
shiverpale
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ohhh, i cant wait for your questions to be answered asian invasion! all of them are what ive been wanting to find out! only i didnt know how to word it and everytime i tried i got confuzzled!
lets hope they are answered sooooon!
btw, if that is you in your icon pic, you have gorgeous hair! i love the shape of it! could you tell me please, is the shape you have classed as a U shape, or V???
Asmara
"The hair is the richest ornament of women."
DaveDecker
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1) Jojoba oil has no scent. I dunno about Shea butter.
2) Depends on the air temp (or temp of your hands). Whenever I
tried to use coconut oil, I'd take a bit on my fingertips and rub my
hands together - the heat (from hands and friction) melted it so it was
no longer white. I never saw any white specks on my hair after
applying it. If you do buy coconut oil for use in your hair, I'd
recommend one that is liquid at room temperature.
3) I dunno
4) I see no reason why you couldn't use them as is. I dunno how
beneficial they are as compared with hand lotions made specifically for
skin.
5) Not sure; it may depend on the EO. A 90% dilution (1 part EO
to 9 parts carrier oil) may work well. If the oil is solid at
room temp, you could melt a quantity of it at very low heat on a
rangetop and blend in the EO.
6) I dunno. (Seems there's a lot that I don't know.)
7) Not necessarily. Conditioners contain mostly moisturizers, and
some also contain smaller amounts of proteins, silicones, fragrances,
and maybe oil. Oil is just oil - 100%. Hair condition
benefits from some of most of the above. You get to decide what
proportions are right for you. I don't see why you couldn't use
leave-in conditioner and oil simultaneously. You may want to
clarify occasionally to remove excess build-up.
I occasionally (rarely) use Aveda's beautifying composition. Works well for me!
Hope this helps...
The Asian Invasion
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Okay, so I'm planning to buy various oils to test out on my hair, but I had a lot of unanswered questions.
1) What kind of scent does Jojoba oil have? Shea Butter?
2) If coconut oil is solid, how long would it take to melt? And if you don't melt it before you apply to your strands, would the white cream be visible in your hair? Or is liquid coconut oil more recommend?
3) Can Shea butter be used on your hair, or just your scalp? If so, same questions apply for shea butter as coconut oil.
4) I hear a lot of how great these oils are for your skin; is it okay to apply the natural oils do your skin, or do you need to melt it with other oils to make an actual lotion first?
5) What's the recommended dilution rate for essential oils in carrier oils such as jojoba or coconut? Speaking of which, how would it be possible to dilute essential oils in a solid, such as shea butter and coconut oil?
6) What's the difference between essential oils and fragrence oils? Can fragrence oils also be diluted in carrier oils?
7) Adding oil to your hair is just like leave in conditioner, right? If I start using oil on my strands, shoud I stop using leave-in conditioners (ie- Nexxon Anti-snap)?
Overall, what oils are recommended for your hair? What have you had had good/bad experiences with?
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