Raechele Cochran Gathers, MD Avocados are not only pretty to look at, but also delicious and good for you too. Avocadoes are the quintessential super-fruit, rich in minerals and a great source of vitamins like Vitamins C, E, K and B6. Avocadoes are also a great source of beneficial fats. In fact, avocados are the only fruit that provides a substantial amount of healthy monounsaturated fats. While great for your body, avocado oil is also wonderful for your hair. Boasting anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, avocado oil is good for natural hair.
Benefits of Avocado Oil
While eating healthy, managing stress, exercising, and taking in enough water are key to growing healthy hair, avocado oil can also provide many benefits that help it promote a healthy scalp and healthy natural hair.
- Contains antioxidants (helps destroy harmful free radicals from stress/pollution)
- Rich in biotin
- Reduces inflammation
- Enhances hair lubrication
- Helps prevent breakage
- Strengthens the hair shaft
Avocado Oil and Hair Porosity
Avocado oil can be used by those with both low and high porosity hair. Some vegetable oils have been shown to penetrate into the hair shaft, enhance the lubrication of the hair shaft, reduce strand fragility, and fill in gaps in the cuticle. This is especially useful for high porosity hair, where the cuticle tends to be more open.
Avocado oil is relatively light, so it will not weight down low porosity hair the way some heavier oils and butters can. Also, monounsaturated oils like avocado oil diffuse into and penetrate the hair strands better than polyunsaturated oils.
Ways to Use Avocado Oil for Natural Hair
- Gently massage a small amount of avocado oil into your scalp and around your edges. Do this nightly. The natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of the oil, along with the enhanced blood flow from massage, can help to fortify your strands and stimulate growth.
- Apply avocado oil to your hair as part of a pre-poo mask to help fill in gaps in the hair cuticle and defend your strands from hygral fatigue and damage from shampoos.
- Rub a few drops of avocado oil into the length of your hair daily to help seal in moisture and give your coils a healthy non-greasy luster.
