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Full, perfectly hydrated and shiny hair: the hair tutorials published in recent months on TikTok all emphasize – or almost all – the benefits of ‘hair oiling’. This ancestral technique straight from India consists of taking advantage of the powers and benefits of oil baths, with a view to optimizing your hair routine and giving yourself a mane worthy of the most beautiful red carpets.
Just like fashion, the world of cosmetics is an eternal beginning, and even better since it allows each generation to benefit from the rituals of the past. We have seen this in recent years with the buzz around rice cooking water, an ingredient known and used for centuries in Asia, around the powers of cold, yet as old as the world, or around the Kobido, an ancestral Japanese art. Suffice to say that socionauts regularly develop a passion for techniques that have already proven themselves several millennia earlier. And this is once again the case for ‘hair oiling’, a beauty ritual straight from India, which is passed down from generation to generation, and which Westerners are now snapping up.
Taking care of your hair using ancestral recipes
This technique has been coming and going on social networks, including TikTok, for several years, to the point of having accumulated more than 1.5 billion views to date (and nearly 25 million for #hairoilingtreatments). At stake ? A host of videos, including tutorials, reinterpreting this ancestral beauty ritual with vegetable oils as diverse as they are varied, as well as before/after publications showing stunning results, to say the least. Note, however, that the practice is part of a broader trend, skinification, which consists of offering your hair the same demanding routine as that adopted for the skin.
But then, what is ‘hair oiling’? It’s simple, it’s simply a hair oil bath to leave on for a few hours or all night, depending, to obtain hair that is as shiny as it is thick and hydrated. Note that the technique (but this is not proven) would also offer better hair regrowth, and would prevent it from falling out. So many promises that make this beauty ritual a must for those who want to put an end to dry, brittle hair, or hair lacking vitality.
To adopt it, simply set your sights on one or more oils adapted to your hair type and needs. While there are obviously already ready-to-use formulas, it is possible to turn to coconut oil for nourished and shiny hair, jojoba oil for shiny, supple and less greasy hair, borage oil to stimulate growth, and even olive oil to soothe the scalp. The solutions are numerous and accessible to as many people as possible.
Once you have the products together, just get down to business. The ritual begins with proper brushing, then the application to the scalp and lengths of a suitable oil. Once this step is completed, it is recommended to self-massage with your fingertips on the scalp, neck, and temples (or a massaging brush). All you have to do is tie your hair and let the product sit, before washing everything with one or two shampoo(s). Performing this ritual once or twice a week (no more!) could help you obtain that hair so coveted by social users.