Frankincense oil for hair: what it is, what it does, how we blend it

Frankincense oil is the resin of the Boswellia tree distilled into a clear, lemony-woody scent: a warm, quiet note for a lengths oil at well under one percent.

Role	Essential oil, warm woody family
On the label	Boswellia Carterii Oil
In our blends	Not in a signature blend yet
Builder limit	Up to 1% of a hair blend (all essential oils together: 1%)

What it is

Steam-distilled from the dried resin tears of Boswellia carterii, the oil is mostly alpha-pinene with limonene and other monoterpenes, which is why fresh frankincense smells more citrus-pine than church. It is clear, thin and volatile, and softens as it dries down. We describe the scent and leave the folklore out.

How it feels on hair

At up to 1% it gives a warm, resinous, faintly lemony scent that lasts longer than the citrus oils. The blend's weight and finish are unchanged.

Who reaches for it

People who want a woody oil that is not as dry as cedarwood or as dark as vetiver, and anyone building a calm evening lengths oil. It is not in a signature blend yet.

Where it sits in our blends

No signature blend uses frankincense yet, which makes it one for the builder: start from a blend that is close and swap it in, or build from scratch. Every blend is weighed to the gram and the recipe is printed on the label.

How to compose with it

Essential oils share at most 1% of a hair blend; the builder allows frankincense up to 1%. It pairs with sandalwood, bergamot or lavender over argan or camellia with baobab and marula.

Compose with frankincense Find your formula

Weighed to the gram and blended to order in New Jersey, with the recipe printed on the label. For external use only; patch test before first use. Every oil, with its INCI name, is in the oil library.