Olive oil for hair: what it is, what it does, how we blend it
Olive oil is the rich base of Wash Day: the heaviest base oil in the library, high in oleic acid, grassy-peppery in scent, and one of the oils a 2005 study put in the 'gets in' group alongside coconut.
| Role | Base oil |
|---|---|
| Weight | 4 of 4, rich |
| Chosen for | Moisture, softness |
| On the label | Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil |
| In our blends | Wash Day 52.3% |
| Builder limit | Up to 85% of a hair blend |
What it is
Pressed from olive fruit, the oil is about 70 to 75% oleic acid with a little linoleic and palmitic, which makes it stable and slow. In the 2005 TRI Princeton study (Keis and colleagues) olive behaved like coconut, with capillary adhesion between fibres falling over time in a way the authors read as oil penetrating the fibre, while mineral oil did not. We say 'in the gets-in group' and stop there. Cosmetic grades are a lighter colour than kitchen extra virgin but carry the same fatty acids.
How it feels on hair
Weight 4 of 4, rich. It is thick in the hand, slow to spread, and leaves a definite, glossy coat on the hair. On coils and thick curls that coat is slip and softness; on fine hair it is too much.
Who reaches for it
Type 3C to 4C curls and coils, thick and dry strands, and anyone who oils before washing. Wash Day leads with it at 52.3%. If your hair goes flat under heavier oils, start from Fine Print instead.
Where it sits in our blends
Wash Day carries olive at 52.3% (with Virgin Coconut 26.2%, Jamaican Black Castor 8.4%, Avocado 6.3%, and more). The blends with a product page can be bought as they are; every one of them can be opened in the builder and changed oil by oil.
How to compose with it
Olive can take up to 85% of a hair blend as a base. Wash Day pairs it with virgin coconut at two parts to one and adds Jamaican black castor, avocado and baobab as actives, with sweet orange and sandalwood for scent. For a slightly lighter version, swap the coconut for jojoba.
Compose with olive 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.