Sweet orange oil for hair: what it is, what it does, how we blend it
Sweet orange oil is pressed, not distilled, from the peel, and it is almost pure limonene: the brightest, most familiar scent in the library, used in three of our blends and gone from the hair within an hour or two.
| Role | Essential oil, citrus family |
|---|---|
| On the label | Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil |
| In our blends | Light Touch 1%; Full Measure 1%; Wash Day 0.5% |
| Builder limit | Up to 1% of a hair blend (all essential oils together: 1%) |
What it is
Cold-pressed from the peel of Citrus sinensis (the label name is Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil), the oil is 90 to 95% limonene with a little myrcene and the aldehydes that make it smell of fresh orange. It is pale orange, thin and highly volatile, and it oxidises faster than most essential oils, so it belongs in a blend made to order. Unlike bergamot and some other citrus oils, sweet orange is not a photosensitiser.
How it feels on hair
At 0.5 to 1% it gives a sweet, fresh, instantly recognisable orange that lifts a rich blend and fades fast. The blend's weight and finish are unchanged.
Who reaches for it
Everyone who wants a blend to smell clean and uncomplicated: Light Touch and Full Measure carry it at 1%, Wash Day at 0.5% with sandalwood. It softens the scent of black seed and castor in a rich blend.
Where it sits in our blends
Light Touch carries sweet orange at 1% (with Grapeseed 52.3%, Jojoba 26.2%, Baobab 10%, and more). Full Measure carries sweet orange at 1% (with Fractionated Coconut 78.5%, Castor 8.4%, Pumpkin Seed 6.3%, and more). Wash Day carries sweet orange at 0.5% (with Olive 52.3%, Virgin Coconut 26.2%, Jamaican Black Castor 8.4%, 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
Essential oils share at most 1% of a hair blend; the builder allows sweet orange up to 1%. Pair it with sandalwood, cedarwood or lavender over any base; in a rich coily blend it is the note that keeps olive and castor from smelling heavy.
Good to know: Fades fast and oxidises in the bottle over months; one reason your blend is made after you order.
Compose with sweet orange 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.