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It took me a long time to figure out hair oil. My hair is fine, colored, and damaged. All it took was a few overzealous pumps on wet hair, and the greasy finish would make it seem like I hadn’t bothered washing my hair at all. I know now that all that product wasn’t necessary: If you’re using good hair oil, a pump or two will do the trick.
But how do you spot good hair oil? Beyond an ingredients list stacked with moisturizing oils, there’s also consistency to consider — do you want something thick to quench your ends before blow drying, or something thin to smooth down flyaways before washday? Either way, I tried dozens and spoke to experts to find a list of seven options; each oil featured has different strengths, but each one is a solid, expert-recommended option for hair in need of either a little TLC or a helping, smoothing hand as we move into drier and windier months.
Update on October 2, 2024: Updated prices and checked stock for all products.
What we’re looking for
Ingredients
Most hair oils are made up of other oils, from argan and moringa to jojoba and sunflower oils. Argan oil is a popular hair-oil ingredient: It’s been used for centuries to smooth and soften hair, and you’ll find it in the ingredients list of several options here. It’s also a smaller molecule, which is another thing I’m looking for: Heavier oils such as coconut can weigh the hair down and make it appear greasy.
Elsewhere, I’ve also looked for hair-strengthening ingredients: Vitamins like biotin and tocopherol can improve the strength of hair over time.
Price per ounce
I will say upfront that hair oil is not at all cheap — some of these options even go as high as $30 per ounce. What’s worth noting, though, is that you only need to use them very, very sparingly. In most cases, one pump or a pea-size amount is enough. So while the upfront cost may seem a little steep compared to, say, a shampoo, your hair oil is going to last you a whole lot longer. For clarity, I’ve listed prices per ounce.
Best hair oil overall
Ingredients: Moringa oil, argan oil, bamboo extract | $10 per oz.
Strategist senior editor Jen Trolio told me about Verb’s Ghost Oil. (I was already familiar with the line, and crowned its conditioner as my favorite of all time but hadn’t got my hands on its oil.) It contains common hair-oil favorites such as moringa and argan oil and the less-common bamboo extract. As bamboo is rich in silica, an ingredient known for its hair-strengthening properties, it’s a great addition. I was drawn to a few things in Trolio’s recommendation. First, it can be applied to wet or dry hair: This means it can be used to add moisture to freshly washed hair and also seal in and prolong that moisture in second- and third-day hair. Crucially, Trolio told me the product doesn’t build up when used on consecutive days, which is key to avoid that greasy look and feel you can get if you overdo it with a hair oil. “It’ll feel slick on your fingers, has a good slip to it, but it doesn’t make the hair greasy or oily looking, just does a great job of smoothing,” says Trolio. She uses the oil on both her and her daughters; they all have fine hair so can be sparing with the application. Those with thicker hair need only add a pump or two extra to get those same results. Since it’s suitable for all hair types (and not too heavy for fine hair), imperceptible, both sealing and moisturizing, and a very reasonable price, I’m naming it my top pick overall.
Best less-expensive hair oil
Ingredients: Argan oil | $2.60 per oz.
I was thrilled to hear one of my experts — stylist and salon owner Rogerio Cavalcante — recommend argan oil. In Morocco its benefits for the hair have been known for centuries, and since my trip to Marrakech as a teenager, I’ve always kept a bottle on my nightstand. You’ll find it in the ingredients list of several other oils on this list (it’s a hair-oil backbone), but it also works pretty well as a main ingredient. It’s packed full of moisturizing oleic acid and linoleic acid, it’s been proven to protect against free-radical damage plus improve elasticity, and anyone who’s swiped some on their ends will know it smooths even the most split of ends. Argan oil is a smaller molecule than other oils (such as coconut), meaning it can penetrate the hair easily; that’s what makes it so effective. Cavalcante recommends this specific oil from Hask for its rich consistency that “distributes really easily throughout the hair, making it both soft and shiny.” He also says that the ingredients argan and grape-seed oils make it “ideal for thicker hair types and dry ends as it instantly adds nourishment and reduces frizz.” If your hair is super thin like mine, though, a standard drugstore bottle of argan oil will also do the trick.
Best hair oil for curly hair
Ingredients: Almond, sunflower, castor, and jojoba-seed oils | $13 per oz.
To give some smoothing shine to curls without weighing them down, lightweight oils such as jojoba and almond are the way to go. This Freewill oil has both as well as stimulating castor and sunflower oil (both moisturizing hair oils with some evidence to suggest they promote hair growth). Stylist Gregory Patterson is so fond of the oil as it “fortifies the delicate curls and edge hairs that are weaker and more prone to breakage and dehydration,” all while remaining lightweight. “I love it because it’s nourishing and targets a specific hair zone for a more tailored care solution for your hair at those delicate edges.”
Best hair oil with heat protectant
Ingredients: Passion-fruit-seed oil, pracaxi-seed oil, avocado and olive oils | $30 per oz.
I got a whiff of this hair oil at a press event last Christmas, and I think about it often (a truly botanical lavender aroma.) Beyond its scent, the ingredients are just what we’re looking for: lightweight passion-fruit- and pracaxi-seed oil smooth and hydrate without building up on the hair and making it look greasy. But what makes this oil so special is the additional ingredients of avocado and olive oils, both of which can withstand high temperatures and are common ingredients in hair-protectant-specific products. Fellow Strategist writer Ambar Pardilla is the biggest fan of the oil I know of. “It protects against potentially damaging blasts of blow-dryer heat, plus it smooths my hair to prevent Bride of Frankenstein frizz,” she says. “Seriously, I love the stuff — with a few drops in the palm of my hand, I get shampoo-commercial shine.” It is absolutely on the pricier side, but I think it’s worth picking up (especially when it’s on sale, which is almost bimonthly, in my experience).
Best hair oil for breakage
Ingredients: Moringa and bixa-orellana-seed oils, tocopherol (vitamin E) | $18.50 per oz.
Like the Verb Ghost Oil, this R+Co oil has ingredients to both moisturize and protect. Moringa and bixa-orellana oils moisturize, while tocopherol (which is a type of vitamin E) protects against free-radical damage. The result is smooth, shiny, and eventually healthy hair. It’s the go-to oil of Strategist junior writer Brenley Goertzen, who experienced extreme breakage as her hair began falling out during college. “I use it as a finishing oil to tame down breakage on freshly clean and dry hair,” she says (I will just add that you can use the oil on wet hair, too). “I put one-to-two pumps in my hands and then use it just on the top layer of my bangs and hair to smooth and add shine — I’m not a natural blonde so I do get damage sometimes from highlighting my roots” adds Goertzen.
Best for smoothing
Ingredients: Annatto, argan, and pumpkin-seed oils | $14.16 per oz.
It took two recommendations for our beauty columnist Rio Viera-Newton to invest in this hair oil, but at roughly $14 per ounce, it actually sits in the cheaper to mid-range of the hair oil shelf. For the price, you get an ingredients list containing argan (my favorite), pumpkin-seed, and annatto oils. There’s been a lot of clinical studies to suggest that pumpkin-seed oil can stimulate hair growth, and it’s known to be kind to the scalp. Annatto oil is popular particularly in K-beauty products: It can moisturize, soften, add shine, and even improve the vibrancy of hair colors. Overall, both Viera-Newton and I argue that makes it worth the slightly steep initial investment above the $60 mark. “This is the best hair oil I’ve ever tried in my life. The texture is thick, which makes it really easy to work it into your hair evenly. And it works like an actual dream,” she says.
Best hair and scalp oil
Ingredients: Biotin, rosemary oil, peppermint oil | $5 per oz.
This is one of those bottles you find in your mom’s cupboard that truly does the trick. The ingredients list is simple — essential oils like rosemary and peppermint, plus biotin, a hair-care staple — which makes it effective and suitable for all hair types, says Patterson. It’s also an all-rounder: It can be used as a hair oil for split ends, a leave-in treatment, a pre-shampoo treatment, and a detangler. The mixture of nourishing oils is also kind to scalps, and oils like peppermint are believed to boost blood circulation in that area, which stimulates healthy hair growth.
Some other hair oils we’ve written about
Our experts
• Rogerio Cavalcante, stylist and salon owner
• Brenley Goertzen, Strategist junior writer
• Ambar Pardilla, Strategist writer,
• Gregory Patterson, celebrity stylist
• Jen Trolio, Strategist senior editor
• Rio Viera-Newton, Strategist beauty columnist and writer
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
