Hot Oil Hair Treatment - Recipe & Technique

I have been addicted to hot oil hair treatments since I was about 12 years old. I used to warm the oil up, put it on my hair, and then rinse it out with apple cider vinegar/baking soda. I'm not sure that the last part of my hair treatment was all that healthy but I swore by it.

Well, I'm a bit older now but still addicted to hair oil for a deep conditioning treatment. I normally toss together whatever the new oil de jour is with some jojoba and essential oils (Geranium and Lavender are my standbys).

Last night, I got inspired and made a more serious attempt at a conditioning hair oil.

First, I infused some sesame seed oil/unrefined hemp seed oil with herbs of calendula, and Fenugreek. Fenugreek is traditionally used in India by infusing the seeds into yogurt and using the mixture as a hair conditioner. I did a luke warm infusion and simmered the oil on low for an hour with the herbs. I strained the oil with a makeshift strainer - a coffee filter lining my pasta drainer.


You can see by the oil that it is very dark after the infusion. The unrefined hemp seed oil is a natural dark green brown color to start and the infusion darkened it.

The infusion was the time intensive part. The rest is easy. My recipe looks like this:

2 oz. Hemp and Seseme Infused oil

2 oz. Castor Oil

2 oz. Fractionated Coconut Oil

1 oz. Evening Primrose Oil

1 oz. Avocado Oil

1 oz. Soybean Oil

Essential Oil Blend: .25 oz. Carrot Seed Oil, .10 oz. Frankincense CO2 Extracted, .25 oz. Basil Essential Oil, .15 oz. Cedarwood EO, .15 oz. Rosemary EO

After I had all the oils assembled, it was a quick pour into the bottle and voila! A lovely, stimulating scalp and hair oil.

Directions for use: Massage into scalp and hair. Leave on for a minimum of 20 minutes. Wash and condition your hair like normal to rinse the hair oil out.