Argan Oil for Hair: How Many Drops, Where and When
How many drops of argan oil your hair needs, where they go, damp or dry, and how the amount changes for fine, thick, curly or long hair.
Curly and wavy hair is often oily at the root and dry along the length. At the same time.
It comes down to distance. The scalp makes its own oil, sebum, and it works its way down the strand from the root, slowly. A comb and a brush help it along, but it travels badly down a curl. On straight hair the journey is easier, yet on any head of hair the ends are furthest from the scalp, so the oil reaches them last.
That is why argan oil goes where hair has the least oil of its own: into the lengths and ends. A few drops, rubbed between your palms, and your hair is softer under your fingers afterwards.
A strand, up close
The outside of every hair is covered in overlapping scales, laid like tiles on a roof, several layers deep. It is the part you touch when you run your fingers through your hair. On that surface, hair oils work as emollients, ingredients that soften.
In southern Morocco, from the southern slopes of the central High Atlas to the palm oases, most Amazigh women washed their hair with wet henna scented with plants. The henna softened the hair enough to be set into a style that told you which tribe a woman came from.
How many drops your hair needs
Two to four drops are enough for hair. The exact number depends on how much hair you have and what kind it is, and the placement follows the advice dermatologists give for conditioner.
Short, fine or straight hair
Two drops, on the ends only. Fine hair is the first to show an extra drop, so stay at the lowest number.
Thick, curly or dry hair
Three to four drops, through the whole length down to the ends. Dry, coarse, tightly curled hair takes oil well.
Divide thick hair into two or three sections and give each its own drop. That way the oil also reaches the strands underneath.
Long hair
Four drops, or a few more, because there is more length to cover.
How to apply it, step by step
The drops go into your palm, not straight onto your hair. From your palms the oil spreads in a thin layer. A drop that falls straight onto your hair stays where it lands.
- Put the first two drops in the middle of your palm.
- Rub your palms together until the oil is a thin layer on both.
- Start at the ends. Hold them between your palms and draw your palms down them a few times.
- Run whatever is left on your palms through the lengths with your fingers.
- If some ends still feel dry, add another drop, only there.
On damp or dry hair
You can apply argan to damp or dry hair. On damp hair the drops spread more easily through the whole length; on dry hair they are a finishing touch for the ends.
So thick and curly hair is easier after washing, and fine hair on dry.
After washing
- Wash your hair as usual.
- Apply conditioner to damp hair, leave it for two to three minutes and rinse it out thoroughly.
- Wrap your hair in a towel or a cotton T-shirt and press. Do not rub.
- Once it has stopped dripping, it is time for the argan.
- Comb it through with a wide-tooth comb. Wet hair is more delicate than dry.
Our hair conditioner is called LHRIR. It is made with shea butter and avocado, sweet almond and argan oils. After it, your fingers go straight through your hair, it combs out more easily, and it has a natural bounce.
On dry hair
Two drops on the ends, in the morning before you go out or at any time of day when the ends seem dry. On dry hair you can use argan every day.
When it is too much
On dry hair, too much oil shows at once. The hair looks flat and the strands cling together. Next time, use one drop fewer.
On damp hair you only see it once the hair has dried. So the first time, let your hair dry before you decide whether it wants another drop.
Common questions
Do I need to rinse argan out of my hair?
No. It stays in as the last step, after washing or during the day.
How long does a bottle last if I use it only on my hair?
Between 150 and 300 applications. A 30 ml bottle holds 600 drops.
Can I use the same oil on my face?
Yes. Every morning my hair gets whatever is left in my palm after my face, with a stop in my beard on the way. Your face needs fewer drops and a different method, set out in how to use argan oil on your face. The body, and where the oil comes from, are in the complete guide to argan oil.
Our argan oil
Our 100% argan oil has one ingredient, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil. It is unrefined and cold-pressed, and it is pressed by women in the collectives we work with in the Souss-Massa region. On hair it smooths the ends and cares for the lengths.
You can try a drop on your own ends at our shop in Sarajevo City Center. Then run your fingers through them.