Why Use Non-penetrating Natural Oils On Your Relaxed Hair

Do you use natural oils on my hair? I do. When I started my healthy relaxed hair journey and I heard about natural oils and that they were good for relaxed hair I didn't need any other convincing. I started buying them and using them.

What I didn't realize is that while there are many types of natural oils that can be used on our relaxed hair, they can't all be used in the same way. Some oils can actually penetrate the hair shaft to help the hair from the inside out. There are other oils, call non-penetrating or sealing oils, that can't penetrate the hair shaft and sit on the hair.

Both types of oils, penetrating and non-penetrating, bring their own types of benefits to our relaxed hair. In this post, I'm going to dive more into the world of non-penetrating oils.

(This post includes affiliate links. Should you click an affiliate link and make a purchase I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.)

What is a non-penetrating oil?

As I've mentioned, non-penetrating oils are oils that can't penetrate into the hair shaft. As a result, they sit on top of the hair. This makes them perfect to be used as a sealing oil in your moisturizing and sealing routine. So they are also called sealing oils.

What are the benefits of non-penetrating oils?

While every oil provides individual benefits for relaxed, colored, and natural hair, there are some common benefits that most non-penetrating oils share.

• Sealing because they sit on the hair these oils are good to use to seal in moisture
• Hair growth by stimulating blood circulation in the hair follicles
• Scalp moisturizing and soothing
• Adding shine and sheen
• Diluting essential oils due to several of them being considered carrier oils

Additionally, some of these oils are rich in ceramides which is a fatty lipid that makes up our skin and hair. They're basically the glue that holds the hair cuticle together resulting in smoother and healthier hair. If ceramides are missing, the hair is damaged and will look dull, coarse, and dry. I've used a few of these oils on my relaxed hair for their ceramide benefits and have seen less breakage and increased manageability.

How can these oils be used on relaxed hair?

Probably the most common usage for these oils is as a sealant. When you add moisture to your relaxed hair you can help that moisture stay put for a while by sealing it in with an oil. 

You can also use these oils in hot oil treatments, for scalp massages, and even as previously mentioned to dilute essential oils.

Which natural oils are non-penetrating oils?

There is a multitude of natural oils that fall on this list. Some of the most common ones are them are

• Almond oil 
• Castor oil
• Jojoba oil
• Sesame oil

Ones that have high ceramide counts are 

• Grapeseed oil 
• Safflower oil
• Sunflower oil
• Wheat germ oil

I've personally used almond oil, grapeseed oil, and sunflower oil as a sealant on my relaxed hair and have seen good results.

You can get these oils from a variety of places - health food stores, grocery stores, or Amazon.

Because there are so many natural oils that fall into this category, I wanted to provide some more detail on a select few oils that are really good for relaxed hair. Some of them are oils I've used myself and others I haven't to provide some variety.