Hello Aireen,
You're not bothering me--it's a nice surprise to hear from you since I'm actually a fan of your hair and usually agree with, and like, your posts.
Your questions are very good and both easy and difficult to answer. Here's the easy answers: Yes, sun, saff, and grape oils contain ceramides. The percentages (of ceramides) for most oils are less than 5%, yet, as low as 1% should be enough to give benefits. Just use what you hair (and your nose!) likes.
The difficulty in answering arises from the fact that, as a technical person (read: science nerd) I finding hard to state facts without backing them up with either references or my own research. I'm very interested in the potential benefits of ceramides for both skin and hair but never officially joined the ceramide challenge because I was not convinced the benefits touted by some of the participants were from the ceramides, the products, or the oils! Some of the products identified as containing ceramides in the challenge post only listed some ceramide-containing oil as an ingredients (way down the middle of the list) so I couldn't see how such a low concentration could be responsible for the effect. A confounding factor with most oils is that they would probably be very beneficial even without the ceramides (either as penetrating oils or moisture sealants) so it's hard to tell what's the 'magic ingredient'.
This brings us to linoleic acid: it is essential for healthy skin and hair, so high linoleic acid oils are also very good for you, with or without ceramides, but it seems like the two go hand in hand (i.e., you usually find them together).
I've read a couple of research papers on ceramides and linoleic acid and I'm convinced they're good for hair and skin. When I have time I'll pull them out and summarize them and post them. I'm also experimenting with a non-hair care product that has ceramides listed as 5th ingredients. If I experience benefits I will share.
Hope this answers your questions!
P.S. Can I quote your questions if I decide to post this answer?
Aireen said:
Hi, sorry to bother you. I'm in the ceramides challenge for 2011 and I just wanted to know if sunflower, safflower, or grapeseed oil had a high amount of ceramides or a sufficent amount to see benefits for my hair? I stumbled upon a list in the 2010 ceramide challenge thread that said safflower oil's content was 78% in ceramides but you corrected this by saying the list is actually stating the percentage of linoleic acid. I also wanted to know if you knew what linoleic acid does for the hair and if the benefits are similar to ceramides? Again, sorry to bother you and thank you for your reply in advance. My questions are in bold and if there's any further information you can provide me, it would be appreciated.