Does mustard oil penetrate the hair shaft?

Averoigne · Jan 19, 2010

I have found a lot of information on this site and other sources online about the penetrative properties of various oils, but I'm having a difficult time finding out much about mustard oil. Does it penetrate the hair shaft?

My hair loves mustard oil. I use it as a modified oil rinse/co wash by mixing it in a 1:3 ratio with cheapie conditioner and following up with a conditioner. I am a 4a/3b type, relaxed, and I have been stretching my relaxer for 5 months. The mustard oil allows me to glide through my new growth with incredible ease. After drying, my new growth feels loosened and nourished, with a deep softness that I have never experienced with another oil. Mustard oil just might possibly convince me to transition... :yep:

My other favorite oils are coconut, avocado, and hemp seed, and I have had a lot of success with finding out information about their abilities to penetrate the hair shaft. I'm just wondering what the true scoop is on mustard oil. I know that there has been a controversy surrounding its use due to a widespread argemone contamination of its primary supply in India many years ago, and it hasn't recovered from that negative publicity.

It seems like it has too much of a transformative effect on my hair to just be sitting on top of it as a coating, but I can't find a single shred of documentation to substantiate this feeling.

Has anyone else had positive experiences with mustard oil, or found any more information about it in their research? Any and all thoughts that you have would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

Billygirl61 · Jan 19, 2010

Bump Bumpty

Averoigne · Jan 20, 2010

Bumping. Any mustard oil afficionados? :help:

yardyspice · Jan 20, 2010

I was just googling mustard oil and this came up. I saw it in an Indian store and I thought I would check LHCF. Thanks for posting.

dlewis · Jan 20, 2010

I don't know but I hated this oil. Here's my review from 2 years ago:

Mustard Seed Oil - Today I planned to use this as a HOT. The smell was awful and it tingled when applied to the hair and scalp. It was not a good feeling. This oil is now in the trash.

hair4romheaven · Jan 20, 2010

first place I saw mustard oil was here

http://http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/beauty/hair-loss.html

Averoigne · Jan 20, 2010

yardyspice said:
I was just googling mustard oil and this came up. I saw it in an Indian store and I thought I would check LHCF. Thanks for posting.

You're welcome. Please let me know what you think of it if you decide to try it.

medina78 · Jan 20, 2010

omg mustard oil turned my hair to mush!

yardyspice · Jan 21, 2010

medina78 said:
omg mustard oil turned my hair to mush!

Bad or good mush?

Averoigne · Jan 21, 2010

dlewis said:
I don't know but I hated this oil. Here's my review from 2 years ago:

I didn't like it hot. A few weeks ago I attempted to make a stovetop infusion of mustard oil, amla, methi and hibiscus powder. Once cooled, the oil turned out fine but the fumes associated with the heating process were quite volatile. I won't be heating up mustard oil on the stovetop again.

erplexed

You're right, the smell is...er...pungent. : ) But when I mix it with conditioner to use as a prepoo, the scent is diffused and by the time I follow up with my co-wash or occasional bar shampoo, the scent is gone entirely. I'm glad that it doesn't linger.

I love the scalp tingle, though. It's deeply soothing and stimulating to my scalp all at once, similar to the way my muscles feel after a combination deep tissue/ hot stone massage - deeply stimulated, nourished and pacified all at the same time. And the softness...

But the old adage is true...one's person's trash is another person's treasure. And whatever oil is working for you is really working for you. Your hair is gorgeous!!!

QBOE2001 · Jan 21, 2010

from what i can recall from previous research mustard oil is a mild inflammatory that works much like capsaicin in that it stimulates the scalp producing a tingling sensation and increased blood flow. Supposedly it promotes quicker growth but i've no data to substantiate that. It is capable of penetrating the scalp but does not really penetrate the hair, rather it coats it. If you are looking for an oil that penetrates the hair itself you are far better off using coconut, avocado or olive oil with coconut being the most penetrative.

Averoigne · Jan 21, 2010

hair4romheaven said:
first place I saw mustard oil was here

http://http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/beauty/hair-loss.html

Thanks for the link.

Averoigne · Jan 21, 2010

QBOE2001 said:
from what i can recall from previous research mustard oil is a mild inflammatory that works much like capsaicin in that it stimulates the scalp producing a tingling sensation and increased blood flow. Supposedly it promotes quicker growth but i've no data to substantiate that. It is capable of penetrating the scalp but does not really penetrate the hair, rather it coats it. If you are looking for an oil that penetrates the hair itself you are far better off using coconut, avocado or olive oil with coconut being the most penetrative.

Thank you for the very useful info, QBOE2001.

I regularly seal in moisture with an avocado/hemp seed oil blend in the fall/winter and coconut oil in the spring/summer, but am enjoying the effects of the mustard oil/cheapie conditioner prepoo so much that I hoped it might have penetrative properties.

Averoigne · Jan 21, 2010

yardyspice said:
Bad or good mush?

I want to know, too!

QBOE2001 · Jan 21, 2010

Averoigne said:
Thank you for the very useful info, QBOE2001.

I regularly seal in moisture with an avocado/hemp seed oil blend in the fall/winter and coconut oil in the spring/summer, but am enjoying the effects of the mustard oil/cheapie conditioner prepoo so much that I hoped it might have penetrative properties.

If your hair is loving it then keep using it. If it stops working for you later then you can always go back and try something else. :grin:

medina78 · Jan 21, 2010

Averoigne said:
I want to know, too!

bad mush overmoisturized my natural 4c hair, but i left it on over night never again!

blupeace · Jan 21, 2010

Great thread. I've never heard of mustard oil before. I wonder who sells it online?? (Must...keep...product junkie.....from taking over!!! :brucelee:

)

Averoigne · Jan 21, 2010

QBOE2001 said:
If your hair is loving it then keep using it. If it stops working for you later then you can always go back and try something else.

It's been instrumental in my relaxer stretch. I feel like I can stretch beyond six months with the softening effects on my new growth.
I love trying new things, so I wont be heartbroken if I need to replace it later in the journey. For the present, it's a keeper. :grin:

Averoigne · Jan 21, 2010

medina78 said:
bad mush overmoisturized my natural 4c hair, but i left it on over night never again!

One person's trash... :lachen:

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm so sorry you went through that. No single product works for everyone, and that was a bad experience! So don't even entertain the notion of discovering love at second sight by giving it another chance by mixing it in conditioner as a prepoo... :grin:

But seriously, I've had bad product setbacks too. I didn't leave my house for a week after my first and last Aphogee treatment. And after I bought and used Silkience conditioner at the 99 Cent store in my quest for an undiscovered gem-of-a-cheapie co-wash, I squirted the remainder of the bottle in the corners of my shower/tub to see if it would strip the caulk and turn bright white again...

It did. :yep:

nubiangoddess3 · Jan 21, 2010

The only Oils I know that penates the hair is Coconut , Olive and Avocado

and Meadowfoam seed oil partially penetrates

http://thebeautybrains.com/2007/05/14/two-natural-oils-that-make-your-hair-shiny-and-strong/

Averoigne · Jan 21, 2010

blupeace said:
Great thread. I've never heard of mustard oil before. I wonder who sells it online?? (Must...keep...product junkie.....from taking over!!! )

I purchased mine from a local indian store in my area, but you can most likely find it on Amazon.com.

I'm a horrible example for product junkies. But I am budgeting the products for a while because I purchased a digital camera online today. If I hadn't exceeded my monthly product budget this month, I would've sprung for expedited shipping.

But nope, ground shipping for me. :ohwell:

Averoigne · Jan 21, 2010

nubiangoddess3 said:
The only Oils I know that penates the hair is Coconut , Olive and Avocado

and Meadowfoam seed oil partially penetrates

http://thebeautybrains.com/2007/05/14/two-natural-oils-that-make-your-hair-shiny-and-strong/

Thank you for the link! I've never tried meadowfoam seed oil, but my hair loves coconut oil in the summer and avocado oil in the winter. My skin loves olive oil year round.

I'd like to try the meadowfoam seed oil, though. Collecting oils has become quite an addiction for me. :drunk:

vkb247 · Jan 21, 2010

I have seen it in the store and I wanted to buy it because I have read somewhere that someone loved it in their hair, maybe LHC. Is it the oil from a mustard seed or is it oil (olive, coconut, whatever) that has been infused with mustard?

I might just have to try this...

after I use up my other oils of course!

Averoigne · Jan 22, 2010

vkb247 said:
I have seen it in the store and I wanted to buy it because I have read somewhere that someone loved it in their hair, maybe LHC. Is it the oil from a mustard seed or is it oil (olive, coconut, whatever) that has been infused with mustard?

I might just have to try this...

after I use up my other oils of course!

The oil is made from mustard seeds. I like the way it blends with other oils, too. :yep:

me-T · Jan 22, 2010

i can't recall where i saw it, but doesn't it contain sulfur? i've wanted to try it, but sulfur causes buildup on my scalp. might be why it stinks so much?

Averoigne · Jan 23, 2010

me-T said:
i can't recall where i saw it, but doesn't it contain sulfur? i've wanted to try it, but sulfur causes buildup on my scalp. might be why it stinks so much?

You're right. Mustard oil is rich in sulfur. Its anti shedding effects are probably comparable to using garlic as a prepoo because garlic is rich in sulfur as well. Mustard oil and garlic both have pungent aromas, but I've used both (on separate occasions) as prepoos and couldn't detect any lingering effects of their scent after co-washing.

It is interesting how the same substance can yield such markedly different effects on different people. sulfur causes buildup on your scalp, but it cleanses mine in a thorough yet non stripping way.

Averoigne · Jan 30, 2010

I just discovered that a little bit of mustard oil on the chest is helpful if you're congested. It's always nice to find a multi-tasking oil!

yardyspice · Jan 30, 2010

Averoigne, what is the smell like?

Averoigne · Jan 30, 2010

yardyspice said:
Averoigne, what is the smell like?

Hi yardyspice,

Mustard oil is pungent/bitter - possibly like what you might anticipate a bushel of ground up cayenne infused radishes to smell like. But the smell does not linger at all if followed up with conditioner or shampoo in the hair.
It will clear your sinuses, too. Should you decide to try it, I recommend using it in a combination of oils.

gn1g · May 13, 2010

I put this on my scalp as a pre-poo and didn't think it would heat up. It is definetly a self heating oil, it scared me a bit there it was so hot. How long do you all leave it on?

Does mustard oil penetrate the hair shaft?

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