- SHAKE WELL
The oil was made with very heavy oils like coconut and castor oils. They sink right at the bottom of the bottle alongside the root and herb powders. Give the bottle a really good shake until you see all the settled powder integrating with the rest of the oil in the bottle. If you put the bottle against sunlight, as you give it a good shake, the light coloured oil will turn dark, close to black.
- POUR OUT OIL
Pour out as much oil as you'd require for your scalp and hair. This varies from person to person. Curly heads / frizzy-haired people will require a lot more oil than fine-haired people. For someone with approximately 18" mid-back length hair, use about 15ml oil per wash day. For a male with a crew cut, use 5-10ml oil per wash day.
- OPTIONAL: HEATING OIL
You can either microwave the extracted oil in a microwave-safe dish for 10-20 seconds or transfer the extracted oil to a tablespoon and take it to direct heat over the stove. Test if it’s heated enough (but not too hot as it may scald your hand and scalp) before application.
- OIL HAIR
Oil only on dry hair - either greasy hair with products on or clean hair that’s been washed and dried. Massage your scalp and coat your hair with sufficient oil. Oil needs to be coating hair all over. However, you do not want your hair to be dripping with oil.
Great pressure points: 8 fingers from the start of hairline (should take you to the highest point of scalp), 8 fingers from the start of hairline at the nape of neck (should take you to a high point at the back of your head)
- KEEP HAIR KEMPT
Tie a loose knot or braid your hair loosely to prevent breakage. It's normal for some hair fall during this stage, especially if you're new to oiling, or are returning to oiling after a long break. Do not panic. After 2-3 weeks of oiling, hair fall during oiling and hair fall during a wash should drastically reduce.
- SOAK HAIR IN OIL
Leave your hair soaked in oil for 1-2 hours for beginners. If you're accustomed to oiling, you can experiment with leaving it on for 4-5 hours, or even overnight.
- OPTIONAL: STEAMER
You can recreate a salon steam treatment at home by wrapping your oil-soaking hair with a wet towel. Take a hair dryer to the towel and press heat into your hair. Do this for 10 mins and then wash off.
- WASH HAIR
Wash your hair with a clean shampoo, preferably free of sulphate, paraben and silicone. Wash your hair out in (recommended: cold) water and shampoo out the grease. It’s normal for hair to retain some grease from oiling. Washing hair out twice with shampoo is not recommended as you’ll be stripping away all the moisture from your hair. Feel free to skip conditioner as your hair will retain moisture and silkiness from the oiling.
- AIR DRY HAIR
Heat tools are not the best for styling wet hair. Skip the hair dryer and hair straightener and let your hair air dry fully. Don't be alarmed if this takes a couple hours.
- REPEAT
Consistency is key. Oil your hair as regularly as 2-3 times a week. Keep track of how your hair and scalp is performing. Send pictures and videos of you and your lovely mane to @haircarebymon or via Instagram @haircarebymon