Wait, So We're Not Supposed To Use Oils On Natural Hair?
Coconut oil, caster oil, jojoba oil… you name it, and it’s very likely my hair has been drenched in it. In the everlasting pursuit of moisture, my thick and kinky-coily natural hair is often treated to a feast of hair oils and butters during my washdays and while I’m wearing protective styles. Using oils to soothe my scalp and lock in moisture is the way I’ve been told to do it, since I was a child sitting on the floor between my mother’s legs as she battled with my thick head of curls. I wouldn’t be surprised if my grandmothers and the generations before have been moisturizing (or rather, greasing and oiling) their hair in the exact same way.
Nowadays, like most Black adults who spend a considerable amount of time online, I get most of my hair care tips from Youtube (because I’m by no means a capable kitchen beautician) and my favourite natural hair care content creators have been delivering a startling and very loud message over the last few years: ‘SAY NO TO OILS AND BUTTERS.’ At the same time, naysayers are also proclaiming in capital letters that the ‘No Oil And Butters’ method is a lie. As I sit here about to detangle my hair before my next protective style, with too many products and not enough time, I really need to know… who’s telling the truth?
How Did The ‘No Oil And Butters’ Natural Hair Care Trend Get Started?
Ditching or reducing the use of raw oils, heavy butters and creams in natural hair styling is by no means a new conversation, especially amongst curly hair specialists fighting the good fight against dry hair and breakage. Way back in 2013, NYC salon founder Jennifer-Rose Johnson caused a stir when she told viewers across her social channels that heavy use of raw oils and raw butters, and creams wasn’t necessary and actually DOESN’T help seal in moisture like once thought. Instead, she introduced a simple three step routine, and recommended people with afro hair should shampoo often (at least once a week with a sulphate-free product), and simply need one conditioner and a styling product such as gel for moisturized and defined curls and coils. More recently, Camille Janae, a curly hair and loc educator from Sacramento California, went viral in 2021 when her TikTok video claimed “oil and butters are making your hair more thirsty. In the short clip, where she’s drenching a client’s afro, she emphasized “water is the source of hydration, oil and water do not mix… the hair repels the water which leads to dehydrated hair, please stop doing this.”
Like many watching Johnson’s and Camille Janae’s videos, learning that butters and oils could dry hair out rather than nourish it was news to me. The main pushback on the stylist’s helpful tutorials have come from those with the tightest coils who believe a scaled-back wash-and-go routine wasn’t possible on curliest hair types. And yet, many of Camille Janae’s tutorials and videos featuring 4C curls thriving have proven otherwise.
Admittedly I instinctively joined the naysayers. Just water?! No leave-in conditioner at all?! How do you unlearn techniques that feel just as traditional as cornrows and braids? As Camille Janae explained to Loop Lifestyle last year, “In the Black community it is ingrained in us in our upbringing to grease the scalp, to use oil in our haircare, so when someone, even if they are Black, is telling you to stop doing something their mom did, your grandma did, your great-grandma did it can cause you to have strong feelings because it is a traditional practice.”
How Do You Add The ‘No Oils And Butters’ Rule To Your Wash Day Routine?
The experts urging curly folk to ditch the oils and butters suggest it isn’t a social media “trend” nor a new fangled method but advice based on actual scientific evidence. The No Oils And Butters three-step method is recommended for wash-and-go days, with experts like Camille Janae suggests using:
— A clarifying shampoo (free from sulphates and other nasties) used during regular weekly washdays to prevent damaging buildup.
— A conditioner where the first five ingredients aren't oils or butters.
— And, while your hair is still very wet, add a water-based gel to style.
— For healthy hair, trim once a month
Then there’s the 30-Day Detox, pioneered by Black Girl Curls founders Aeleise Harris Ollarvia and Ayesha Strickland, who recommend an entire month without coconut, caster, jojoba, shea butter and any other raw oils and butters that can cause excessive product buildup and hair to feel drier hair than usual. Read More...
