Regardless of what your hair texture is, healthy hair always looks best. The look of shiny, soft touchable hair is desired by many. You can achieve this look using either hair serums or hair oils. These products can help your hair in more ways than just making your hair shiny. These products deliver nutrients to your hair making sure the hair stays healthy and happy. The question is serum vs oil, which is best for hair?
If you want a product that can transform your hair from dry, dull and drab to shiny stunning and full of life then you can use either serum or hair oil. They offer quick ways to give the boost that your hair needs.
Table of Contents
Hair oil:
This is a product that promises to give your hair shine and to keep it healthy. It can be used to moisturise the hair as well. The molecules of the oil are small enough to penetrate the hair cuticle. They penetrate the hair in a similar way to how moisturisers penetrate our skin. When our hair grows out of our heads it is already dead, but it still needs products to keep it looking good. Hair oils do this by penetrating deep into the hair and changing the hair structure from the inside.
What are the uses?
Hair oils will have a great impact on your hair. Note that different people will need different oils for different reasons. A good reason for you to use hair oils is if you need an added boost of moisture to your hair.
This is especially true if you have curly or coily hair. This hair type is drier, the hair oils will help to moisturize this type of hair. If you have had any treatments which change your hair, like drying or relaxing then your hair will benefit from using hair oils.
If you have straight hair then adding oil to your hair might not be such a great idea. This is because the natural oil produced by the scalp will find its way down the hair easily anyway. This type of hair naturally gets oily on its own and even oily enough to the point where it needs to be washed daily.
Hair serums:
Serums can be used as more of a hair treatment. This is similar to face and eye serums that you might know about. They help to deal with issues such as frizz and dull hair, they also protect the hair against impurities from the environment and dryness.
These are generally silicone based products. They don’t penetrate the hair follicle as oils do. They usually sit on top of the hair, doing its magic on the outside, treating the hair. Serums can add a layer of slip to your hair making it softer and preventing the strands from getting tangled.
What are the uses?
They can control unruly strands: If you have unruly strands then you can use the serum to tame them. It’s a quick and easy process where you apply the serum and press on the hair to make it lay flat
You can use serums to protect your hair from environmental irritants and impurities. You can apply it to your clean freshly washed hair and it will be a barrier between your hair and the pollution in the air.
Similarities:
- If you use too much of each product then you can get a greasy look. Rather use a minimal amounts first then work your way up if you need to
- They are both great additions to have when trying to achieve healthier hair
- Both can be used to address specific hair concerns, this being dry hair, dull hair, damaged hair and much more.
- They can both deliver a good amount of nutrients to the hair. The nutrients in each product tackle different hair issues
- Both can reflect light and add shine to your hair making it look healthier.
- They can both help you deal with a variety of different hair concerns depending on the product’s formulation
- Both products have the ability to cause acne, read how hair products and long hair can cause acne.
Differences:
- Oils are usually used to condition the hair and make it shiny, penetrating into the hair. Serums can be used to treat the hair on a surface level
- Serums need to be targeted to a certain area of concern eg: the ends of the hair, oils can be used all through the hair.
- Hair oil is to be applied before a shower. This is to allow the warm water to open the hair cuticles, allowing the oils to penetrate the hair as much as possible. Hair serums should be used after the shower and shampoo, it acts as a protective barrier on the hair
That’s it for this article comparing hair serum to hair oils. I hope that this helped you figure out the differences between a hair oil and a hair serum and which you need for your hair concern. If you enjoyed this article please share it.
