How to Use Hair Oil Properly: Amount, Timing and Technique

Hair oil can add shine, reduce friction, and make dry ends look and feel suppler. But it replaces neither water-based care nor automatically a heat protectant. Whether the result looks cared for or greasy is decided by four things: product, amount, zone, and timing. Once you set those correctly, you need surprisingly little oil for a lot of effect.

What hair oil can and cannot do

Hair oil works mainly on the surface of the hair. It lays itself as a fine film onto the cuticle, smooths down lifted hairs, and thereby makes the hair look shinier and more cared for. At the same time this film reduces friction, the hair glides more easily, tangles less, and feels suppler. And because oil seals the outer fibre layer, it helps hold the moisture that is in the hair.

The important thing is the difference between sealing and hydrating. Oil itself brings no water into the hair. It can lock in moisture that is already there, but it does not replace water-based care such as conditioner or leave-in. On dried-out hair it otherwise only seals the shortfall. And it is not a heat protectant: before a blow-dryer, flat iron, or curling wand, your hair needs a product developed for that, not a few drops of oil. So oil is the finishing touch for shine and suppleness, not the basic care.

Four ways to use oil

Depending on your goal, you use oil at a different point in the routine:

• As a pre-wash treatment. Massage oil into lengths, ends, and if needed the scalp, let it work for a few minutes, then wash as usual. This protects the fibre before it swells when it gets wet.
• Into towel-damp hair. A few drops in the lengths seal in the moisture of the wash, ideal against frizz and for supple lengths.
• Into dry hair as a finish. Tiny amounts on the ends bring shine and smooth lifted hairs without weighing down.
• Mixed into mask or conditioner. One or two drops in the rich care lift its suppleness feel.

At the roots, oil has no place in everyday use, there it only makes the hair stringy fast. The exception is the deliberate pre-wash treatment, which gets washed out again anyway.

What does that mean at MONAT?

MONAT has two REJUVENIQE® oils in the range that match hair thickness. The richer REJUVENIQE® Oil Intensive is the signature oil, ideal as a treatment and for dry ends. Alongside it there is REJUVENIQE® Light, the lighter variant. It weighs the hair down less and can be dosed more finely for small daily use, which fine or quickly oily hair especially finds more pleasant. As a rule of thumb: the thicker, drier, or more stressed the hair, the more the original suits; the finer and faster to flatten, the more Light suits (provided it is offered in your market, otherwise the original works for almost any hair type as long as the amount stays small). Which of the two suits you is placed by the guide REJUVENIQE or REJUVENIQE Light?, and what exactly is in the oils is covered in the guide REJUVENIQE® oil.

Using REJUVENIQE® correctly

Both oils share the same idea, only the feel in the hair differs. The original can be used in four proven ways:

• Pre-shampoo treatment (about 15 minutes). Work the oil into the lengths and if needed the scalp, let it work for about a quarter of an hour, then shampoo as usual.
• Intensive warm-towel treatment (about 30 minutes). For very dry lengths, oil more generously, wrap a warm towel around your head, because the gentle warmth supports the process, and wash out after half an hour.
• Finish for dry ends. A small amount in lengths and ends for shine and suppleness in everyday life, dosed sparingly and never at the roots.
• Mixed into the mask or conditioner. A few drops make the weekly care even suppler.

When washing out, one trick helps: oil emulsifies more easily if you first take a little shampoo into your hands and work it into the oily hair before adding water. That way the shampoo spreads better and the oil rinses out residue-free instead of sitting stringy. REJUVENIQE® Light you dose even more finely for everyday use: one to two drops on the ends, not at the roots.

How much oil does your hair type need?

Less than you think, and the amount follows your hair thickness:

• Fine hair: one to two drops, on the ends only. Here a particularly light texture is worth it, and how you otherwise care for fine hair is shown in the guide on fine hair and volume.
• Medium hair: two to three drops in lengths and ends.
• Thick, curly, or very dry hair: tolerates noticeably more, ease into it slowly.

The technique is always the same: rub the oil between your palms first, then work it from the ends upwards and stroke the rest over the lengths. Better to start with a little and add if needed, because too much cannot be taken out again without washing.

Caught too much oil? This is how you rescue the look. If the hair looks stringy or greasy, first spread the existing oil further towards the ends with warm palms, that is often enough. If that does not help, wash targeted with a little shampoo and emulsify it dry in your hands before water comes in, so the oil dissolves residue-free. At the roots, a little dry shampoo can absorb excess oil. And for next time: one amount less than the one that was just too much.

Common mistakes

• Putting oil at the roots (except as a pre-wash treatment), the hair looks greasy straight away.
• Too much at once, better to dose sparingly and add step by step.
• Oil on bone-dry, depleted hair without moisture care beforehand, then it only seals the shortfall.
• Mistaking oil for a heat protectant, for that you need a dedicated product developed for it.
• Overnight as a permanent solution, occasionally as a treatment is perfectly fine, but it does not have to be every night.
• Washing out badly, without emulsifying with shampoo first, residue is left behind.

Oil, serum, or leave-in?

The three complement each other, they do not replace one another:

• Leave-in is usually water-based and brings moisture or care ingredients into the hair, it comes first.
• Serum can be light and water-based or more oily and often aims at a specific goal such as smoothness or shine.
• Oil is the sealing, heaviest layer and comes last.

The rule is "from thin to heavy": first the water-based products, then the oil as a finish. That way the oil seals in what the lighter layers brought in before, and none of the three textures gets in the way of the other.

Quick questions

Can REJUVENIQE go on the scalp?

Yes, as a pre-shampoo treatment you may gently massage it into the scalp and let it work before shampooing. As a finish in dry hair, though, it stays in the lengths and ends, not at the roots.

How many drops do I need?

That depends on hair thickness: fine hair usually one to two drops, medium two to three, thick or very dry hair a little more. Start sparingly and add if needed, too much oil can only be taken out by washing again.

Oil on wet or dry hair?

Both work, with different effects. In towel-damp hair, oil seals the moisture and prevents frizz; in dry hair it acts as a finish for shine and smooth ends.

Can hair oil replace a heat protectant?

No. Oil is not a heat protectant. Before a blow-dryer, flat iron, or curling wand you need a dedicated product developed for it. Oil takes care of shine and suppleness, not protection from heat.

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Find the oil amount that suits you: the free Glow Tribe hair analysis shows you your hair profile in two to three minutes, and a personal consultant from our team puts together a routine in which oil is dosed exactly right.