“Oil in your hair? Ew.”
Growing up, I always had the fear of my South Asian mother putting oil on my scalp and hair. I was afraid of the fingers pointing at me, telling me I smell weird, or my hair looks gross. The fear lingered on in the back of my mind, never fading away until I realized hair oiling is pretty cool, and I as a South Asian woman shouldn’t feel singled out due to my own cultural beliefs.
“Oil your scalp and hair for healthier, stronger, and shinier hair,” my mother always told me. She was right, although my younger self would rather be against the horrid idea. My mother treated my hair as a sacred ground, in hopes of beautifying my hair with the help of oils she had purchased from a market.
Beautiful hair for South Asians is not a trend per se, but a way of culture passed down through generations. If there was one thing my mother was proud of, it was my long, luscious, black hair.
Coconut oil was my worst enemy as a child, but ironically my hero as a young adult. The aroma seemed to chase me around my home, reminding me that hair oiling was essential on my to-do list and must be done at least every two weeks.
Like every hero, oils have many strengths. Coconut oil protects the scalp and the hair. It creates a barrier on the scalp to block irritants and bacteria. Additionally, the lauric acid in the coconut oil has nourishing properties and moisturizes the hair and heals breakage. Coconut oil was also found to increase the strength of twisted fibers due to the penetration of the oil in the core of the hair.
Coconut oil is only one out of the many existing hair oils, but it was a childhood favorite of mine, evoking the sudden nostalgia of my days as a self-conscious South Asian.
Now as a young adult, I browse Amazon looking for the best oils to help with breakage and moisture without shame. Instead, I reminisce at my old self for abhorring the mere idea of oil in my hair.
“Oil in my hair? Say no less.”