Hair Serum Vs Oil: Which Is Better For You!

Hair products make all the difference in styling. They help your hairstyles last longer, add shine, volume, texture, and protect your hair from heat.

You may have seen numerous commercials featuring hair serums that instantly transform dry, dull locks into silky, smooth hair. While anything that gives you immediate results may seem like a lifesaver, picking a hair product is not a one-stop-shop kind of deal, because they are all different.

If you're wondering what the magic potion for healthy, manageable, and frizz-free hair is, this article helps you understand the difference between hair serum and hair oil, and their respective benefits. Read on for more.

Hair Serum: What Is It Exactly?

A hair serum is a silicone-based treatment that provides a protective layer over the hair strands, adds shine, smoothens the hair, and prevents tangling. It also offers ample hydration and protection against humidity, making it the best frizz-fighter.

If you get your hands on the right serum for your hair type, it can help address multiple concerns such as repairing hair damage and protecting your hair from environmental pollutants.

The key to getting the most out of your hair serum is learning how to use it properly.

How To Apply Hair Serum?

1. Find The Right Product

Like all grooming products, the first step to getting started is finding the right one for you. Choose a serum based on your hair type and specific concerns. For instance, if you want to grow your hair longer, you can pick a serum for hair growth. Similarly, if you want to tackle frizz and dryness, choose an anti-frizz formula.

2. Wash Your Hair

Hair serums work best on clean hair. The rule of thumb with a hair serum is to apply it only to freshly washed hair.

Unlike other products like hair sprays or mousse, serums provide nourishment to your hair. They also protect it against environmental aggressors like grime, dust, and pollution. So, using a hair serum on unwashed hair defeats its purpose.

Note:

While the serum's initial application should be on clean hair, you can use a serum to touch up your hair throughout the day or days in between washes.

3. Apply Serum To Your Hair

Based on your hair’s density and length, dispense a few drops of the serum on your palm, rub together in your hands, and disperse evenly throughout your hair. Remember, with serum, a little goes a long way. No matter how long or thick your hair is, over-application is never a good thing.

Flip your towel-dried hair forward and start applying the serum from the roots to mid-lengths of your hair. Avoid going too close to the roots because a serum does most of its work at the hair’s base.

4. Post-Application Hair Care

After applying the serum, brush your hair downwards to detangle your hair and evenly distribute the product.

Benefits Of Using Hair Serums

1. Tames Flyaways And Frizz

Before your turn to other means such as cutting your hair or investing in a hair spray, try a serum. A hair serum effectively helps tame and nourish frizzy hair.

2. Adds Shine

Shiny hair is the ultimate hair goal, and using a serum helps increase your hair's shine. Use a shine-boosting serum as a finishing touch to polish your strands and fight dullness.

3. Nourishes Dry Hair

Dry hair has so many downsides. It feels rough and looks lifeless. A good hair serum can provide your hair essential nutrients and make it significantly softer and silkier.

4. Protects Against Humidity

Does your hair puff up the moment you step outside when the weather is anything less than perfect?

While your hair type plays an influential role in this, and you cannot change it, you can manage how it reacts to environmental elements such as artificial heat or humidity. The right serum can do just that.

5. Detangles Your Hair

You can barely run your fingers through dry or damaged hair without running across a tangle or feeling extreme roughness. Just a few drops of serum can make your hair soft and supple.

6. Repairs Damage

When you use heat styling tools or color your hair, it undergoes wear and tear. When your hair loses its natural oils, using a serum is one of the easiest ways to restore your hairs' moisture.

Hair Oil: What Is It Exactly?

For generations, hair-oiling has been the South Asian secret to shiny, long hair. Hair oils are conditioning treatments that sink into your hair and improve its overall health.

Oil is made up of ingredients known to penetrate your strands, lubricate them and nourish them with fatty acids. It is an indispensable component that helps hydrate dry hair  , irrespective of your hair type or texture.

If you’re looking for a multi-tasker and the perfect remedy to treat hair prone to breakage, damage, fraying, dryness, frizzing, and split ends, choose hair oils over serums.

Common Oils For Hair Care

Here's a detailed lowdown on different hair oils that you can try.

1. Coconut Oil - To Reinforce Hair

A magical cure-all and multi-tasker, coconut oil deeply penetrates the hair shaft to lock in moisture and strengthen weak spots. It is suitable for all hair types, especially dull, damaged, or dry hair. Those with breakage and slow hair growth can use this treatment once a week.

2. Argan Oil - For Smooth And Shiny Hair

Often referred to as liquid gold, argan oil is full of Vitamin E, fatty acids, linoleic, and oleic acids. It helps transform unruly, coarse, and dry hair into more manageable, shinier, and softer hair while getting rid of flyaways and frizz.

It is best suited for those with brittle, coarse, dry, and  frizzy hair. As it's not as greasy as coconut oil, you can apply this oil more frequently.

3. Olive Oil - To Improve Texture And Growth

This versatile oil comes with moisturizing and restorative properties. It is a natural conditioner that is rich in antioxidants. It softens the hair, boosts shine, and safeguards your hair's natural keratin.

If you have frizzy, dry, dull, dandruff-prone, or damaged hair, then olive oil is for you.

4. Almond Oil - To Fight Dandruff And Improve Hair Health

Almond oil is a light oil that's packed with the goodness of magnesium, antioxidants, proteins, fatty acids, and Vitamin E. It helps reduce hair breakage, boosts growth, and promotes smoothness.

If you face hair loss, slow hair growth, or have damaged and dry hair, give almond oil a shot. Regularly using it will help you grow longer and healthier hair.

5. Jojoba Oil - To Repair Dull And Damaged Hair

Pronounced ho-ho-ba, this lightweight oil is a fan favorite. It improves shine and hydration. Plus, it's a great moisturizer as it deeply penetrates the hair follicle and shaft and works its way from the inside out.

Use this oil at least once a week, to reduce frizz and impart rich luster, especially for dry, damaged or dull hair.

6. Avocado Oil - To Fight Breakage

Avocado oil is another lightweight oil that doesn't weigh your hair down or cause build-up. Rather than just sitting on top and coating your hair, this oil is rich in monounsaturated fats and oleic acid that penetrates the hair shaft, leaving it moisturized. It also contains vitamins A, D, and E that encourage hair growth.

How To Apply Hair Oil?

How you oil your hair largely depends on the kind of oil you use and your hair's texture. Every oil has a unique consistency and provides different benefits.

If you're using oil as a hair treatment, gently massage it into your scalp and follow by working your way through the strands. Ensure to leave it on for at least 30 minutes before rinsing. For added nourishment, leave the oil on overnight. Oil your hair at least twice a week for best results.

You can also use a few drops of oil to style your hair before or after blow-drying.

When To Use Hair Oil?

You can incorporate oil into your  hair care routine  for a multitude of reasons. If your hair feels overly dry, damaged, and unmanageable, it is possibly longing for nourishment. Oiling your hair can provide it with essential nutrients and help maintain its health.

Benefits Of Hair Oil

As long as you pick the right oil for your hair type and texture and use it consistently, you will benefit from it. Here's what oiling does for your hair:

• Restores lost luster
• Treats split ends
• Moisturizes the scalp and hair
• Strengthens the roots
• Improves a dry scalp
• Minimizes hair fall
• Hydrates hair
• Safeguards hair from UV exposure
• Prevents dandruff
• Improves blood supply and thereby enhances hair growth

Can We Use Hair Serum And Hair Oil Together?

Yes. You can use hair serum after towel-drying your hair and can then add a little oil as a finisher. However, it's essential to keep oil away from the roots. On the days you don't wash your hair, you can either use a few drops of oil or serum to rehydrate your strands.

Is Hair Serum The Same As Hair Oil?

No. Hair serum is a styling product that makes your hair smooth and adds shine, while the primary purpose of hair oil is to nourish and improve your hair’s health.

There’s no identifying serum or oil as better than the other, as they both possess distinctive qualities and offer different benefits.

Which Is Better: Hair Serum Vs Hair Oil?

Hair Serum	Hair Oil
Styling agent made primarily of silicone	Treatment designed for nourishment
Protects against humidity, adds shine, keeps frizz away and makes your hair smoother	Conditions and nourishes your hair and maintains its health
Serums form a protective layer on the cuticles that fight vigorous brushing or combing and heat styling	Hair oils lubricate the hair and can penetrate the cuticles. By adding fatty acids to replace the lipids, they can alter the structure of the hair. This prevents breakage and ensures lesser split ends.
Protects hair from pollution and other environmental factors	Makes hair healthier and stronger typically those with breakage, dullness and split ends
Best for dry hair or split ends and can also be used for styling	Best for hair that needs deep nourishment or repair
For best results, apply serum after you wash your hair and other days to control flyaways and frizz	You can use hair oil treatments once or twice a week

Wrapping Up

If you find that your current hair care routine is just not working for you, it's time to make some changes. Maybe all that your hair needs is an extra dose of care and nourishment that both a hair oil and serum can provide. We hope this article helps you make an informed decision in choosing what's right for your hair.

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