What Are the Benefits of Sweet Almond Oil for Hair?

Almond oil is one of my favorite oils for hair care. It’s also one of the primary oils I use in my daily sealing oil for maintaining a hairstyle after touching up in the morning.

The almond nut can be found on a tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Today, Iran, Italy, Spain, Morocco and the US are the top 5 producers of almonds around the world. The almond nut starts life inside a thick light green hull. Within the hull is a hard shell, which encloses the almond nut within.

Almond Hulls

Almond nuts can be consumed raw or roasted and is a component of many meals such as cookies, biscuits, curries, and desserts. Almonds can also be used for making almond milk for consumption as well as for hair care. Read Almond Milk for Healthy Hair.

Almonds contain monounsaturated oleic acid, linoleic acid and palmitic acid, B vitamins thiamine, riboflavin and niacin and vitamin E as well as essential minerals – calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc.

Almond oil is extracted from the dried almond nut via cold pressing and is a light yellow color with a pleasant nutty smell. 

Sweet Almonds and Bitter Almonds

There are two types of almonds – sweet almonds and bitter almonds. They come from different trees. While bitter almonds contain some benefits, it also possesses poisonous properties and should be used with caution. Bitter almonds also contain less oil than sweet almonds.

Sweet almonds are used to produce the popular almond oil used in hair, health and beauty and the type this article is going to focus on.

What Are the Benefits of Almond Oil for Hair?

1. Sealing Oil

Almond oil is light and non-greasy. It is easily absorbed and makes an excellent sealing oil for the hair. It’s one of the primary components of my daily sealing oil (recipe below). 

2. Suitable for All Hair Types

Due to its lightness, almond oil doesn’t weigh down the hair making it suitable for all hair types including fine hair.

3. Contains Key Vitamins

Almond oil contains vitamins A, and B vitamins thiamine, riboflavin and niacin, all key vitamins essential for healthy hair growth.

4. Conditions Hair

Almond oil has a significant amount of vitamin E, vital for hair conditioning, smoothening frizzy hair and taming flyaways. If you like pre-poos, you definitely want to include almond oil in the mix (recipe below).

5. Shiny Hair

The vitamin E contained in almond oil promotes a shiny and silky look to your hair. Mixed together with jojoba oil as a pre-poo treatment, the results can be impressive.

Complementary Oils for Almond Oil

A complementary oil is an oil that marries well with another oil and either enhances its properties or elongates its shelf life. The best complimentary oils for almond oil are:-

• Castor Oil
• Grapeseed Oil
• Jojoba Oil

How to Use Sweet Almond Oil for Hair

Almond Oil Pre-poo Recipe for Hair

Ingredients

• 8 – 10 drops of jojoba oil
• 3 tablespoons of sweet almond oil
• 3 tablespoons of grapeseed oil
• 1 egg yolk

Directions

• Mix the jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil and an egg yolk together. Whisk until smooth.
• Apply to the length of your hair, cover with a disposable cap and wait for an hour.
• Wash out with a mild shampoo like Davines Momo Shampoo for Dehydrated Hair and deep condition as usual. 
• Repeat as necessary.

Almond Oil Sealing Oil Recipe for Hair 

Ingredients

• 1 4 oz squeeze cap bottle
• Sweet almond oil
• Castor oil
• Coconut oil
• Grapeseed oil
• 5 drops of vitamin E oil
• 5 drops of lavender essential oil

Directions

• Open the squeeze cap bottle and fill up halfway with coconut oil (50%)
• Add sweet almond oil (25%)
• Add grapeseed oil (12%)
• Add castor oil (12%)
• Add the vitamin E oil and lavender essential oil (1%)
• Close the bottle and shake