16 Best Hair Oils for Your Sleekest Strands Yet
Whatever your hair texture or type, the best hair oils can add shine, softness, and protection to your cuticles for shinier, healthier locks. There are so many options on the market; of course, each one pitches a total transformation.
Before you choose your oil based on big promises and the prettiness of the bottle (we've all been there), consider your hair goals when you pick your new product. Whether you're hoping to protect your hair from heat, achieve unprecedented shine, or kick off a hair health journey, read on to find out which of the 16 best hair oils is right for you.
Our Top Picks
- Best Overall: Verb Ghost Weightless Hair Oil, $20
- Best for Shine: Gisou Honey Infused Hair Oil, $87
- Best for Damaged Hair: K18 Molecular Repair Hair Oil, $65
- Best for Scalp: Mielle Organics Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Oil, $10
- Best for Curly Hair: Bread Beauty Supply Hair Oil Everyday Gloss, $24
- Best for Heat Styling: Olaplex No.7 Bonding Oil, $30
- Best for Brunettes: Moroccanoil Treatment, $35
FAQ
- How do hair oils work?
- Which hair oil is right for me?
- When should I use a hair oil?
- How we test and review products
- Our staff and testers
Best Overall: Verb Ghost Weightless Hair Oil
Why It's Worth It: Frizzy hair and flyaways don't stand a chance against the cuticle-smoothing properties of the Verb Ghost Weightless Hair Oil. This oil contains moringa seed and argan oils to hydrate and make your tresses shine. You'll also find bamboo extract in the mix to retain moisture so your hair stays soft and silky.
Editor Tip: As its name implies, the Ghost Weightless Hair Oil is virtually undetectable, making it a solid option for those with fine hair.
Key Ingredients: Moringa oil, argan oil, bamboo extract | Who It's For: People with frizz, flyaways, or fine hair
Best for Scalp: Mielle Organics Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Oil
Why It's Worth It: The Mielle Organics Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Oil became super popular on TikTok for its effective, soothing, and conditioning natural oil blend. Along with rosemary oil (which may stimulate the hair follicles and support healthy hair growth), the key ingredients in this moisture-sealing cocktail are castor oil, antibacterial tea tree oil, and coconut oil to boost shine and softness while relieving the scalp of irritation and dryness.
Editor Tip: While it's billed as a scalp treatment, you can use it to mend split ends.
Key Ingredients: Castor oil, tea tree oil, coconut oil | Who It's For: Anyone seeking scalp benefits
Best for Heat-Styling: Olaplex No.7 Bonding Oil
Why It's Worth It: Like its predecessors in the Olaplex line, the brand's No. 7 Bonding Oil is designed to help hair that's been through it all — heat-styling, chemical-styling, hair-coloring — you name it. Olaplex's beloved hair oil contains grapeseed oil to infuse damaged hair with much-needed moisture, but its bond-repairing properties come from bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate. This ingredient, found in all Olaplex products, works to repair broken disulfide bonds so your hair will feel stronger, healthier, and less prone to damage.
Editor Tip: The bottle dispenses a small, dosed amount at a time, but the formula is very concentrated so that's all you should need.
Key Ingredients: Bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate, sunflower seed oil, moringa seed oil | Who It's For: People with weak or damaged hair
Best for Shine: Gisou Honey Infused Hair Oil
Why It's Worth It: The delectable Gisou Honey Infused Hair Oil smells good enough to eat (please don't), but that's not the only reason we're constantly repurchasing this 2023 Best of Beauty Award winner. The star ingredient, Mirsalehi honey, also acts as a humectant, which draws moisture to the hair shaft, creating a more lustrous head of hair and a frizz-free look in the process.
Editor Tip: JSYK, the honey is harvested from the founder's very own bee garden.
Key Ingredients: Honey, coconut oil, sweet almond oil | Who It's For: Those with dull, dry, or damaged hair
Best for Damaged Hair: K18 Molecular Repair Hair Oil
Why It's Worth It: A winner in the Splurge category of the 2023 Best of Beauty Awards, K18's Molecular Repair Hair Oil works to address frizz on two levels: First, by reversing structural damage caused by heat styling and salon treatments, and second, by nourishing hair with natural lipids, like avocado and sunflower oils. It also works to help prevent future damage, too, by giving heat protection up to 450 degrees.
Editor Tip: If you want to use this product as more of a repair treatment, apply it to damp hair.
Key Ingredients: Squalane, avocado oil, sunflower oil | Who It's For: People with frizz and flyaways due to breakage
Best for Curly Hair: Bread Beauty Supply Hair Oil Everyday Gloss
Why It's Worth It: Feel free to douse the Bread Beauty Supply Hair Oil Everyday Gloss, well, every day — no matter your hair type. This lightweight Best of Beauty winner coats your scalp with antioxidant vitamin C-rich kakadu plum oil while triglycerides and safflower oil moisturize and add shine.
Editor Tip: Apply it to your hair before showering as a pre-wash treatment.
Key Ingredients: Kakadu plum, safflower oil, soybean oil | Who It's For: People with waves, curls, and coils
Best Scent: Oribe Gold Lust Nourishing Hair Oil
Why It's Worth It: Oribe's Best of Beauty-winning Gold Lust Nourishing Hair Oil is a luxurious pick that thick and fine hair types alike can indulgently enjoy. It successfully targets issues like dry hair and frizz, thanks to a mix of argan and jasmine oils. To create a subtly perfumed effect, the product is scented with sandalwood, bergamot, edelweiss flower, and lychee.
Editor Tip: Apply it to damp hair before heat-styling to speed up drying time.
Key Ingredients: Jasmine extract, argan extract, sandalwood | Who It's For: Anyone looking for a luxurious option
Best for Preventative UV Damage: Ouai Hair Oil
Why It's Worth It: Not only does Ouai's Hair Oil deliver intense shine, but this lightweight formula is brimming with nutrients, like antioxidants and fatty acids. These ingredients give the product built-in protection against damage from pollution and UV exposure (meaning less color-fading) and the weakness and breakage caused by heated styling tools. It's weightless enough for fine hair but potent enough to smooth coarse hair types.
Editor Tip: If you love the elegant floral scent, it comes as a perfume.
Key Ingredients: Galanga oil, ama oil, borage oil | Who It's For: Everyone
Best Luxury: Sisley Paris Hair Rituel Precious Hair Care Oil
Why It's Worth It: Once the sticker shock subsides, and you click through the pages of glowing reviews, you'll start to understand why the Sisley Paris Hair Rituel Precious Hair Care Oil is worth the hype. This hair oil (which basically doubles as a hair perfume) smooths without weighing down, scents without overwhelming, and imparts shine without greasiness. Just apply a touch of the oil from the mid-lengths of your hair, dry or damp, to the ends. Some shoppers even remark that this oil helped them grow their hair quickly.
Editor Tip: You can use this hair oil as a pre-shower treatment.
Key Ingredients: Passion fruit oil, shea oil, cotton oil, moringa oil | Who It's For: People looking to invest in hair care, people looking to grow out their hair
Best for Textured Hair: Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair! Strengthening Treatment Hair Oil
Why It's Worth It: Dry hair-wearers will appreciate the lightweight, silicone-free Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair! Strengthening Treatment Hair Oil. The 2020 Best of Beauty Award winner is infused with moisture-retaining ceramides, usually found in your skin-care products, for a softer feel. It also contains rose flower oil to condition, create a glossy sheen, and support overall hair health.
Editor Tip: In addition to ceramides, you'll find squalane here; the popular skin-care ingredient that also helps smooth and soften hair.
Key Ingredients: Ceramides, macadamia nut derivative, rose flower oil | Who It's For: People with parched hair
Best for Frizz: RÔZ Santa Lucia Styling Oil
Why It's Worth It: Have frizz? Then the RÔZ Santa Lucia Styling Oil has your back and the back of your head. The oil protects against heat and humidity — two of the foremost causes of frizz — and smooths using five plant-based oil extracts. Shoppers love its ability to tame flyaways and the vetiver and citron scent, which elevates this oil to hair-perfume status. If you're looking to level up from the drugstore hair oil you've been using for a few years but aren't ready to drop a Benjamin on anything too fancy, this one serves as a perfect middle ground.
Editor Tip: You can use this hair oil on wet or dry hair, but if using it on dry hair, use less than you would on damp strands.
Key Ingredients: Jojoba oil, argan oil, Roman chamomile, jasmine, aloe vera | Who It's For: People with frizzy hair and flyaways
Best for Dull Hair: Amika Water Sign Hydrating Hair Oil
Why It's Worth It: Quick science lesson: Oils moisturize, they don't hydrate. So for a hair oil to draw water into the hair and scalp, it has to contain a humectant. Fortunately, Amika's Water Sign Hydrating Hair Oil contains hyaluronic acid, so when the bottle says it'll hydrate your hair for a plumper, glossier finish, you can trust it.
Editor Tip: This hydrating oil also acts as a heat protectant against temperatures up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, so use it before blow-drying.
Key Ingredients: Jojoba oil, coconut oil, hyaluronic acid | Who It's For: Anyone seeking shine without silicones
Best for Color-Treated Hair: JVN Complete Nourishing Hair Oil Shine Drops
Why It's Worth It: What makes JVN's Complete Nourishing Hair Oil Shine Drops different? Instead of relying on silicones to add shine, it uses squalane. This lightweight ingredient moisturizes to reduce frizz and helps hair look glossy. Founder Jonathan Van Ness paired this innovative ingredient with meadowfoam esters to increase shine, and hibiscus extract to protect against color fading, making it a winner for color-treated hair.
Editor Tip: Van Ness recommends applying this to the ends of hair, where moisture is most needed, then working your way up the length of the hair.
Key Ingredients: Hemisqualane, meadowfoam ester, hibiscus extract | Who It's For: People with color-treated hair
Best Pre-Wash: Fable & Mane HoliRoots Pre-Wash Hair Treatment Oil
Why It's Worth It: Most hair oils are meant to be used after washing, but this pre-wash treatment helps loosen up any stubborn buildup on your hair and scalp. Ciara Costenoble, a Paris-based celebrity hairstylist, calls this oil “a wonderful, soothing scalp treatment oil” for its ability to tackle lingering hair products and dandruff. The addition of ashwagandha extract is excellent for the abilities of its anti-inflammatory adaptogens, which soothe itching and irritation. Once you wash the product out, your roots and scalp will feel moisturized and cleansed without greasiness or residue left behind.
Editor Tip: Ashwagandha (say that five times fast) is a time-tested Ayurvedic remedy to boost resilience and adapt to stress.
Key Ingredients: Ashwagandha, castor oil, sesame seed oil | Who It's For: People with product buildup or a dry scalp
Best for Brunettes: Moroccanoil Treatment
Why It's Worth It: Medium-to-thick hair textures may need more intensive moisturizing oil treatments to maintain their silky strands, and Moroccanoil's Treatment Original is up to the task. You only need a few drops of this argan oil-based elixir to revive your hair's natural luster and softness, so a little goes a long way. Though Los Angeles-based hairstylist Jorge Serrano loves the Moroccanoil Treatment for thicker hair types, he cautions blondes to beware. "The amber color will stain blonde hair and make it appear brassy," he tells Allure.
Editor Tip: If you find yourself going through this bottle quickly, consider upgrading to the value-size version, which has 3.4 ounces.
Key Ingredients: Argan oil, linseed seed extract, dimethicone | Who It's For: People with dark, thick hair
Best for Blondes: Davines Oi Oil
Why It's Worth It: The Davines Oi Oil can do it all, including, but not limited to, detangling hair, fighting frizz, and boosting shine. The formula aims to tame frizz and brighten natural or color-treated hair without weighing it down with an oily hair feel. "One of my favorite things about Oi oil is the versatility to use wet or dry," says celebrity hairstylist Kristen Shaw. "It's not greasy, so adding it on wet hair moisturizes the cuticles, enabling the hair to dry better naturally and blown out."
Editor Tip: Though this conditioning treatment works well on finer hair, it's especially effective on drier, coarser hair types.
Key Ingredients: Sunflower seed oil, vitamin E, roucou oil | Who It's For: People with coarse, dry, or color-treated hair
Frequently Asked Questions
How do hair oils work?
As self-explanatory as it might sound (hair+oil= shine), there's complex chemistry hard at work to help your hair achieve the glossiness you're after. Cosmetic chemist Kelly Dobos spoke to Allure to explain the science. “Hair oils help smooth the hair cuticle and reduce styling breakage while minimizing frizz,” she says.
However, it isn't the “oil” smoothing the cuticle. Dobos explains, “Most hair 'oils' on the market actually contain very little oil, they're primarily made from siloxanes and hydrocarbons. Some of the lipids in natural oils can weigh hair down and can cause fine hair to look greasy rather than glossy." She adds that products with a high oil concentration are better on thick, textured, or coily hair.
Which hair oil is right for me?
When choosing a hair oil, keep in mind the results you hope to get out of adding a new product to your hair care routine. "Rather than choosing an oil for your hair type, you should consider what you need the oil to do for your hair," says Sophia Emmanuel, a hairstylist at Crown Worthy in New York City. For example, if you're looking to enhance shine and softness, olive, carrot, and jojoba oils are helpful, according to Emmanuel. On the other hand, avid users of hot tools like blow-dryers or straighteners should reach for silicone-infused products to protect the hair's cuticle.
"Silicones form a barrier, so there is no direct heat damage," says cosmetic chemist Ginger King. Keep in mind, however, that silicone has long-term effects. New York City-based board-certified dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD, tells Allure that “continued use of silicones over time can weigh down the hair, so it's important to regularly wash hair to prevent any buildup.”
How we test and review products
We always enlist a range of testers for our makeup vertical, but hair-care products and tools are another story. While there are certain products that can be used across different hair textures, lengths, curl patterns, thicknesses, colors (natural and unnatural), and needs, hair products are often created with specific consumers in mind. Many are created to address a concern (dandruff, breakage, brittleness) or to work most effectively for a specific hair type (4C curls, wavy hair, gray hair). You wouldn’t want to pick up a purple shampoo that’s only been reviewed by someone with, say, auburn hair, or a diffuser that’s never been tested by anyone with curls — right?
For our review of the best hair oils, we enlisted the help of multiple editors, writers, contributors, professional stylists, cosmetic chemists, and board-certified dermatologists — who spoke about how to choose a hair oil and its range of benefits, depending on hair type, texture, hair concerns, and desired outcome. Testers considered performance across three primary categories: efficacy, formula, and application. For more on what's involved in our reporting, check out our complete reviews process and methodology page.
Our staff and testers
A beauty product is a personal purchase. You might be searching for a face cream to address persistent dryness or a new nail product to add to your Sunday self-care routine; you may simply be browsing around for the latest launches to hit the hair market. No matter what you seek or your individual needs and concerns, Allure wants to ensure that you love anything we recommend in our stories. We believe that having a diverse team of writers and editors — in addition to the wide range of outside testers and industry experts we regularly call upon — is essential to reaching that goal.
After all, can we really say a skin-care product is the “best” for people over 50 if the only testers we’ve solicited opinions from folks who have yet to hit 30? Can we honestly deem a high-end diffuser worthy of your hard-earned cash if it’s never been tested on curls? We’re proud that our staff spans a wide range of ages, skin tones, hair textures, genders, and backgrounds, which means that we are able to fairly assess any beauty product that comes into the beauty closet.
