HAIR BUTTER VS OIL – WHICH ONE TO CHOOSE?

A lot of ready-made cosmetics contain both hair butters and oils. Which of the ingredients are better? The answer is not so obvious; they both have pluses, include lots of valuable fatty acids and support our hair in a natural way. If we cannot decide which to choose, we should go for products that contain both hair butters and oils. Such a combination is an excellent solution. Not for everyone, though.

>>> Is hair oil better than hair butter? <<<

NOT EVERY BUTTER IS THE SAME

What do we mean by the name “hair butter”? Usually, we think about a specific product offered by a cosmetic company. It is called the butter so it surely is the butter. Sadly, it’s not so simple. Not all cosmetics called butters contain real natural cold-pressed hair butters e.g. shea, kukui, mango.

Hair butters are plant oils which are solid at room temperature. Organic coconut oil that is popular in hair care is a butter. It becomes oily after you heat it up. They are produced with various methods, therefore there are several types of natural butters available.

Types of hair butters

Natural (unrefined) butters are the most beneficial to hair. They contain the largest amount of nutrients that are essential to hair. They aren’t removed due to high temperature or purification of the butter. Organic butters are also popular. They offer certificates which confirm that they have been extracted from plants that had no contact with pesticides, fertilizers or chemicals. Refined butters make up the last group. They are subject to advanced purifying processes. Sadly, they lose lots of nutrients during refinement, therefore they are less valuable. But they are ideal for those who are prone to allergies.

We must also mention methods of extracting butters. Mechanical pressing without temperature control is the most popular. It is a cheaper method. In case of higher temperatures, hair butters lose many properties. Cold-pressing is a far better method which provides cold-pressed butters of very valuable qualities and numerous nutritional ingredients.

The most popular hair butters:

• shea butter - Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Fruit Butter
• cocoa butter - Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter
• babassu butter - Orbignya Cohune (Palmae) Seed Oil
• coconut butter - Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil
• mango butter - Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter
• palm butter - Elaeis Guineensis (Palm) Butter

Exotic, rare hair butters:

• mafura butter - Trichilia Emetica Seed Butter
• kombo butter - Pycnanthus Angolensis (Kombo) Seed Butter
• kpangan butter - Pentadesma Butyracea Seed Butter
• cupuacu butter - Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter
• tucuma butter - Astrocaryum Tucuma Butter
• murumuru butter - Astrocarya Murumuru Seed Butter
• ucuuba butter - Virola Surinamensis (Ucuhuba) Oil
• kukui butter - Aleurites Moluccana (Kukui) Seed Oil
• bacuri butter - Platonia Insignus (Bacuri) Seed Oil
• kokum butter - Garcinia Indica (Kokum) Seed Butter
• mowrah butter - Mahua (Madhuca) Indica Seed Oil
• illipe butter - Shorea Stenoptera Butter
• sal butter - Shorea Robusta Seed Oil

HOW TO USE HAIR BUTTERS?

Using butters in hair care is a bit more difficult than hair oiling. But if you already know how to oil your hair, applying butters will not be a problem. Hair butters are used in a slightly different way but it is still easy. Everyone will manage to do it.

Using cosmetic butters

If we deal with ready-made products which are called butters, the directions for use are clear and provided on the packaging so you can read it. Usually, manufacturers recommend two ways:

• before washing: apply the thick butter to your fingers and spread it onto hair, from roots to tips. Avoid the scalp. Rinse and wash hair after 15 minutes.
• after washing: take a small amount of the butter, rub between your palms and apply to dry hair from the mid-length to hair ends. Don’t rinse if it doesn’t weigh your hair down.

Natural hair butters. How to use them?

Cold-pressed hair butters without any needless substances have a completely different consistency. They are usually very hard and solid, therefore you apply them in a different way than masks with additional ingredients. But if we know that a natural butter is effective, safe and versatile, we can devote a bit more time to the treatment.

You must get prepared to take care of low porosity hair. The consistency is the main thing that makes butters and oils different. Butters are solid so it is hard to apply to hair. In order to do this, we must change it to a liquid form by melting it. We should use temperature slightly higher than room temperature but be careful not to heat it up too much. We can get burnt if we use it hot. How to do it?

You can melt a hair butter:

• in a water bath (above the steam or in a hot water),
• in a microwave (several seconds will do),
• if you leave it in a warm place e.g. on a heater.

Then, you apply it like a hair oil.

1. Rinse hair with warm water and apply the butter.
2. Apply it to dry hair before washing or after blow-drying.
3. Apply it an hour before or right after washing.
4. Without rinsing or rinse shortly after the application.

You should know that hair butters can be used solo. After melting it, when it’s still warm, you can use it like a hair oil. But there are some more uses. Hair butters can be added to creams, balms, conditioners or used as a base for DIY cosmetics. Feel free to mix butters with other oils but remember that they must have similar amount of fatty acids and match the same hair type.