Best Hair Oil for Dry Damaged Hair

The best hair oil for dry damaged hair is the one that matches your hair's thickness: a light oil for fine hair, a richer one for thick or coarse hair. Get that right and oil does its job, which is sealing in moisture, smoothing the surface and giving the ends enough slip to brush through without a fight. Get it wrong and your hair looks greasy by lunchtime. This page groups the oils we'd look at first for hair that is both dry and damaged, from light everyday oils to richer blends for very dry lengths.

What hair oil does, and what it doesn't

Oil doesn't add moisture. Water does that, through your conditioner. Oil sits on top and slows that water escaping, which is why it works best on damp hair straight after conditioning. It also fills in the rough spots on a damaged surface, so hair feels smoother and catches the light better.

What oil can't do is fix hair that's already broken. A split end stays split until it's cut. If your ends are fraying, book a trim first, then use our best hair oil for split ends to look after the new ones.

If your hair is dry but hasn't been coloured, bleached or heat-styled much, you may not need anything this rich. The best hair oil for dry hair is a lighter fit.

How to choose

• Fine or thin hair: pick a light, dry-feel oil and keep it to mid-lengths and ends. A little is plenty.
• Medium hair: most oils work. Start small and add more only if the ends still feel rough once dry.
• Thick, coarse or very dry hair: richer oils and blends suit you, and you can use more without it sitting on top.
• Frizz as well as dryness: look for smoothing blends made for both jobs. See the best hair oil for dry frizzy hair.
• Coloured or lightened hair: this is usually the driest hair on the head, so be generous on the ends and light near the roots.

Worth knowing: a lot of products sold as hair oil are really serums, mostly silicone with some oil in the mix. Silicone gives instant shine and slip and washes out easily. Pure oils soak in more and suit very dry ends. Neither is better. Check the first few ingredients so you know which one you're buying.

How to use it

• On damp hair: after conditioner, work a few drops through the mid-lengths and ends, then dry as usual.
• On dry hair: rub one drop between your palms and smooth over flyaways and ends.
• Before you wash: for very dry hair, comb oil through the lengths, leave it on for a while, then shampoo. If you want the full version of this, try the best hot oil treatment for dry damaged hair.
• Keep it off the roots. Your scalp makes its own oil.

If your hair goes stringy or flat, you've used too much. Wash it out and halve the amount next time.

Build the routine around it

Oil finishes a routine. It doesn't replace one. Wash with a gentle shampoo, use our best conditioner for dry damaged hair every time, then oil. If your hair is very dry, add a mask to your routine.

For more options, browse everything for dry hair or our damaged hair range. To compare every oil and serum we stock, head to our hair serums and oils range.

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