The benefits of Sweet Almond oil for the hair

Name

Common name: Sweet Almond oil

Botanical name: Prunus Amygdalus dulcis

Botanical family

Rosaceae

Origins

Mediterranean region (Italy, South of France)

Producer tree

Almond tree

Parts used for oil

Almond from the fruit

Oil colour

Slightly yellow

Appearance

Oily, liquid

Oil odour

Gentle, notes of Hazelnut and Sweet Almond

Oil feel

Oily

History

The history of sweet almond oil goes back thousands of years. Native to the Middle East and the Mediterranean region, the almond tree (Prunus dulcis) was one of the first plants to be cultivated by man for its almond-rich fruit. The first evidence of the use of sweet almond oil dates back to antiquity, when it was widely used by ancient civilisations, notably the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans.

The Egyptians used Sweet Almond oil as a precious ingredient in their beauty and skincare rituals. It was considered a symbol of purity and beauty, and was often used by pharaohs and queens to moisturise and nourish their skin. The Greeks and Romans also used Sweet Almond oil in their beauty practices, notably as a base for perfumes and ointments, and as an ingredient in haircare and massage products.

Over time, the use of Sweet Almond oil has spread throughout the world, seeing its use diversify in different cultures and traditions. It has become an essential ingredient in many traditional remedies, particularly for treating skin conditions, soothing irritations and moisturising the skin and hair.

Today, Sweet Almond oil is widely marketed around the world for its many benefits for skin and hair.

How do I obtain Sweet Almond oil?

Sweet Almond oil is obtained from the kernels (seeds) of the nuts of the almond tree, which originated in Asia but is now cultivated throughout the Mediterranean region. The almond is cold-pressed to extract an oil that retains all its good fatty acids, vitamins and minerals.

This oil, with its softening, soothing and nourishing properties, is used both in cosmetics (for the skin and hair) and in cooking. Its extreme gentleness makes it suitable for all skin and hair types, including babies.

Composition

Sweet almond oil is rich in:

• Essential polyunsaturated fatty acids: linoleic acid (Omega 6) 19.15%

• Monounsaturated fatty acids: oleic acid (Omega 9) (68.80%)

• Saturated fatty acids: palmitic acid (6.25%) and stearic acid (2.10%)

• Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, D and E

• Minerals and trace elements: Iron, Zinc, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorus, Chromium

• Amino acids (arginine, lysine, tyrosine)

• As well as phytosterols, triacylglycerides and triterpenic alcohols.

Sweet Almond oil has emollient, nourishing, moisturising, healing, protective, anti-inflammatory, softening, soothing, calming, sebo-regulating and anti-microbial properties. Impressive, isn't it? It's also suitable for all hair types (curly, frizzy, straight, dry, damaged, oily or coloured) and has numerous properties:

• Nourishing, restorative: Sweet Almond oil's wealth of good fatty acids gives it intense nourishing and restorative powers for your hair. They penetrate to the heart of the hair fibre to nourish its different layers and fill in fissures. The high levels of oleic acid it contains are particularly nourishing, leaving your hair supple, soft and radiant. Sweet Almond oil helps rebuild the lipid film of the hair and scalp, repairs the hair fibre from root to tip and prevents split ends. Colour-treated hair will also be particularly fond of this oil.

• Moisturising, smoothing: Thanks to its ability to protect and strengthen the lipid film around the hair with its fatty acids and vitamins, Sweet Almond oil seals in moisture directly at the heart of your hair fibre. What's more, it regulates the sebum produced by the sebaceous glands in your scalp, whose role is also to protect and strengthen the hair's hydrolipidic film. Your hair is less porous, stays hydrated and protected from dehydration on a daily basis. The fibre is smoother and frizz is controlled.

• Softening: Sweet almond oil is particularly softening for your hair and scalp thanks to its triacylglycerides and vitamin A. Its emollient action allows it to soften the hair fibre, improve its elasticity and strengthen it.

• Restores shine and radiance: Dull, tired, damaged or colour-treated hair regains its radiance from root to tip thanks to the regenerating, nourishing and protective powers of Sweet Almond oil. Its fatty acids, proteins and vitamins A, B and E restore your hair's natural shine, lustre and elasticity.

• Protective, fortifying: Sweet almond oil protects your hair's lengths and ends from the various stresses of everyday life, such as wind, cold, friction, heated styling appliances, UV rays, chlorine, salt water, pollution and chemical styling products, bleaching, etc. It strengthens the protective barrier thanks to its proteins, fatty acids, vitamins (including antioxidant A and E), phytosterols and minerals, and forms a protective film around the hair to prevent damage to the keratin of which it is made. Your hair is strengthened and protected, and the risk of split ends is considerably reduced.

• Relieves and soothes sensitive or irritated scalps: If your scalp is dry, sensitive or itchy, or if it has scales or cradle cap for babies, Sweet Almond oil can provide relief. Applied topically, it soothes irritation and itching, repairs your skin and protects your scalp cells.

• Helps combat dandruff: Sweet Almond oil not only soothes, it also helps to cleanse your roots and prevent the development of dandruff. It regulates the production of sebum by your sebaceous glands, preventing your scalp from re-greasing too quickly or, on the contrary, from running out of sebum and drying out.

• Promotes hair growth, prevents hair loss: Thanks to its many nutrients and antioxidants, Sweet Almond oil stimulates the hair bulb and promotes healthy hair growth. It also prevents hair loss and breakage. When you apply it, we advise you to massage it gently into your scalp in circular motions to help it penetrate and activate the microcirculation in the scalp that helps your hair grow.

• Detangling: Sweet Almond oil is a good natural alternative to conventional detangling products. Applied in very small quantities to your lengths and ends after washing, it makes detangling easier with a good comb adapted to your hair.

With Sweet Almond oil, your hair is nourished, repaired, protected, shiny and radiant, and grows vigorously and healthily.

Focus on ORGANIC Sweet Almond Oil

Sweet Almond oil has long been known for its soothing and softening action on delicate, dry skin. It can be used to prepare nourishing skincare products for all skin types, especially tight, uncomfortable skin.

Thanks to its composition adapted to the most sensitive skin, Sweet Almond oil is perfectly tolerated by babies' skin. For cradle cap, dry eczema, irritations, for cleansing as a liniment oléo-calcaire, for nappy rash, to nourish toddlers' skin when they get out of the bath or simply to give a massage to relax baby, promote sleep or ease bowel movements: the benefits of Sweet Almond oil for babies are numerous.

Sweet Almond oil is particularly effective in treating cradle cap (also known as seborrhoeic dermatitis), a very common scalp condition in the first few months of life. It nourishes the skin, prevents desquamation and protects through its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial action.

How can Sweet Almond oil be used to treat baby's cradle cap?

There are several ways to do this:

• Apply a small amount of pure Sweet Almond oil (which you will have warmed between your hands) to your baby's scalp, massaging very gently. Leave on for 30 minutes to 1 hour before bathing, at which point we recommend rinsing off the oil gently and using a gentle shampoo suitable for babies. You can also leave the oil on overnight if required. Use a very soft comb to gently remove any remaining dandruff.

• Soak a cotton wipe or gauze in Sweet Almond oil and gently dab the areas of the scalp affected by cradle cap. After leaving for a few minutes, gently comb off the softened crusts or wipe them off with a soft cloth. You can use Sweet Almond oil once a day if necessary, until the skin improves. If in doubt, ask your paediatrician for advice.

Warning

Before using Sweet Almond oil, you must make sure that your baby is not allergic to nuts. You can test a very small amount of oil in the crook of his elbow and observe the absence of any reaction (redness, irritation, itching, etc.) within the next 48 hours to be sure.

Sweet Almond oil plays an important role in many haircare products:

Sweet Almond hair oil bath

To deeply nourish and repair your hair, you can use Sweet Almond oil in the form of an oil bath. To do this, apply the oil evenly to your dry hair, strand by strand, from roots to ends. You can use the remaining oil on your hands to gently massage it into your scalp in circular motions to nourish it. If your scalp tends to re-grease easily, apply to your lengths and ends only. You can gently comb your hair with a comb with rounded, spaced-apart teeth to distribute the oil as evenly as possible. Leave in for as long as you like, an hour or even overnight, making sure to protect your pillowcase. You can also wrap your hair in a warm towel to open the scales and optimise penetration during the application time. Then rinse thoroughly with clean water, followed by one or two gentle, natural shampoos to remove any residual oil.

You can take an oil bath once a week if your hair feels the need. If your hair regresses quickly, space out your oil baths more, once every fortnight or once a month.

Treatment oil, leave-in hair balm or styling cream

Sweet Almond oil alone makes an excellent daily leave-in treatment for your lengths and ends.

Just like a dry beauty oil, place a few drops in your palm, warm it in your hands and then run your fingers like a comb over your lengths to nourish, protect and tame them. A very small amount of oil is all you need.

For dry or split ends, spread a few drops of oil in your hands, concentrating on the ends as often as necessary.

Sweet Almond oil can also replace chemical gels and hairsprays to fix your most beautiful hairstyles, in combination with Aloe Vera gel.

Every day, you can apply the equivalent of a hazelnut-sized amount of Sweet Almond oil to your curly or textured hair to soften, sculpt and protect it.

After washing, Sweet Almond oil is ideal as a detangling treatment when applied in small quantities to your lengths.

Hair mask with Sweet Almond oil

To nourish, soften and protect your hair, we recommend making masks with Sweet Almond oil. To do this, detangle and dampen your hair with warm water (to open the follicles), then apply a small amount of oil to all your lengths and ends. Tie if necessary, leave the oil on for 20 minutes to an hour, then rinse thoroughly with clean water before shampooing with your usual mild shampoo. You can also add a few drops of Sweet Almond oil to our hair mask base for an intense nourishing and restructuring treatment.

Shampoo and conditioner

Sweet Almond oil can be added to your usual mild shampoo or conditioner to add its nourishing, softening and protective properties. To do this, add 1 to 2 drops of oil to your usual dose of shampoo for dry to very dry hair.

You can also make your own homemade shampoos and conditioners with Sweet Almond oil for silky, shiny, protected hair with the sweet scent of Sweet Almond.

Sweet Almond oil can also make an excellent conditioner on its own. By applying a few drops to your lengths and ends, you benefit from its properties while making it easier to detangle. Make sure you don't use too much either, to simplify rinsing and avoid weighing your hair down.

Scalp care

To soothe your sensitive, dry or irritated scalp and stimulate growth, you can apply a small amount of Sweet Almond oil using small circular massages with your fingertips. Massaging also stimulates blood microcirculation, making it easier to grow strong, healthy hair. We recommend that you apply the oil in the evening and leave it on overnight (protecting your sheets with a towel or an old pillowcase to avoid staining them), then rinse thoroughly with clean water in the morning, before shampooing gently.

You can also apply it as a quick treatment and leave the oil on your scalp for a few minutes before your usual gentle shampoo.

Repeat as often as necessary until your symptoms (dandruff, irritation, dryness, etc.) improve.

Quick hot oil treatment

Sweet almond oil can be heated slightly to penetrate your hair fibre quickly. To do this, heat your oil slightly in a bain-marie (be sure to test the temperature before applying to avoid the risk of burning yourself) and apply evenly to the lengths, ends and scalp if necessary. Leave on for 15 minutes, then head for the shower to rinse with lukewarm water and shampoo gently and naturally.

Sweet Almond oil is an excellent base and can be combined with many ingredients to complement its properties according to your hair's needs.

• To make your own homemade oil bath, you can combine Sweet Almond oil with other oils with interesting benefits for the hair, such as Avocado oil (to nourish), Coconut oil (to enhance), Castor oil (to stimulate growth), Argan oil (to repair) or Jojoba oil (to coat).

• To soothe your sensitive scalp or dry dandruff, you can combine Sweet Almond oil with ORGANIC Aloe Vera gel to moisturise, soothe, nourish and protect your roots.

• To make your own nourishing cream for dry or frizzy hair, try our Aroma-Zone homemade recipe for nourishing cream for children's hair made with Sweet Almond oil, neutral all-in-one cream base and cosmetic fragrance.

• In your homemade shampoos based on Sweet Almond oil, you can add a drop of ORGANIC whole Ylang-Ylang essential oil, for example, to benefit from its moisturising, nourishing and sebum-regulating properties, for shiny, supple, strong hair.

• To make your own homemade snake oil (vegan, of course!), check out our Aroma-Zone recipe for snake oil haircare made with Sweet Almond, Argan, Avocado, Coconut, Castor and Sesame oils, plus Vitamin E (antioxidant).

• You'll also find our Aroma-Zone ORGANIC Dry oil with precious oils, ready-made with Argan, Sweet Almond, Rosehip and Jojoba oils. Ideal for nourishing, protecting, softening and enhancing your hair (and skin!).

We do not recommend Sweet Almond oil for people who are sensitive or allergic to nuts.

For babies, we recommend that you check that they are not allergic or have no particular reactions before using Sweet Almond oil on their skin. To do this, apply a very small amount of oil in the crook of their arm and observe the absence of any reaction within 48 hours (no redness or itching).

During pregnancy, we advise you to alternate between different plant oils or butters because of the increase in cases of allergy to nuts.

We recommend that you choose a Sweet Almond oil extracted by first cold pressing that is 100% pure, natural and ORGANIC. Our Aroma-Zone Sweet Almond oil meets all these quality criteria.

To store your Sweet Almond oil, keep it dry, away from light and heat.

Stéphanie Catrysse is a naturopath (certified by the FENA), a wellness massage and lymphatic drainage practitioner, and a personal development coach. She is passionate about alternative medicine and practices a holistic approach to health.