Sunday 27 March 2016

REVIEW: Patanjali Amla Hair Oil


Hair is rightfully called the crowning glory. Healthy hair indeed looks glorious. Some of us are blessed with beautiful hair, some of us are not. But all of us desire glorious hair. With hair fall, split ends, dandruff, and grays being our common woes, we need a one all solution to fix it all. But is there really any such Dr. Fix It? 

Divya Pharmacy's Patanjali by Baba Ramdev (which is such a rage nowadays, BTW) have launched Amla Hair Oil. It claims to strengthen the roots, prevent hair fall, graying hair and split ends. It is an Ayurvedic proprietary medicie and so it is suitable for one and all without the fear of chemicals causing further damage. So, is it effective? Does it work? What are its benefits? Read on to know more about this oil.

Each ml contains the following ingredients and I have also briefly written about the goodness of each ingredient used.

Sunflower oil... 760 mg - You may be surprised that your favorite cooking oil is the main ingredient of this hair oil. Infact not just this hair oil, but several others use it as a base due to its great properties as a carrier oil. It is very light weight and absorbs into the hair shaft in a jiffy. It's non.greasy formula is perfect for the new age woman who doesn't even like it nor has the time to rigorously wash it off. Being light in weight it can easily carry with it all the nutrients of the other added ingredients in the hair oil. Apart from that, it is itself rich in nutrients, mainly the Omega 6 fatty acids which are proved to be directly beneficial for thinning of hair. Other than Omega 6, it is also rich in vitamins A, B and E, and minerals like iron. It is useful for deep conditioning the hair and is ideal is you don't regularly oil your hair and only have time to oil your hair once in a while. Regular deep conditioning can help maintain soft, silky, shiny, frizz free hair which will ultimately be less likely to tangle and break.

Sunflower oil
Image source: http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/files/2013/07/sunflower-extract.png

Olive oil... 60 mg - Olives are native to the Mediterranean and tales of the beautiful maidens of this region are also well known. That olive complexion, dark eyes, and those thick, luscious locks of hair that define their beauty were best kept healthy and beautiful with olive oil. Olive oil is the best option for silken smooth hair. As it is a heavy oil it is best suited for those with thick, unmanageable hair. Fine or limp hair might just get bogged down by the sheer heaviness of the oil.


Olive oil
Image source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/content/images/articles/266/266258/olive-oil-and-olives.jpg

Sesame oil... 60 mg - Lesser known fact about this healthy cooking oil is that it is equally good for healthy hair growth. It is rich in calcium and iron. Calcium fortifies the hair roots to make the foundation itself very strong and resilient to breakage. Iron feeds the follicles and also brings a healthy circulation of blood to the head to encourage good growth. It is therefore one of the best remedies for hair fall. Iron also prevents graying of hair and keeps its natural color looking vibrant.

Sesame oil
Image source: http://www.secretsofsushi.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/SesameOil.jpg?7eacfa

Amla... 60 mg - The Indian gooseberry is a storehouse of vitamin C. Vitamin C helps to fight against free radical damage like dandruff and hair fall. Vitamin C is also important to help absorb calcium and iron. So the nutrients in sesame oil, as well as the other oils are given a boost with this good fellow. Amla is puréed and that paste is applied to the hair to reap these benefits. It can also be dried and made into a powder. This can be added to hair oils or made into a paste with water and applied to the hair. Vitamin C is also a natural conditioner. If your hair lacks shine, then regularly using Amla can make your hair dazzle with a mirror shine. This can be observed from the very first use. Alma is also believed to make dark hair darker and prevent grays.

Amla or the Indian Gooseberry
Image source: http://cdn.shopclues.net/images/detailed/24167/218_1440397160.jpg

Base material: CI 12740, CI 61565 & CI 12150 - colors solvent yellow, quinizarine green, and oil pink, respectively.
Base Q.S.

Other information:
Net Volume - 100 ml
MRP - INR 40
Shelf life - 2 years
Directions for storage - Store in a cool, dark, and dry place.
Directions for use: Take required quantity of oil and massage gently over hair and scalp.

REVIEW:

Patanjali Amla Hair Oil comes in a small and handy bottle. It's quite a queer shaped bottle, like I have never seen a hexagonal bottle before. It is a transparent hexagonal bottle but it fits perfectly in the hand. Small and compact. It comes with a flip top cap, so leakage is possible during travels. But it's not really a problem anymore if you wrap it with cling wrap and there won't be that big a risk of leaking.


The oil itself is a green colored one, thanks to the added colors. The fragrance is irritating to say the least. I wonder why all Amla hair oils have this funny smell. Way back in time when I was in Class 7, one of my classmate, a boy, regularly put Amla oil in his hair. It was compulsory for all the school children to have their hair oiled everyday, but that annoying fragrance of Amla really got to me. I never spoke to him, and that hair oil was half the reason why. How snobbish of me! But now I don't even remember his name. That is my oldest memory of the fragrance of Amla hair oil but this particular oil is so much more! Quite honestly I must admit what it really reminds me of. Hit Cockroach Killing Spray. I put this oil on and it just feels like I'm sitting in a cockroach colony. It's disgusting and I'm sorry but that is exactly how it smells like. I could easily toss this oil bottle away if not for its promises and my expectations of it. I had to learn to ignore the smell and carry on. I actually top it off with another oil just to mask the smell. However, with each use (i use it only ones a week), the intensity of the smell diminished. Perhaps I got used to it or the fragrance was a volatile one and it just vanished slowly. Whatever! But good that it did. Phew.


Well, one benefit of this amla oil is that it is already diluted. The actual base is sunflower oil which makes up for 80% of the oil's composition and the concentration of amla is actually less than 10%. So, it is ready to use. But that percentage itself is so low that I don't see much point to call it "amla" oil. So, expectations also came crashing down.

As it is readily usable, I just take about 3 - 4 tsp of oil for my hair (it is quite long) and directly apply it on the roots of the hair and take some more oil and distribute it along the lengths of the hair. It is quite a light oil and it spreads easily on the hair. That is definitely a good thing because some oils just tend to sit on the spot where you have put the oil, and then you empty half the bottle in one go just to cover your entire head. This oil goes on quite easily and once your entire head and hair is oiled it won't feel greasy. Some oils tend to be volatile and completely vanish by the second day of oiling, but this oil stays on for quite a bit. So, it's good if you put it on on some Friday and plan to wash it on a Sunday. It will deep condition the hair in the days in between. This is usually my oiling routine, I let the oil sink in over the weekend before washing it off.

Even as the oil sinks into the hair, it softened my hair so much that I could feel the difference. So it just happened that I let it stay on longer than I initially intended to (because of, you know, the awful smell). It almost disappeared only on the third day I reckon. But after I washed my hair, Oh-my-Gosh! While my hair was still air drying, I could tell that it felt like I had used a conditioner. Normally, I don't use a conditioner unless I have not oiled my hair prior to washing it. It felt so soft. And smooth. And glossy. It looked shiny and felt light too. So much so that whenever I tied my hair up in a bun, it would come undone in some time. Loved it to bits for this reason! But for girls with fine textured hair, this might just make it finer.

As for the reason that I had purchased it for - preventing hair fall, I did not see any direct benefit to be honest. My hair kept falling and I was not really happy with this oil. Initially, that is how hair tends to react to any new product that goes on it, so I waited a bit to see of it eventually works. It does but not significantly. I wonder if there is really an anti-hair fall oil out there.

However, splits ends went to Bermuda Triangle. I think that it is because the oil is so moisturizing, so deep conditioning, that the split ends just had to go. I never expected that it could actually help in this department but boy was I wrong. In this department, it scores a perfect 10 on 10.

As for the prevent hair graying claim, I really can't tell. My hair is naturally brown in color and it hasn't darkened for sure. But perhaps, regularly using this will prevent some grey hair from popping up. Sometimes I do notice one strand of silver hair peeking out and I ignore it because you are never supposed to pull it out or more will peek out. Or so they say. So, I will keep an eye out for it now that I am using this oil. Let's see if it really helps.

I like to keep my bottle inside its carton itself as it will keep the bottle in a dark place as it is required to be as per the storage instructions. It also keeps my shelf from getting all oily and greasy from those little oil drops sticking to the bottle. It probably would have saved none if the bottle itself was tinted and prevented direct light from getting to the oil, but this works so it saves the day.



The price is also just too good to be true. Even if you mix these ingredients individually, you cannot beat its retail price.

Overall, I would not rate it as an oil that works well to prevent hair fall.
The only reason I would go back to re-purchase this oil is for its deep conditioning, extra softening effect on my hair and completely getting rid of split ends. Rarely does one find an oil that is so economical as well as so good to make hair this healthy and shiny. Recommended for girls who are unhappy with their hair's condition or texture.
Would I re-purchase it? Hell, yes! I have re-purchased it so many times already.


3 comments:

  1. and what about your composition ???using CI12740 AND12150...FULL TOXIC...GIVING CANCERS AND FORBIDDEN IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for sharing the details.
    Shetal herbal is one of the company who provides amla hair oil There product is very effective and useful for hair.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for Olive oil is prepared by using ayurvedic principles, and it is natural It is chemical-free and has no side effects on the skin and hair.

    ReplyDelete