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Camellia Oil and Natural Hair- A Review

By January 27th, 20215 Comments

Camellia Oil and Natural Hair- A Review

By Dr. Phoenyx Austin



Phoenyx’s Natural Hair Haiku #102

I see you staring.

You’re thinking “it looks so soft.”


Yeah, you can touch it.

Hola chicas! Phoenxy here and I was feeling a lil’ inspired this morning, so I decided to write a natural hair haiku. Hope you liked it!

Now this haiku was actually inspired by a lovely oil that another naturalista put me onto this past week. It’s camellia oil. I’m usually up on my oils, but I actually hadn’t heard of this one. So I decided to do a bit of research. And after reading many positive reviews, I decided to purchase some and try it out. But before I get to the results, here’s some info on camellia oil in case you aren’t up on it:

Camellia oil, or tea seed oil, is an edible, pale amber-green oil with a sweet, herbal aroma. It is cold-pressed mainly from the seeds of the Camellia flower. It is a great source of unsaturated fats (similar to olive oil and grape seed oil), is rich in antioxidants, essential fatty acids, and is used in many beauty products. When used on hair, it helps to condition the hair shaft, stimulate scalp circulation, and promote healthy hair growth by preventing breakage and split ends. Many women swear by its moisturizing effect on their skin and hair. And after reading many positive reviews, I decided to give it a whirl.

I wasn’t able to find any in my local Wholefoods store, so I decided to purchase it online. There were many brands to choose from. And I ultimately settled on Oshima Tsubaki Camellia Hair Care Oil ($15.29 on Amazon.com). I found the most positive feedback on this brand of camellia oil- which is 100 % pure and manufactured in Japan. But if you want to experiment with another popular, yet pricey brand, there’s Elemis Japanese Camellia Oil ($41.00 on Amazon.com). But unlike the Oshima Tsubaki Camellia Hair Care Oil, this brand is not 100 percent camellia oil. It also contains almond oil and vitamin E.

How I used the oil:

I co-washed my hair and then placed 4 drops of camellia oil directly on my scalp- one drop on my right temple, the other drop on my left temple, and 2 separates drops near the back of my scalp. I then massaged the oil into my scalp for a couple minutes using my fingertips. I also worked come of the excess oil down my hair, and I added a few more drops of oil to the ends of my hair. I let my hair air dry. Afterwards, my hair smelt sweet, felt very soft, and had a nice shine. I was very pleased with the results and also added a few drops to my daily spray moisturizer.

I also read that camellia oil makes a fabulous hot oil treatment- so I plan on using a few drops in my deep conditioning treatment next week. If the results are this great so far, I can’t wait to see how my hair feels next week!

Have you ever used camellia oil on your hair (or skin)? Where did you purchase it- online or in store? How did it work for your hair? Please share your feedback!

If you’d like to send a comment/question to Dr. Phoenyx Austin, you can find her on Facebook and Twitter. Dr. Phoenyx Austin is a writer, media personality, and physician who shares her thoughts on natural hair and wellbeing.

5 Comments

  • Jesus-in-the-city says:

    I use the Aubrey Organics white camellia oil as a face and lip moisturizer and the results are amazing! I already tend to have pretty clear skin but I noticed smoothing and softening effects and a clear glow within a few short weeks of use. It's a convenient size and dispenser for face and for on the go, but unfortunately not conducive for hair application since it's one of those ball applicators that you roll on and it is pretty small.

    I also purchased a large bottle of pure camillia kissi oil from Anita Grant. From my research, it is the largest bottle of pure camillia kissi oil available online. I love it and plan to keep using it. I have also been using it in very tiny drops on my little baby (5 months old) girl's skin right after her bath and her skin is like velvet and so clear. She gets compliments all the time.

    I did originally buy it for hair but it's so expensive that haven't got up the guts to use it for a hot oil treatment yet and I use Anita Grant's sapote castor oil to seal because I need a thicker oil. Ifi ever needed a thinner oil I would be willing to try camellia and may try it just once as a sub for the coconut oil I'm used to for my overnight oil treatments.

    In short, it's a wonderful oil but I definitely notice its benefits in places where can use it in more concentrated amounts like my face and my baby's precious skin!

  • shynygal says:

    I used to use a Japanese hair products and almost all of their products use Camellia oil when my hair was relaxed and my hair LOVED them! One shampoo/conditioner had shea butter, camellia oil, and sunflower oil it was amazing but nothing tips Shiseido Tsubaki. If my hair could take sulfates I would use them again.

  • Anonymous says:

    Camellia oil was the first oil I used when I went natural and started out with almost no hair and was sporting wash and go every day on my twa. Loved it. I used to also use avocado oil in the colder months for extra protection. I no longer use it since it was quite expensive and light, and it is just not economical on my dry 4B hair as it got longer. I now use a shea butter mix and if I need a light oil, I reach for my grapeseed oil which to me is just as light and moisturizing as camellia oil but way cheaper.

  • Anonymous says:

    So shocked to see this here! I just re-upped last week. Camellia, Argan, Grapeseed, Olive, Coconut, and Jamaican Black Castor Oils are the only ones I keep in rotation. I don't deviate from them or feel tempted to get anything else because all of them work for me in some regard and are the best for my hair.

    Camellia Oil is just amazing.

    * I also like Brazil Nut Oil, but prefer to munch on the actually Brazil nut (3 a day) to get the benefits 🙂

  • Anonymous says:

    oh no! not another oil to try! i haven't even given argan oil a good chance, LOL!

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