Hair oils nourishes your hair and make them shine and healthy. Oiling your hair is part of everyone’s daily haircare routine. With lots of brands and oil types available in the market, it would be confusing for anyone to pick the best oil. Department of Consumer Affairs has done good study on various oil brands and came up with the top 10 oils list based on various parameters. Lets dig deep into the study and know what they have done and results of the study.
Contents
Types of Hair Oils
Department of Consumer Affairs has classified the hair oils into three types:
- Type 1: These hair oils contain vegetable oil as base oil
- Type 2: These hair oils mineral oil as base oil
- Type 3: These hair oils contain mixture of vegetable and mineral oil as base oil
Brands Tested and Top 10 Rankings: Best Hair Oil in India
| Brand | Rank |
| Dabur Amla | 1 |
| Hair & Care | 2 |
| Keo Karpin | 3 |
| Parachute Jasmine | 4 |
| Dabur Sarson Amla | 5 |
| Himalaya Herbals | 6 |
| Himani Navratna | 7 |
| Shanti Amla | 8 |
| Clear | 9 |
| Bajaj Almond Drops | 10 |
| Cantharidine | 11 |
Tested Parameters
The department has tested the oil for various parameters that include
- Packing
- Marking
- Physical Observation
- Net Quantity
- Acid Value
- Peroxide Value
- Viscosity
- Specific Gravity
- Unsaponifiable Matter: Indicator of presence of mineral oil – Lowest, the best
- Fatty Acid Profile
- Microbiological & Heavy Metals Tests: Heavy metals include Lead, Arsenic
- Sensory/Application Tests – Colour, Appearance, Ease to Comb, Fragrance, Feel, etc
Key Findings
- None of the brands have microbiological and heavy metal contamination
- All the hair oils tested are found to be Type 3 oils, which means they contain mixture of both mineral and vegetable oil
- Dabur Amla (36.46) is found to have lowest unsaponifiable matter, followed by Himani Navratna, Hair & Care.
- Dabur Amla, Hair & Care, Himalaya Herbals, Parachute Jasmine and Shanti Amla contain fatty acids like Myristolic, Saturated fat,
MUFA, PUFA. It means these contain vegetable oils - Keo Karpin was found to be best in sensory as well as application tests.
- All the brands have passed the tests of other parameters
Percentage of Mineral Oil in Various Brands
| Category | Percent of Mineral Oil | Brand |
| 1 | Up to 55% | Dabur Amla, Himani Navratna, Keo Karpin |
| 2 | Up to 75% | Dabur Sarson Amla, Hair & Care, Shanti Amla |
| 4 | Up to 95% | Bajaj Almond Drops, Clear, Himalaya Herbals |
