What is Monoi Oil?
Monoï oil is an infused perfume-oil orginating from Tahiti. It is made by cutting several gardenia flowers (Tiare flowers to be exact, which are Tahiti’s national flower) from their stem to ultimately soak them in pure coconut oil for up to a month.
French is most commonly spoken in Tahiti but Reo Tahiti which is part of the languages of French Polynesia is also used. In Reo Tahiti ‘Monoi; means ‘scented oil.’
Where is Monoi oil found?
Monoi Oil can now be bought on amazon.com and beauty supply stores. However, if you would like to research Monoï’s history, or get hold of monoi oil from Tahiti, you can check out monoi.com
What are the benefits of Monoï Oil on hair?
1.Prevents Dandruff:
Monoï Oil is an effective moisturizer, it retains moisture in the scalp, therefore , preventing dryness and dandruff.
Q.How can you get rid of dandruff?/ How can you minimise dandruff? Well, dandruff is a result of multiple things, one of them being dry skin. To help your scalp stay moisturized and healthy try deep conditioning you hair once a week.
You could also just do Oil treatments. This is when you apply oil (such as Monoi Oil) on your scalp for 45 minutes-1 hour , allowing your scalp to soak it all in before rinsing it out with lukewarm water.
2.Promotes Hair Strength:
Monoi Oil is highly concentrated with Vitamin E, which aids hair strength and elasticity.
Q.Why is Vitamin E good for hair?
Vitamin E has antioxidant properties, meaning it inhibits oxidation removing the (potentially damaging) oxidizing agents in a living organism. This is great for promoting hair strength, as this oxidation process causes hair follicle cells on the scalp to break down. Therefore, minimising the amount of oxidation which occurs will prevent hair breakage and promote hair strength.
Q.How do I use Monoï Oil to strengthen my hair?
Use Monoi oil as a hair mask, by itself or accompanied with essential oil. Hair Masks Strengthen hair, therefore, you can leave it it for up to 20 minutes or even overnight. Whatever is more convenient for you.
3. Monoi Oil does not Clog Pores:
Compared with vegetable oils, monoi oil is greatly moisturising and when applied moderately ( in small amounts) it does not leave your hair greasy. If you are doing a Hair Mask apply as much as you wish, however, if you are on your way to an important rendez-vous, do not apply too much oil on your hair as it could make it look slightly greasy.
What are the disadvantages of Monoï Oil on hair?
Methyl Salicylate:
As seen earlier, Monoi Oil is made by soaking gardenia flowers into pure coconut oil for up to one month. Overtime, compounds are released into the coconut oil from these flowers. The compound Methyl Salicylate is one of the compounds which gives Monoi its skin soothing abilities. Applying moderate amount of Monoi Oil would be better as compound is only useful in small quantities.
DIY with Monoï Oil
Oils are greatly incorporated in many hair mask, deep conditioner and conditioning treatments so why not use Monoï? It smells amazing and nourishes your hair at the same time. Before searching for DIY hair masks and deep conditioners, do you know what the difference between them is and why they are used?
I was not sure myself for a while but once you have a good understanding of what these labels mean it will make your hair care routine so much easier. Here is a blog post explaining the difference between: Hair masks, Conditioners and deep conditioners.
Why do Tahitian women use Monoï Oil?
When googling ‘Tahiti’ you will find beautiful pictures of perfect, white-sanded beaches. Exposed to high temperatures, the people of Tahiti could be using Monoi Oil to help moisturise their skin and soothe sunburn. It is very likely that the heat dries their hair out. As a result, Monoï is used as a natural moisturiser for both hair and skin.
