With manufacturers finding any excuse to make something and sell it to you – often at a ridiculous price – it’s always an awesome feeling when realize something you already have around your house that can do the same thing, usually just as well if not better. In that spirit this Testing 1,2,3 will be taking a look at olive oil as an alternative hair product.

Being a dude with no hair, I got my girlfriend to agree to be the guinea pig for this little experiment. We did a little sleuthing to find an approach that would hopefully give us the best results, and here’s how it went.

Initial Concerns:

She was a little worried that putting a heavy, oily substance such as this in her hair might make it appear flat in addition to making it soft. She was also worried that she would smell like extra virgin olive oil for the rest of the night.

Method:

We put some olive oil in a coffee mug and heated it up in the microwave, making sure that it was nice and warm but not too hot. The idea was to comb it into her hair while it was dry because apparently that was supposed to help the oil to seep in more thoroughly.

Taking a regular comb, she dipped it into the olive oil and began brushing it through her hair, trying to get on an even coating (initial impression – “Ew. This feels gross.”). She made a point of paying special attention to her tips since olive oil was said to be good for split ends.

After she had sufficiently oiled her noggin, she put on a shower cap and took a shower. Without getting her hair wet, the added heat and steam were supposed to further help her hair absorb the oil.

After five minutes she took off the shower cap and washed her hair with shampoo before getting it wet. She lathered. She rinsed. She repeated.

Verdict:

She loved it! Once her hair was dry, she informed me that it felt incredibly soft, lightweight and shiny. It wasn’t at all flat and had no olive oily scent. She plans to use it again.