Hair oils are total lifesavers when it comes to hydrating your locks and making them silky smooth. Whether it’s by sealing in moisture or adding a glossy shine to dull tresses, oils always come in handy for elevating your hair routine. Today’s post will be on macadamia oil vs argan oil for hair use. Which one is better?
From my own personal experience, I think these two oils are “unsung heroes” when it comes to moisturizing and improving the overall look of your hair.
They’re both refined, luxurious, exotic, and most of all, super hydrating and smoothing for the hair.
But while they have a lot in common, they’re not created equal.
What one lacks, the other might be able to provide tenfold.
So which nourishing hair oil is better?
Let’s delve in and find out.
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Getting To Know The Oils..
Before we decide which oil is king, let’s get up close and personal with macadamia and argan oil to get to know each one a bit more.
Here’s the lowdown on the two contenders.
Macadamia oil
This cold-pressed oil comes from the macadamia nut, which falls from trees native to Australia.
It’s a clear oil with a tinge of yellow and a nutty flavor when used in salads and soups.
Macadamia oil is light on the hair, so parched locks readily absorb it.
It’s incredibly rich in fatty acids, which are remarkable for moisturizing your hair.
These healthy fats also strengthen the hair follicles, which is great for combating hair loss, thinning, and breakage.
It also has squalene, an antioxidant that protects your hair against oxidative stress from the weather and pollution
It does this by keeping your hair and scalp properly hydrated without feeling too greasy.
What makes macadamia oil a dream for the hair is its deeply penetrative properties.
It has the power to quickly sink into your hair shaft to strengthen it from the inside.
Macadamia oil also leaves your hair healthy and adds some luster.
It’s kind of similar to coconut oil in that way, except it’s lighter, not as prone to product build-up, and won’t weigh your hair down.
Argan oil
Next up, we have argan oil, fondly nicknamed “liquid gold” by its loyal and devoted users.
This cult classic hair oil comes from the nut of the argan tree, which only grows in Morocco.
The traditional way this oil is extracted from the argan nut is very rigorous.
The nut is cracked open by rubbing two big stones together to get to the kernels, which are then ground by hand until that gorgeous yellow oil comes seeping out and is collected.
To this day, some Moroccan women make a living out of collecting argan oil from the kernels, and they make a pretty penny for it because women all over the globe swear by it for their hair.
Argan oil is rich in vitamin E, an essential hair vitamin that strengthens hair, improves elasticity, and adds a healthy shine.
There are also fatty acids like oleic and linoleic acid to help hydrate the hair, as well as antioxidants to protect your locks from the harsh elements.
It’s a fantastic oil to use if you have particularly frizzy hair that needs some taming.
Argan oil is amazing at sealing in all the hydration in your styling routine, helping to smooth it down to keep flyaways at bay.
It’s a great way to finish off your hair routine and add some glossy shine without making your hair feel heavy and weighed down.
Since it’s incredibly lightweight, you won’t fall victim to limp, lifeless hair.
On the contrary, the vitamin E in it helps create bounciness.
What Are The Differences Between Macadamia And Argan Oil?
Now that we know the basics, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of comparing these oils.
They both feel lightweight, provide conditioning and shine for the hair, and can even strengthen your locks.
So what makes one better than the other?
It’s hard to pin down an exact difference between the two because both oils are considered holy grails.
They’re impressively multi-functional in that they do a lot more than just hydrate and add luminosity to the hair.
They both even offer protection against the sun and free radicals that can cause damage!
Where they originated from
The first difference is the most obvious – where they come from.
Argan oil is from Morocco, while macadamia oil is endemic to Australia.
So they’re both quite exotic, giving them a more opulent feel, compared to your usual olive or coconut oil you can buy at any drugstore for a buck.
That said, argan oil is the more luxurious and expensive of the two because it’s only extracted in Morocco, and the process in which the oil is secreted is very stringent and requires a lot of handy work.
Argan oil and hair growth
Another difference is that argan oil is a better weapon for healthy hair growth.
It’s very rich in vitamin E, which is known to stop hair fall because it strengthens the hair and prevents damage and breakage.
So if you’re looking to grow hair to your hips, you’ll love argan oil.
But macadamia oil has its unique properties too.
The biggest thing it has going on for itself compared to argan oil is that it has the power to penetrate the hair shaft – something argan oil isn’t proven to do as efficiently.
Macadamia oil works to nourish your hair from the inside out, unlike argan oil which merely coats the hair and adds hydration and shine from the outside.
Macadamia oil and scalp moisturization
Another difference is that while argan oil is usually applied to the hair and its ends for hydration, macadamia oil comes highly recommended for moisturizing the scalp.
It’s rich in palmitic acid, which is fantastic for hair follicles since it encourages healthy oil production.
Earlier I mentioned that macadamia oil is similar to coconut oil in that it can deeply penetrate the hair shaft.
Another oil macadamia oil has a slight mirror image of is jojoba oil, which has a super similar chemical make-up to the natural oils in your scalp.
Because of this similarity to our natural sebum, macadamia oil can blend well into the moisture already in our scalp, in a way elevating it.
It’s quickly absorbed by the hair and scalp, nourishing it the natural way.
How Can I Use These Oils On My Hair?
While they have many similar conditioning and shine-providing properties, it might be best to use argan oil and macadamia oil for different moisturizing techniques in your hair care regimen.
Argan oil makes for the perfect finisher or serum after you’ve done all your steps in your styling routine, since it’s terrific for that glamorous shine and frizz-defying power.
Because it’s light but packs a lot of moisture and hydration in, you can also switch out your leave-in for your precious bottle of liquid gold.
It leaves your hair feeling soft, conditioned, luscious, and flyaway-free.
It also reduces breakage if you need to comb your hair throughout the day.
If you feel your hair feels a bit dry and damaged from your constant heat styling, argan oil can help restore hydration to get your strands feeling silky smooth to the touch again.
You can also use a couple of drops of it before hair-drying or straightening to serve as a heat protectant.
On the flip side, macadamia oil is perfect for the heavier steps in your routine, like a hair masque or scalp massaging oil.
That’s because it provides deeper, more intensive moisture that actually penetrates the hair shaft and keeps your strands and scalp nourished for days.
On regular wash days when you don’t plan on saturating your hair with a rich oil or deep conditioner, you can add a few drops of macadamia oil in your conditioner to make it extra moisturizing.
You can also do this if you simply don’t have enough time for a weekly hair masque.
What Hair Types Will Benefit From These Oils?
Different hair types crave varying levels of nourishment, depending on what they need to stay healthy and shiny.
One surefire way to choose between argan oil and macadamia oil correctly is to see which one is better for your hair type and its current health condition.
Argan oil
Argan oil is perfect for dry, dull, frizzy hair that needs taming and revitalizing.
It has fabulous hydrating properties thanks to essential fatty acids and vitamin E to bring your unkempt and dehydrated hair back to life with a lustrous glow and bounce.
It also aids in smoothing down your locks without making them look completely limp.
This ensures you won’t have to stress out over frizz throughout the day, but still have that cute and gorgeous bounce to make your hair look super healthy and aspirational.
It’s the perfect light oil for fine hair and low porosity hair that can’t afford any product build-up but needs a little extra something to look more shiny and alive.
But anyone with coarse, thick, unruly hair will also love it as a sealant because it tames the hair as well.
Macadamia oil
Meanwhile, rich macadamia oil is best for hair that requires more intense deep conditioning, like high porosity hair that is super dry, fragile, and damaged.
It gives lush nourishment not only to your hair but to your scalp too.
It also minimizes the loss of moisture to restore it back to health.
While macadamia also softens and hydrates the hair on the outside like argan oil, its most significant benefit to damaged hair is how it can penetrate deep into the hair and strengthen and moisturize it from there.
So if your hair feels a bit weak and brittle because of constant heat styling, carve out some time during your week to do a macadamia oil hair masque.
You might also enjoy macadamia oil a little more than argan oil if you have thick hair since it’s richer but still isn’t super heavy.
You get to moisturize your thick and full head of hair without weighing it down and losing volume.
Macadamia Oil Vs Argan Oil For Hair
So you’ve already got the lowdown on both macadamia and argan oil, from their origins, similarities, differences, and on whom they can make an impact.
Still, the question of which one is better than the other is quite tricky.
To be honest, there’s no universal end-all-be-all perfect oil.
It differs per person, and all boils down to what your hair needs and will respond to best.
The trick is to try out both oils to see which one your hair likes more and keeps it healthy.
When experimenting with these oils for the first time, it’s a great idea to start gradually.
Infuse them into your usual hair care products first – maybe a few drops of argan oil into your favorite leave-in conditioner or a spoonful of macadamia oil in your go-to deep conditioning mask.
After a while, move on to using a few drops of the pure oils as a sealant for moisturizing purposes.
See which one your hair carries better and whether they can keep your hair bodied and voluminous without weighing it down.
You’ll be lucky to find products infused with both macadamia and argan oil so that you can get strength and moisture from the inside and glossy shine and softness on the outside.
If you’re torn about which one to try, you can incorporate both oils into your routine.
Assign different roles for argan and macadamia oil in your regimen – like macadamia oil strictly for deep conditioning once a week and argan oil as your daily perfecting serum.
Conclusion
Any hair lover who takes good care of their locks knows the power of light but luxurious and nourishing oil.
It’s the key to unlocking shiny waves, moisturized curls, and soft strands that make you feel like a superstar walking down the runway.
The hunt for the next holy grail oil never stops.
However, argan oil and macadamia oil sure do come close to being the king and queen of glamorous hair oils.
This post on macadamia oil vs argan oil for hair didn’t have a clear winner.
Both oils are pretty beneficial to the hair.
One penetrates deep into your hair to moisturize it thoroughly; while the other perfects your hairstyle to make you look photo-ready.
Assess your hair to see which of these fab oils it might respond to better.
But if you’re hair-crazy and want to try the magic of both argan oil and macadamia oil, it won’t hurt to give each of them a place in your routine.
